While headline rent figures show flat or falling prices, a new report highlights tens of thousands of working households struggling with housing costs that official data may understate.
While official figures show rents flat or falling in parts of New Zealand, that narrative obscures the experience of a large group of working households who remain under significant housing pressure, according to a report by the Child Poverty Action Group.
Researcher Greg Waite found that more than 70,000 households in private rentals were working but earning less than the full-time minimum wage per adult — and the majority did not receive a benefit. Two-thirds of that group could not afford their rent, Waite calculated.
What the numbers show
The picture for households on benefits was equally tight. Of the more than 20,000 households receiving benefits and in private rental arrangements, only 12 percent had enough income to cover rent and living costs at a basic standard of living, Waite found.
For single people in the private rental market, only 59 percent had sufficient income to cover a basic standard of living after paying rent, according to RNZ. For single parents, the figure fell to 41 percent.
"You hear so much about people coming to food banks who are working now," Waite told RNZ. "Single people, single parents, people who can't have two incomes — they're structurally disadvantaged in the housing market."
Why headline rents obscure lived experience
While some data sources show rents softening in parts of the country, Waite noted that rents had risen sharply for many years before the current period of weakness. That prior increase was rarely fully reversed when markets cooled — leaving many renters carrying elevated housing costs even as aggregate figures stabilised or dipped.
The research also looked at the supply of affordable housing over time. In 2015, 38 percent of New Zealand's housing stock was affordable to households relying solely on a benefit. By 2024 that had fallen to 23 percent. For low-income working households, the proportion of affordable stock dropped from 55 percent to 38 percent over the same period. The sharpest declines in affordable supply were in more rural regions, including Manawatu-Whanganui and Bay of Plenty.
Housing as the dominant household cost
Waite said housing had become the largest single cost facing New Zealand families. Between 2023 and 2026, rent increases were the biggest driver of household expense growth, ahead of food and transport. For a working couple with two children in one of New Zealand's main centres, Waite estimated typical rent increases of around $50 per week over that period, compared with $34 for food and $22 for transport.
"You can't not pay the rent," Waite said. "So it's people not buying food and not having all the other things that make up a balanced life."
This article is for general information only and is not personalised financial advice. Seek advice from a licensed financial adviser (registered on the FSPR) for guidance specific to your situation.