A mother of two 17-year-old girls forced out of her home by Tauranga's spiralling rental market could be the beginning of a trend, says New Zealand First MP Clayton Mitchell.

Clayton spotted a large sign on a fence, "PLEASE HELP. Mother & 2 17 year old girls will be HOMELESS," and went on to indicate she has good references, and her phone number.

The sign spotted by New Zealand First MP Clayton Mitchell. Photo: Supplied

'With the rising costs of rental properties in Tauranga, families are finding it incredibly difficult to afford homes,” he says.

Clayton was told the home the mother had rented for years had been sold. The new out of town owners wanted to move in, leaving the mother looking for a new home.

But because rentals across the Tauranga have been driven up by housing demand, the search for a new home was proving difficult and the Tauranga mother was feeling desperate.

'We have put this family in touch with a couple of organisations that are trying to assist them in finding a new home. But the reality is that this family, like too many Tauranga families is being forced to look at moving away from Tauranga on their search for affordable housing,” says Clayton.

'Those families that cannot or do not move away, may join the increasing number of homeless on our streets.”

Regional social worker Elizabeth Walsh is also concerned about the growing numbers of Tauranga homeless, saying families, singles and couples are all unable to find accommodation because there's not enough housing and the land and rental values are just too high.

'This is not specific to any demographic as even working families are being affected,” explains Elizabeth.

'Joe Bloggs on the street may have no real idea of the seriousness of this issue, but as a social worker, I'm seeing people affected by this housing crisis every day.”

Elizabeth believes the Government should invest in more overnight accommodation to relieve immediate distress, plus establish caravan parks which could be run and monitored by existing charities already providing care to Tauranga's most vulnerable.

With almost zero available housing and the impending state housing sale, there is little Housing New Zealand is able to do, though not for lack of wanting to help.

WINZ suggests families look at local caravan parks for accommodation and warns them to be prepared to sleep in their cars.

But given the fact that Easter is this weekend, Clayton says caravan parks are likely to be full and can hardly be seen as an option.

'Now more than ever, we need more Government support for our community, not less. The Government should be investing in State housing, not selling it.

'We need to get real, addressing the real problems we are facing in Tauranga and New Zealand,” says Clayton.