Karen Cameron says it has always been stressful having her lease up for renewal at Christmas.

An Auckland woman whose landlord has given her notice to move out of her house the week before Christmas says tenants need more rights.

Karen Cameron was told this week that her tenancy, which has run on a series of one-year fixed agreements, would not be renewed this year. She has been in the Forrest Hill house since August 2012.

Cameron said she had asked her landlord in the past to move the dates of the agreement so that it would not be up for renewal at this time of year but he had refused.

Instead, each year the rent had gone up. She was now paying $620 a week. "It got to the stage where I didn't ask [the landlord] to do anything around the house because he would just put up the rent even more."

READ MORE:

* $50 rent rise for heat pump 'pushed me into sex work'

* Māori student had rules laid out after potential landlord found out her ethnicity

* Tenant's problem: Benefit is $384, rent is $360

* Family evicted from Auckland 'swamp house' calls for more scrutiny on landlords

She said she had emailed this year to say that she was not sure whether she could cope with another rent increase if that were to happen again.

But she was served notice and must move out on February 18.

Have you encountered any rental issues this Christmas? Email susan.edmunds@stuff.co.nz

She said the process of having had the fixed term expire every year was too stressful.

"I think the 12-month lease is shocking… to get told at the last minute yes or no or yes but this is how much you have to pay."

Cameron, who used to own three properties, said she had been left renting in the aftermath of the breakup of her relationship. She has a high school-aged daughter in her care.

STUFF Do you know your rights as a tenant? Don't worry, we've got it covered.

She said the level of rent being charged in the Auckland market was "shocking". "When I was in my teens rent was about 30 per cent of income but now it's 60 or 70 per cent. It's just ridiculous greed. I don't know why the Government doesn't step in and do something. They're going to have to pick up the pieces when people fall into trouble… you can see why people end up living in their cars."

Some rental properties on offer were in terrible condition, she said. "I wouldn't even keep my dog in them. But they're getting away with it because people have to live somewhere."

Cameron said she was now looking for a new house to rent but would try to find somewhere that had space to let out part of the property to another tenant to help the bills.

"I've gone from owning three homes to the other end of the stick."

She said there should be a cap on the rent that could be charged, at no more than $150 per bedroom, and the opportunity for tenants to sign up for two-year minimum fixed leases.

"Do you know how fast a year comes around when you're renting? There's absolutely no security.

"Over the last 20 to 25 years, New Zealand has been sliding into an almost third-world 'below the breadline' state. There is now no middle class because those like myself are lining the pockets of the greedy landlords and cannot save to make a better life or live comfortably and secure."

She said the Government's proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act were insufficient.

"The Government want to help families – they need to stop being the ambulance at the bottom of the hill with food handouts and people having to beg for help through WINZ - and help families struggling to put food on the table by limiting the amount of rent landlords can charge.

"The only reason the market dictates a property is worth $700 per week as opposed to $400 is based on the fact that the person seeking the property has no choice but to pay the asking price or lose out to someone else. If the Government could put something tangible and real in place, the queues for help would be greatly reduced. It might even stop the increase in homelessness… South Auckland is barely less expensive than, say, Glenfield. The really destitute cannot even go to the fringes to get cheaper housing.

"It all feels a little like being battered about with my hands tied behind my back. I could have applied for a benefit and struggled on with that, but I have chosen to work and work hard to keep a roof over our heads – to what end?"