‘Dream tenants’ in battle to find home
Family trapped in transitional housing as hundreds of rental bids rejected
Aworking family described as “dream tenants” say they have had 532 rental bids rejected in 19 months. The Tauranga family of two adults and four children have been trapped in transitional housing all that time, but say their family size and $50,000 debt mean they have no chance in the private rental market.
Now a social agency is pleading for a landlord to give them a chance.
Sitting on a couch at the Tauranga Salvation Army Family Centre, Brenda Newman wiped away tears as she recounted her situation.
Juggling her 11-month-old daughter Mystory on her knee, the mother of eight said she had three children and one grandchild still at home.
Both she and her partner worked — she does night shifts in retail and he does day shifts in scaffolding.
She said the constant rejection from landlords was “disheartening, downgrading and disappointing”.
“We have applied for, on average, six houses a day seven days a week for the past 19 months so that is 532 housing applications. It feels like the walls are closing in on us with no light at the end of the tunnel.
“Then I have to go to work facing people with a happy smile.”
Newman said the family had to leave their rental property in Welcome Bay because it was the landlord’s retirement home.
They spent several months in transitional housing before moving into a Salvation Army house a year ago.
She believed their old debts and number of children were counting against them despite good references.
The debts came from student loans, power bills, hire purchases, a car that was voluntarily returned and furnishing a house in Auckland that burned down, as well as from general costs of living.
“Everything that has happened is a result of my own choices, no doubt. But . . . nothing has been ridiculous or
unnecessary.”
Newman was chipping away at the debt and her budget adviser had applied for insolvency on her behalf.
Finding somewhere to call home would be better than winning the lottery, she said.
“We could get our things out of storage and be able to feel normal again and have dignity.”
Salvation Army Tauranga Housing Tenancy manager Garth Collings said Newman and her family were “dream tenants” who paid their rent on time and kept the property spotless. Salvation Army Tauranga community ministries manager Davina Plummer said all of the organisation’s 66 transitional housing spaces in Tauranga were full. The average stay was 42 weeks but Newman’s was more than 52 weeks. “We are prepared to back this family. Yes, they have made mistakes, but they have come a long way.”
Plummer said the family needed a private rental as they did not meet the criteria that would see them prioritised for permanent social housing. She said more wage earners like Newman were seeking housing but “many landlords and tenancy managers are seeking ‘professional couples’ as tenants”.
Tauranga Rentals owner Dan Lusby said some private landlords may discriminate against children and his agency would usually dismiss potential tenants if they had debts for not paying rent.
“But in the scheme of things honestly, $50,000 is not a lot of money. I know lots of people who have half a million dollars of debt in mortgages. If [the family] can afford to pay the rent going forward they should be taken into consideration.”
Tommy Wilson from Te Tuinga Whanau Support Services Trust said his team had real estate agents ringing asking for tenants, some of whom were being evicted by the same agents not that long ago.
“What is different now is we have helped them to become better tenants and that is key.”
The trust had 37 properties in Tauranga, housing about 60 families.
Shirley McCombe from Budget Advice Tauranga said it was very easy to rack up debt if people borrowed from a lender that charged high interest rates and big penalties.
Debt was hugely stressful, she said, and could prevent people from getting a rental or a job.
“There needs to be a limit on the amount of interest a lender can charge and the penalties that can be imposed.”
Last year the Government proposed a bill that would strengthen responsible lending laws, including adding a cap on interest charges. It was still working its way through the parliamentary process.
Scott Gallacher of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development said more houses were needed in Tauranga.
The ministry was working with Housing New Zealand, registered community housing providers and others to increase public housing supply over the next four years.
Tauranga has four transitional housing providers and about the same number of social housing providers, of which Accessible Properties Tauranga is the largest.
General manager Vicki McLaren said Tauranga was one of the most unaffordable cities in the country and housing demand was huge.
“Wait lists are high, and housing providers are constantly trying to get ahead of it.”