Private landlords should be included in bill – Property Brokers

Although the Residential Property Managers Association had indication from Housing Minister Chris Bishop, while he was on the campaign trail, he would rethink Labour’s proposed Residential Property Managers Bill, introduced to Parliament in August, the coalition Government has been silent on it.

Property Brokers property management general manager David Faulkner isn’t convinced the bill will be rewritten to any great extent or if at all. The agency made a submission to the bill and also backed the REINZ submission.

He says the industry does need to lobby the new Government to include private landlords in the bill “If not that, at least to have a public register of every residential landlord in New Zealand.”

Faulkner says regulation of property managers is necessary and a good thing. It will increase professionalism in the industry.

“There is a now a trend of more landlords using property managers. I believe more than 80% of rental listings are now listed though a property management or real estate company. That’s a big change from a few years ago.

He says regulation will lead to greater protection for landlords, particularly when it comes to money being held in a trust account, and also professional conduct as well. Ultimately those benefits flow through into the tenants. They know that they're going to be treated professionally.”

Faulkner says it's not always the case when dealing with mum and dad investors, and that is not denigrating them.

“There's a lot of skill that goes into property management and landlords need to know what you're doing. Mum and dad investors don't always know their rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act, so I think the bill will go through.”

There is a risk that it may not because ACT didn’t support Labour’s proposed bill, but Faulkner thinks it's a small risk. “The coalition Government can change the bill, proceed with it as it is, or scrap it. We think National and New Zealand First will proceed with it because they voted for it when it first came before Parliament.”