The cost of private rentals have been falling across the city. Photo: RNZ / REECE BAKER
Wellington social housing tenants are despairing as their rent is hiked while the cost of some private rentals are dropping across the capital.
But community housing provider Te Toi Mahana said inflation forced its hand, resulting in an average 2.2 percent rent increase for its tenants from Thursday.
Sarah, who didn't want her real name published for fear of speaking out against her landlord, would from Thursday be paying an extra $20 each week for her two bedroom property.
She liked where she lived, and was grateful to have a roof over her head, considering she could not find a private rental any cheaper.
But times are tough, she said.
"I've just been living here... surviving here by eating at the local soup kitchens and getting Kaibosh food. [I am also] going to Everybody Eats and going to the Free Store, going to City Mission for lunch so that I don't have to spend any money on food," Sarah said.
"When your rent just keeps going up and your income doesn't go up... it's like, where are you supposed to magic this extra money from?"
Another resident, who RNZ has called Mary, said her rent was going up more than $6 a week.
The letter from Te Toi Mahana advising her of that, which RNZ has seen, did not state a reason for the increase.
Mary questioned the justification for it, while the cost of private rentals have been falling across the city.
A glut of vacant rentals in the capital has seen some tenants knocking close to $100 off their weekly rent.
Mary was frustrated to see the organisation spending money on new developments while existing tenants suffered.
"At what point do we say that social housing rents in Wellington have become unaffordable for the people that they're supposed to house?"
Te Toi Mahana took over the Wellington City Council's housing portfolio in 2023, and manages more than 1600 properties.
Under current regulations, the government's income related rent subsidy does not apply for council housing tenants - only community and state housing tenants.
Te Toi Mahana was formed to solve that problem. But only new tenants, currently about 14 percent, could access the subsidy.
The organisation said its agreement with the housing ministry was to carry out a rent valuation every five years, with annual adjustments in between that informed by the annual Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The most recent valuation was last year, and this year's average 2.2 percent increase was shy of the 2.7 percent CPI increase for the year to June, said partnerships and community manager Seb Bishop.
"When costs go up, we need to pay those additional costs, so that is reflected in our rental increase," he said.
Tenants who can access the government's income-related rent subsidy paid no more than 25 percent of their income, while those who could not were charged, on average, below 70 percent of market rent, Bishop said.
They also had access to an "affordable rent limit" subsidy if their rent was more than 35 percent of their income.
Bishop said Te Toi Mahana had surveyed tenants about their incomes, including what benefits and subsidies they received.
"We're using that information to review our rent settings to make sure tenants are accessing the most they can from the subsidies available, and that the support provided by Te Toi Mahana reflects the individual circumstances of tenants."
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