October 28th.

            At long last the Ministry of Business,Innovation and Employment [ MBIE ] have recognized the problem of rogue landlords who rent out sub-standard properties.

             It should be noted that sub-standard rental housing has been a blot on the the landscape for a number of years. Just look at the poor condition of student housing,yet they pay market rent for slum housing,its wrong.

           The Manawatu Tenants Union has for a number of years been pushing for a Landlord Register,in a number of developed countries this is common practice.In the UK  it is seen as a way of targeting the worst landlords in the private rental sector.

            Landlords should have to be licensed and those renting  sub-standard properties should be blacklisted.A landlord licensing scheme would require all landlords to be register their rental properties with the local authorities and are fit for purpose.After all taxpayers contribute $2 Billion and increasing by the year to landlords through the Accommodation Supplement.So it is reasonable to expect that the accommodation being supplied is fit for purpose.

            When looking at renting a property,landlords or their property managers want to know every thing about a prospective tenant.Yet the tenant knows nothing about the landlords reputation or character.

             Renting out property is about power and control over peoples lives,landlords and property managers would like us believe that they provide a public  good,that is nonsense it is a private good,it is a business there is nothing charitable about it. 

              The fact that the government has acknowledged that there is an imbalance in the relationship between tenant and landlord is long overdue,we will follow this issue with interest.

  

     

October    14th.

                                      Good to read that the  Labour,  Green and Maori parties have released their policy document on ways to address the governments housing crisis.

                                       The Housing First policy if implemented will be good news  for the increasing number of New Zealanders seeking affordable and secure accommodation.For those seeking a place to call home and a roof over their heads,instead of the streets or cars, this is good news 

                                    The Housing First model was first used in Finland and from 2008 to 2014,the number of homeless people decreased and continues to track downwards which offers hope to those seeking accommodation and remove   the scourge of being homeless.

                                  It is also encouraging to see our political parties look at how other non Anglo- Saxon countries solve    housing  issues,where as  in New Zealand  we only follow other English speaking countries [ USA  UK  Canada  Australia ].  

                                There is no doubt that the housing crisis is here  and we will produce a generation who will never attain the standard of living that their parents enjoyed. Its policy failure by any standard and this will be the legacy of the Key National lead government.

 

October 10th.

During the last few years,problems with rent increases around New Zealand has had a serious effect on households to rent a decent and affordable home.The majority of cases before the Tenancy Tribunal are for rent arrears.

There has to be a means of ensuring affordability and security of tenure,which raises the issue of rent controls.Rent controls usually means that the rent can only increase at the rate of inflation or if the landlord has made major improvements to the property.

Rent controls can support security of tenure,a big issue in New Zealand today and contain the leavers and frequency of rent increases.

Critics of rent control and regulation claim that such measures produce inefficiencies,and reduce the housing supply and encourages lack of maintenance.In other countries like New Zealand,rent regulation has had favourable effects and benefits for both landlords and tenants,it has created a better understanding for both parties .

As more and more New Zealanders are renting and it is the future despite the words of politicians who don't seem to take that message on board.Rent controls will kick in as taxpayer's will question the subsidy paid to landlords to the tune of $3 billion every year,there are only around 380,000 private landlords in New Zealand.

This is another reason that a building programme must start sooner rather than later,at least the taxpayer will have an asset for the public good and not the private good.

October 6th.

                    It is ironic that we now hear and read about poverty from politicians in government,who supported the policies which created the poverty in the first place.

                   The National government and their support parties,think social housing should be housing of last resort,but never admit that there is not enough of it. A key role for the state is to balance market forces and promote public well being as poverty leads to decay ,the longer it persists the harder it is to get out of it.All the evidence to date shows that more and more tenants are struggling to afford a place to call home.The private rental market is the driver of poverty in New Zealand.It all points to one thing,we have to build more housing that is affordable and provides security for tenants.

               The legacy of the present government will be one of  increasing housing poverty and all its associated evils.