Mixed response to new tenancy law

NZPIF executive officer Andrew King

On Thursday, Building and Housing Minister Nick Smith announced that the Residential Tenancies Act will soon feature new requirements for insulation and smoke alarms and better enforcement of those requirements.

Smith’s announcement has generated a mixed response.

NZ Property Investors Federation executive officer Andrew King said that, in essence, the proposed requirements were what the NZPIF has been suggesting for the last couple of years.

In his view, the changes will help some tenants, but they shouldn't see rental properties taken out of the supply pool

“The requirements focus on what will really improve a tenant’s living condition and shouldn't add a lot to rental prices.”

They stood in marked contrast to a rental property warrant of fitness (WOF), he said.

“A WOF would have been expensive and led to a reduced supply of rentals and higher rental prices.”

Tenants Associations around the country greeted the news with cautious enthusiasm.

Several pointed out that many rental properties would be exempt from the new requirements due to their physical layout.

Auckland’s deputy mayor Penny Hulse described the law changes as a reasonable first step towards improving the lot of tenants.

But the new standards relied on tenants making a complaint about the state of their rental accommodation, Hulse said.

“Given the shortage of rental housing in Auckland, there is a continuing risk that tenants will be unwilling to complain.”

Meanwhile, Property Institute chief executive Ashley Church said the government had missed a chance to enact meaningful changes in the proposed law changes.

The new measures appeared to be motivated by political concerns and ignored a range of issues of equal or greater concern to tenants.

“If the aim is to improve tenant comfort and safety then there should have been a focus on checking things such as whether the house is damp or leaking; whether there is clean water; whether the hot water cylinder is in good condition; whether all services are properly connected and whether there are any electrical faults.”

Church was also worried the new law could scare property investors out of the market.

“The real need is for a national program which will provide a benchmark against which landlords can assess the standard of their property.

“People tend to respond better when they’re being asked for their help rather than forced to comply”.

Both the Labour Party and the Green Party said the new requirements did not go far enough and called for broader reforms and a wider ranging housing WOF.