The Queenstown Citizens Advice Bureau says the situation is desperate and would-be tenants have "slim to none" chances of finding somewhere to live (file image). Photo: Supplied
The Queenstown Housing Initiative says reports of overcrowded properties are a safety concern.
A migrant worker who asked to remain anonymous said they were living and sharing facilities with more than 25 other people including some living in illegal cabins.
They have been having power cuts, including one that lasted two days this month, because there were too many people on the property.
The Queenstown Lakes District Council and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment have said they had begun investigating the property.
Queenstown Housing Initiative co-founder Lindsay Waterfield said putting up partitions or building extra rooms could create a safety hazard in an overcrowded house.
"If there's a fire or if there's an emergency in these houses and these new walls have been put up to build additional rooms or section off other rooms, then there's actually really no clear path to get out if there is an emergency," Waterfield said.
"And also for firefighters or emergency services that do respond to a potential emergency, because of the overcrowding, they don't actually know where they're going and they don't have a concrete number of people that are in the house that they might have to save."
People were afraid to speak out because they were still in the house, she said.
"A lot of people just don't feel that they're going to get anything out of it even if they do want to report it, because it's just another dead end avenue and at this point now, at least they have a roof over their head versus speaking out and maybe being booted out into the cold and then having absolutely nowhere to go."
She had been trying to encourage anyone posting about available rooms on social media to consider housing people who had been sleeping in their vehicles first.
Lindsay Waterfield says changes to properties to fit in more tenants could make it difficult for emergency services to access the housing. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Another option the initiative was looking at was to encourage tradespeople to offer some time to work on the council's Lynch Block cabins which were mostly sitting empty.
The council has previously said that the cost of getting them up to the government's Healthy Homes standards was a barrier to carrying out the work.
The Healthy Homes standards include minimum requirements for heating, insulation, ventilation, dampness, drainage and draught stopping.
"Being in a kind of rundown cabin would be better than being in a cold damp car at a campsite, and if it's a short fixed term tenancy in these cabins, then they don't actually have to comply with the Healthy Homes standards if it's 90 days or less. Well that's something that we're also kind of pushing with the council right now."
She had also been in touch with a community member who had a few units she hoped could get people out of their cars for the winter.
She encouraged those in need to reach out for help.
"They're not alone. We just want to let people know that this is a situation that's affecting so many people and there's a lot of people out there that want to help and we just need people to find the courage to speak out about their situation and realise there is no shame in it 'cos this is not their fault."
Chances of finding housing 'slim to none'
Queenstown Citizens Advice Bureau manager Tracy Pool said the bureau had been providing advice to migrant workers about their rights.
"So we can stand up for their rights and we know that what's happening is wrong and it's potentially unsafe. But the only reason these people are living there is because the options are not there."
She described the housing situation as desperate.
"For those people who do not have any form of accommodation at the moment, the chances of them finding it are almost slim to none."
Some of the people who had left the overcrowded property at the centre of multiple investigations had been given some accommodation, but it was only temporary, she said.
"There is nowhere to go and that's not going to change in the next couple of months. It's just not., We have a capacity problem and it's huge and this is why the rents go up and this is why there's opportunities for people to make more money out of some of these people and take advantage.
"This why we get flatmates coming in saying my head tenant's kicked me out because he wants to charge more money for the rooms."
This was happening regularly, she said.
There was some amazing work being done by the local council, housing trust and others to help alleviate this problem for the future, but that would not help those currently living in cars or crowded homes, she said.