Manawatu Tenants Union

November 15th 2017

                                  Just to carry on from our previous blog. There is enough evidence to highlight the need for some form of emergency/ night shelter accommodation for those who are homeless.It is estimated that a homeless person cost's the taxpayer a conservative $ 200,000 in emergency department visits alone.

                                   You have to question  where is the sense in pursuing policies that have reached their use by date and have failed to deliver decent outcomes for those seeking accommodation.Would it not be cheaper to build more state housing ? Let's trust that the new government start a house building scheme soon,one of the problems with such a large scale building scheme  will be having enough trades people to complete the job.

                                    Another area of the Labour led government,s housing policies concerns the much needed improvement's for those who rent their home.While it is important to highlight the importance of home ownership,the rental market will be leading the way in those seeking secure accommodation.Home ownership will be an aspiration which will be beyond many  tenants

 while rental accommodation will be the reality for growing            

  

number's of those seeking accommodation.                                                

                                  The new government intend's to improve the security of tenure for tenants which at  present is one of the worse in developed countries ,the nearest New Zealand gets to security is that Housing New Zealand are good landlord's and assist their tenants when thing's go wrong for them.

                                 There will be an end to the practice of letting fee's which is long overdue landlord's should be paying for this service.Rent increases will be limited to once every 12 months and the amount that the increase shall rise by.There is is also the review that a proper Warrant of Fitness will be reviewed,it should that the Warrant of Fitness was brought to the attention of the New Zealand public by the Manawatu Tenants Union in 1995. The improvements are required to improve the social  well being  of New Zealand families who use rental accommodation as their only choice to provide for their families. 

                              The Manawatu Tenants Union will be following the progress of these proposed improvements.