The NZ Property Investors Federation (NZPIF) is happy to support changes that make for a better rental environment.
We supported compulsory insulation and fire alarms and most of the Healthy Homes changes and many Residential Tenancy Act changes.
The NZPIF has put out our own plan to fix the renting crisis for tenants, including policies for cheaper rental prices, more security and being able to treat their rental as a home.
However, Tenants Action Wellington has today (July 28) made outrageous demands for changes to rental laws. Some of the changes include limiting rental prices to 25 per cent of the lowest benefit level, minimum five year tenancies but with tenants able to end the tenancy at will and rental providers banned from reference checking prospective tenants.
Tenant groups like Tenants Action Wellington do not understand that housing in New Zealand is expensive to provide and tax increases for rental property have not helped.
Over 80 per cent of rental property is provided by individual New Zealanders. Tenant groups may believe these people are immensely rich but they are wrong.
People do not have to provide rental properties and there is a very vocal view which believes private landlords shouldn’t. However, if private landlords don’t provide the rental properties that tenants need, then this role falls onto the state.
A recent report shows that it costs the Government far more to house people than private landlords. Kainga Ora’s debt is escalating dramatically and each additional state house costs tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars.
Kainga Ora’s Income Related Rent government subsidy is much more generous than the Accommodation Allowance available to tenants renting from private landlords.
If the state needs to provide more rental accommodation because private providers are no longer able to, then we will have less money for spending on health, education and many other things on which taxpayers would prefer their tax dollars being spent.
Andrew King, President, NZPIF
