Property owners are cashing in on the rental shortage by letting out rooms.
Tauranga Budget Advisory Service manager Diane Bruin said more than 30 per cent of the organisation's clients were renting out rooms.
A shortage of rental properties had driven demand and created an opportunity for people who might be having difficulty paying their bills, she said.
"To get a rental property at the moment is very difficult and if the family have left the house and you have rooms then this could be an option."
A boarder or homestay student could be a short-term cashflow top-up, she said.
TradeMe figures show in October 2014, there were 222 listings for flatmates.
The Bay of Plenty Times reported last week the average cost of renting a home in the Western Bay had risen. At the top end of the market in Mount Maunganui, average rent increased $15 to $385 and the bottom end in Kaimai/Te Puke rent increased by $10 to $295.
Student Rentals Bay of Plenty owner Billy Surgeoner has already received 63 applications for the 27 rooms he has available, in five houses, next year.
The property hostel landlord, who is in partnership with Paul Devitt from Windermere Student Accommodation, said business was booming and the partnership hoped to expand into Dunedin next year.
On average it received a 12 per cent return on the properties but Mr Surgeoner said it was not without "plenty of headaches".
A hostel agreement meant he was entitled to either evict straight away or within 48 hours.
The business evolved six years ago due to a gap in the market for students including those studying at Bay of Plenty Polytechnic as the houses were within walking distance, he said.
Hair Beauty Academy student Brianna Pye said accommodation was hard to find and she had searched for three months before deciding to move into one of the houses in February.
"I like it here because I have made friends and you don't get lonely. We are all on the same wavelength."
Carmen Hall