Property Management

Regulate property managers - REINZ

Regulating the property management industry would help renters more than banning letting fees will, REINZ argues as submissions on the proposed ban close.

Wednesday, May 23rd 2018

REINZ chief executive Bindi Norwell

Earlier this year, Housing Minister Phil Twyford introduced a Bill into Parliament which will ban the charging of letting fees to tenants.

Twyford says letting fees are unfair and an “unjustifiable tax on renters” and believes the move will make a real difference to struggling families as letting fees can amount to a significant cost.

“Banning the charging of letting fees to tenants is a good first step in improving the life of renters, while we continue our broader review of the Residential Tenancies Act.”

The submission period on the Bill finishes today and, as it does, REINZ has come out in opposition to the proposed ban.

REINZ chief executive Bindi Nowell says a more effective way of delivering fairness and affordability in the rental market would be to regulate the property management industry.

“While a proposed ban on letting fees would reduce upfront fees for tenants, it is highly likely that those fees may simply be charged to landlords and then recuperated through increased rent.

“This would contradict the purpose of the ban which is to reduce cost and increase fairness for tenants.”

At the moment, there are no rules governing the handling of rental payments and no professional standards that property managers must meet - unless they are also a licensed real estate agent.

Norwell says anyone can become a property manager which means there is no consistent accountability and protections in place across the industry.

“There are some fantastic property managers out there who have high ethical standards and adhere to the REINZ Code of Agency Practice, but this is unfortunately undermined by others who do not have the same standards of ethics.

“This means that renters – who include some of our more vulnerable members of society – could be taken advantage of and their money isn’t protected the way it should be.”

For this reason, Norwell says that if the Government really wants to protect tenants, it should take the opportunity to include regulation of property managers as part of its wider review of the RTA.

Banning letting fees isn’t a popular proposal with many in the property industry, with many arguing it will, ultimately, impact negatively on tenants.

At Home Property Management’s Gregory Young has said the ban could result in higher property management costs that will be passed on to tenants.

“Taking away a one-off letting fee will simply end up with extra costs being added to the weekly rent. And that is likely to result in tenants’ paying more than they would have with a one-off fee.

“So if the government wants to save tenants money by doing this, it won’t. The cost is likely to come back on tenants.”

Meanwhile, the NZ Property Investors Federation is against letting fees being banned because it believes tenants should be able to choose whether or not they pay for the extra service provided.

Read more:

Letting fees to go

Rethink letting fees ban 

Comments

No comments yet

SBS FirstHome Combo 4.69
TSB Special 5.35
Unity First Home Buyer special 5.49
ASB Bank 5.49
Westpac Special 5.49
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 5.49
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.49
Heartland Bank - Online 5.49
ICBC 5.55
Kiwibank Special 5.55
Nelson Building Society 5.55
BNZ - Std 5.29
TSB Special 5.29
ASB Bank 5.29
Kiwibank Special 5.29
Westpac Special 5.29
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.29
Heartland Bank - Online 5.39
ANZ Special 5.44
Unity 5.49
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.49
SBS Bank Special 5.49
Westpac Special 5.39
BNZ - Classic 5.59
ASB Bank 5.79
BNZ - Std 5.79
ICBC 5.79
SBS Bank Special 5.79
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.79
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.89
Kiwibank Special 5.89
TSB Special 5.89
Kainga Ora 5.89
AIA - Back My Build 4.94
SBS FirstHome Combo 4.94
CFML 321 Loans 5.80
CFML Home Loans 6.25
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 6.45
Co-operative Bank - Standard 6.45
Kiwibank - Offset 6.75
Kiwibank 6.75
ASB Bank 6.89
ANZ 6.89
BNZ - Std 6.94

More Stories

Friday, January 31st 2025

[TMM Podcast] Yelsa serves up “marine reserve” of property buyers

It’s been years in the making and former real estate agent Mike Harvey is now coming to market with his platform matching buyers and sellers, an offering he says will be a gamechanger for the industry.

Leaving last year's stumbling housing market behind

Friday, January 17th 2025

Leaving last year's stumbling housing market behind

As interest rates ease and job losses climb, New Zealand’s housing market faces a mixed year of modest growth, with conflicting forces shaping the outlook for homebuyers and investors.

Don’t bet on house prices rising faster than incomes

Wednesday, January 15th 2025

Don’t bet on house prices rising faster than incomes

Former Reserve Bank Governor and National Party leader Don Brash says there are grounds for believing that house prices may finally have ended the three-decade period when they rose significantly faster than incomes.

Similar Price Growth

Friday, January 10th 2025

Similar Price Growth

Although houses prices typically rise more than apartments over the long-term, the gap is not as wide as many people expect.