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NEW ZEALAND RENTAL CRISIS — 40 People in ONE House?! 8 People in ONE Room!

477 views · Published 28 March 2017 · 10:01 · Indexed 28 October 2026

Channel: Mike Martins · 2017 · Howto & Style

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“This is taking advantage of human beings.” — Mike Martins

I've got another housing crisis story coming out of New Zealand, and this one is absolutely unbelievable.
We're talking about the rental situation in Queenstown, where the article I'm discussing describes a massive feeding frenzy every time a rental property becomes available.
But it gets much worse.
The article describes allegations of 40 people living in a single property, eight people sharing one room, people renting beds instead of rooms, workers sharing beds on different shifts, and even people paying money just to park on somebody's driveway so they can sleep in their cars.
Think about that.
Housing has become so expensive and so scarce that people aren't simply struggling to buy anymore — they're struggling to find somewhere to sleep.
The article describes rooms going for roughly $200–$250 per week in shared houses, basic houses reaching approximately $750–$1,400 per week, and incredibly crowded accommodation at the very bottom of the market.
It even describes alleged situations where tenants had their passports taken as collateral, hot water or internet turned off following complaints, and workers allegedly being threatened with losing their jobs if they spoke about their living conditions.
One property reportedly had 17 people crammed into part of a house. Another reportedly reached 40 occupants. At another location, a room was allegedly divided with plywood to create sleeping spaces for eight people.
And now we're hearing about “hot bedding” — two shift workers effectively sharing the same bed at different times of the day because neither has his or her own permanent sleeping space.
What is happening here?
Queenstown has a booming tourism industry, but the people needed to keep that industry operating still need somewhere to live. If ordinary workers can't afford basic accommodation, eventually something has to give.
I've been following housing problems throughout New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the other English-speaking markets, but this story takes the affordability crisis to another level.
This isn't somebody complaining that they can't afford their dream house.
We're talking about people who apparently can't even afford their own bedroom.
If you're living in Queenstown or anywhere else in New Zealand and you're experiencing this rental crisis firsthand, comment below. I especially want to hear from people who've lived in overcrowded accommodation like what's described in this article.

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