The solo mum and her 3-year-old son have been living in a room off a garage at her sister's home since a previous fixed-term tenancy ended in November, and Miss Rollo has been unable to find accommodation since.
''I'm so grateful to my sister. Without her, I honestly don't know where I would go.''
Miss Rollo, who had a kidney transplant about six years ago, is unable to do heavy work such as orchard work and cleaning, and has struggled to find part-time work. She receives a benefit from Work and Income but said she had not been assessed for nor offered a Housing New Zealand house in Cromwell.
A custody arrangement with her son's father means Miss Rollo is unable to leave Cromwell, although she also wanted to stay in Cromwell because her son and teenage daughter were so settled there. Her daughter is staying somewhere else because there is no more room at Miss Rollo's sister's house.
Miss Rollo has been applying for rental properties since November, and said listings were attracting at least 20 applicants each time.
Finally, this week she has been offered a room to rent, and she is also waiting to hear about a home which might be available.
She said she knew of several other families who were in similar situations and were either staying with family or at camping grounds while searching for rental accommodation. She also knew of families who were considering leaving Cromwell because they could not find affordable accommodation.
She praised landlords who tried to keep rentals at affordable levels and allowed extra family members to stay, but criticised the few who were putting rents up markedly, sometimes even raising them again above the original asking price. She had experienced ''bidding wars'' herself, and heard prospective tenants offer up to $100 more than an asking price to secure a tenancy.
She hoped community leaders would try to find a solution to the problem and find a way to increase the level of affordable housing in the district.
''We're suppose to be a community. We're supposed to be looking after each other.''
