Children are suffering from overcrowded living conditions and risks to their health as rental housing gets not only more expensive but of worse quality, a new report says.
The Child Poverty Action Group says families in Auckland and Christchurch are particularly affected, and more needs to be done to make sure children grow up in warm, dry, and secure homes.
The group says 12.6 percent of homes in south Auckland house at least two families, compared to 2.3 percent of homes in the rest of the country.
It says the quality of rental properties is deteriorating, and children's health is being affected by mould and damp.
The group says the eastern suburbs of Christchurch are also under pressure, as rents there have risen by 20-30 percent in the past five years.
