COMMENT:

It should come as no surprise to anyone that a third of Kiwis are now renting their properties - and given the cost of getting a foot in the door, coming up with enough cash to buy that door and all that goes with it, that number's likely to increase.

Tenants and landlords now have a couple of months to come up with their ideas on what the Government calls "rebalancing the relationship", which in reality is aimed at making life easier for renters.

The landlords will have plenty of time to consider whether they want to stay in the business because any changes aren't likely to come into effect until mid-2020.


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They're being told by Housing Minister Phil Twyford they'll have to give a tenant three months' notice if they want their house back, that's double the notice they now have to give.

Tenants aren't required to give anything like that notice, just three weeks. Tenants look set to be able to have pets and make minor alterations to their rented property in what Twyford says is aimed at making a house a home.

But here's the rub, landlords are being told they'll have to limit rent increases to once a year and there'll be limitations on rent bidding, where tenants outbid each other in order to secure the house. Home owners will be hoping interest rates stay low but if there's a hint they could rise then so will the opening rent. And by limiting rent rises, expect higher rents at the start.

Twyford says bad landlords are in the minority so it would seem on this one minority rules, good landlords will end up paying for the rabble.

Most landlords simply want a fair return on their property and for their home to be well looked after, they're not fat cats trying to squeeze the life out of their tenants.

They're not in it to provide a charity for those who won't buy a home of their own or who unfortunately can't afford to.

It's a business and like all businesses, they should be free to run it without the state telling them how to.


If they're being unethical then there's a Tenancy Tribunal to bring them into line. Unfortunately, 80 per cent of the cases before the Tribunal involve tenants not paying their rent and a landlord can't access it until the arrears are three weeks old.

This "generational reset" of the way we rent in this country runs the risk of landlords getting out of the business and into Airbnbs at the very time when the Government's crying out for more homes to be made available.

If rogue landlords are in the minority, as the minister acknowledges, and there's no reason to think they aren't, that would tend to suggest the system ain't broke so why fix it?

More virtue signalling perhaps?