An Auckland family has just six weeks to find a new home to live in, but say they're struggling to get one in the current rental market.
The Stone family is desperate to find a new rental, but with the current housing crisis, it's becoming increasingly difficult.
In the last three years, rents across New Zealand have increased by $58 - that's $232 extra every month. And the average rent for a three-bedroom home in Auckland is $603.
People squeezed out of the private rental market can make a bid for public housing, but there's a massive surge in numbers of New Zealanders on that waiting list. Half of those households are single people, and a third are sole parents. The end of the road is emergency housing motels.
Mum Stace Stone and her four children, which includes a three-week-old baby, need a new place to live in just six weeks.
She says despite her family being clean and tidy tenants who pay rent on time, they've struggled to find a place to live.
"It's like a fight out there. Families fighting just for a house, it's horrible," Stone tells The Project.
The Stones are after a fully-fenced and pet-friendly three-bedroom home in west Auckland in the Glen Eden or Titirangi area. They can pay about $600 per week, maximum $650.
If landlords are apprehensive about the family having a dog, Stone has some reassurance.
"He's a really awesome dog, and I got him for security for me and the kids. So he's our alarm, just for burglaries that go on, and it's quite scary being a solo mum and nighttime," she says.
For her and her family, getting a rental would "mean the world" to them.
"It's so hard out there. It's really hard. I know I'm not the only person out there that needs a house but with having a baby and three other children and animals, it's so hard. It would mean the world to me if somebody could help."
If people can help the Stones, they're encouraged to contact The Project on theprojectnz@tv3.co.nz or by sending them a Facebook message.
