Sonya Tranter sleeps on a chair in her lounge, while Belinda Wade has her bed in her kitchen, as both are in crowded houses.

Sonya Tranter's "bed" is an armchair in the lounge of the two-bedroom property she rents in Christchurch.

She and her partner sleep in chairs so they can fit three families into the Linwood house.

It is Tranter's only day off in a six-day working week, cleaning pubs at night. She has just woken up, still exhausted but with a welcoming smile and makes a cuppa for everyone.

John Kirk-Anderson Christchurch mum Sonya Tranter's bed is an armchair because there is no room left after fitting three families into her two-bedroom rental.

She sums up Christchurch's housing situation in eight words: "Some good houses. Bad prices. Lots of people."

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There are two caravans out the back to ease the strained living situation inside.

The living room floor bounces like a trampoline and the roof leaks because of earthquake damage. The have to be out in a month so it can be fixed or demolished.

It was all she could get post-earthquakes. Tranter and her partner slept in their vehicle for a few months.

"[After the earthquakes] the prices went up, people got more strict. One landlord even said in their advert no kids. That's not right," she said.

Private rentals proved difficult to get after credit issues from 2012.

Christchurch Methodist Mission executive director Jill Hawkey said landlords post-earthquake could afford to be picky, leaving lower income families, especially women and children, out in the cold.

Overcrowding was a post-quake social and health issue, prevalent in low-income households, she said.

"It is very difficult to parent and it is really stressful. And of course there are the health implications, like rheumatic fever and skin irritations – overcrowding is a sign of poverty," she said.

Tranter once considered sleeping in the bath tub.

"It is big enough and probably better than the armchairs," she said.

This week, she has applied for about 30 houses.

"You see the same people every time you go to a viewing," Tranter said.

She has had some bleak times mentally.

"But you get up. Carry on. I can take a lot more. They can keep throwing it and I'll keep standing.

"There is a little wee space in my head like a storage room and I lock it away. And no-one can get in there."

Across in the next suburb, a little hand sneaks toward a pile of freshly made muffins.

Mason Wade, 8, reckons he can get a muffin before his big sister Dominique, 17, spots him.

He is foiled by eagle-eyed mum Belinda Wade. The kitchen happens to be the same place where Belinda's bed is. With five children and a foster child, the two-bedroom house in insufficient. Her eldest child sleeps in the garage when it is warm enough.

Her "bedroom" is where a dining room table would be.

Private rentals do not want her despite her good references, she said.

"No one wants children. That's all I've found in Christchurch. After being homeless for eight weeks, this was the only landlord to take me on," she said.

After the earthquake, her rented three-bedroom home in Gloucester St fell down, almost taking her daughter with it.

"There are a lot of people worse off than us," Wade said.

***

A month later, Tranter is shifting house for the 10th time since the earthquakes. The private rental property has two bedrooms. Tranter will still have to sleep in an armchair.

The plan is to put insulation in the garage to sleep in. The lounge will also be turned into a bedroom.

It was only for 12 months, she said.

"I just want somewhere permanent."

Wade is in the same place. It is winter, so the garage can no longer be used as a bedroom. Four children now share one bedroom.

"It's been World War 3," she said.

Wade said she could not afford the bond some were asking – $2000 to $3000.

"How do they justify that?"

This week, Canterbury's post-earthquake housing problems will be illustrated through a number of articles and videos showing people living in desperate circumstances. Social and health agencies say there is no bigger crisis facing the region than the security and affordability of housing. This is Home Truths.

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