A garage advertised as a bedroom to rent for $250 a week has highlighted the growing property crisis in the Bay of Plenty, where rentals are in short supply and hot demand.

The advertisement showed photos of the garage in Te Puke, which was unlined and had no bathroom. It was for rent for $250 a week to a couple or $170 to a single person.

The listing said it was 'not a party garage” and sought 'preferably workers”. The rental included power and wifi.

The listing drew criticism from people on the page who were looking for a rental, with some saying it was 'sad” and 'a joke”. Others said it was a sign of the market, that people were 'desperate” and it 'beats living in a car.”

The person who listed the property, who Stuff has chosen not to name, said they did not own the house with the garage, but that they rented the property for $430 a week. They said the garage had a heater, as well as a microwave, grill and electric crockpot so that future tenants would be able to cook.

They told Stuff that they had not sought the permission of the landlord to rent the garage, but they did not think there was anything wrong with it.

'I can't believe all the comments,” they said. 'It has got out of hand. Maybe I should have used the word boarder, not rental. But then you have to give them food and I thought they could make their own food.”

The person told Stuff that it was 'desperate times” for everyone.

'I'm a beneficiary and single mother,” they added. 'I just needed the extra money for everything as it is so hard, and I also thought I could help someone out looking for somewhere to live.”

The rental crisis has seen rents in the region swell to $2000 a week in some cases, with a large number of people applying for properties. This year the Bay of Plenty became the most expensive place in the country to rent a home.

Gavin Lloyd, Trade Me property sales director, said rent in the Bay of Plenty is at an all-time high.

'The Bay of Plenty's highest rent of all-time, $610, was first recorded in June 2022,” he said. 'It was then seen again in July and October this year.”

Last month the median weekly rent in the Tauranga district was $650, and demand for rentals in the region increased by 14 per cent in the same period.

Lloyd said that Trade Me monitors its rental listings for compliance with the Residential Tenancies Act, House Improvement Regulations and the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act.

”Properties that breach these acts are illegal and therefore are not allowed to be listed onsite,” he said. 'We recommend prospective tenants ask questions, check out the member's feedback, and go and check the property out for themselves.”

Senior consultant for tenancy.co.nz, Scotney Williams, said converted garages must have consent from the local council to be rented out as a habitable space.

'If it did obtain consent, which is unlikely, the converted garage would need to comply with the Healthy Homes Standards, Smoke Alarm Regulations and Housing Improvement Regulations,” said Williams.

'A prospective tenant could get in touch with their local council and access the property file or speak to a council town planner to determine if the property is lawful.”

Another key question is whether a tenant or landlord is listing a rental.

'In this instance, the tenant is responsible for the listing and the first point is whether they have permission to sublet the property,” said Williams. 'If they do not have permission to sublet, then it is in breach of the tenancy agreement.”

However, any agreement between a tenant and the sub-tenant is still captured by the jurisdiction of the Residential Tenancies Act and the jurisdiction of the Tenancy Tribunal, he said.

'Which, most importantly, means the tenant advertising the converted garage would be captured by Section 78A of the Residential Tenancies Act, which deals with unlawful properties and the consequences of renting them.

”Section 78A became law in August 2019 and if landlords/sub-landlords are found to be in breach of this section, the most common outcome is that they are ordered to pay tenants partial rent refunds.”

Dan Lusby, owner of Tauranga Rentals, said there was an ongoing shortage of properties in Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty as a whole,

”There are lots of jobs in Tauranga and people are coming into the region for those jobs,” said Lusby.

'People are desperate and, unfortunately, it means that places like this would probably be inundated with applicants. At $250 it is relatively cheap, and Te Puke rentals are sought after as there are kiwifruit workers that need accommodation.”

-Annemarie Quill/Stuff.