Manawatu Tenants Union
October 11th 2017.
Now that the elections are out of the way and we are waiting to find out the make up of the next government,housing will be high on the list.
The idea of a " property-owning democracy " the backbone of the center right parties,is for many a thing of the past,and it isn't coming back.Many young people are more than likely to be working in poverty and they are less able to buy a home.They rent instead from people who enjoyed a much better deal than them,in fact they have been burdened with more debt than their parents.
The unspoken pact between generations '' that each should be better than the last has been destroyed by the embrace of free market polices.''
The Manawatu Tenants Union is still working away to have property managers licensed to operate a rental letting business,in all other developed countries this is the case,New Zealand being the exception where anything goes.A licencing system would give tenants the knowledge that they are dealing with people of good character based on the fact that they are licensed to rent accommodation.
At present we are interested in hearing about landlords who offer housing in poor condition and are slow to do repairs to the rental property.They charge market rents for housing that is not fit for purpose,so ring the MTU if you have issues with bad landlords as we run a hot and cold file on landlords and property agencies that don't play the game.
Manawatu Tenants Union 06 3577435 Anytime
We are based in the Community House in King Street.
October 5th 2017
International Tenants Day.
The first Monday in October has been designated as International Tenants Day.This year the head office in Stockholm has particular emphasis on fire regulations and fire safety.This choice was brought home by the devastating and tragic fire in Grenfell Tower in West London.
The Manawatu Tenants Union along with the New Zealand Fire Service arranged a stall in the City Library to highlight fire safety in the home.It was an excellent opportunity to deliver our message along with The New Zealand Fire Service on the dangers of fire in the home.It was viewed by a number of people and we would like to say thanks to the library staff who assisted with our small exhibition.
The background to the International Tenants Day dates back to 1986 when the decision was made to designate the first Monday in October to highlight issues facing tenants around the world.
Here in New Zealand there are not many tower blocks around the country like Grenfell Tower,some high rise blocks are in Auckland and are tenanted mostly by International students.
Most families are living in ground level housing,but no one has security of tenure,they face rising rents and are at the wrong end of the housing ladder,in the present housing crisis.The present National led government are ideological not in favour of providing state housing,this is the wrong move in trying to house desperate families looking for affordable housing.Now with the election out of the way and with the Labour Party pushing the present administration to the left on housing issues,something will change and rental housing gets the attention it deserves.
September 18th 2017.
Just to carry on from" Who made them homeless".The Prime Minister at the time Jim Bolger has now come out and said that the neoliberalism ideology his government followed has failed to deliver to a better society for all New Zealanders.
All it has delivered is a broken society with an increase in housing poverty and health care,the old saying comes to mind "the rich gets all the gravy and the poor gets all the blame",how true that has turned out to be.
So it is quite an admission for Mr. Bolger to say that his government got it wrong. National Prime Minister's since have just carried on with their failed policies that have delivered the broken society that is the new normal in our country today.
This is why there has to be a change in direction for the next incoming government,so that future generations have a brighter future to look forward to,they deserve that along with hope that we can do better for all New Zealanders.
So make sure you get out and vote and make it count so that is hope that things will improve for all of us who call New Zealand home.
Renters Cookbook Launch
September 21st at the Youth Space Coleman Pl./ George Street
6.30 Till 8.00
The Manawatu Tenants Union working along side
Massey University Students Association are having a cookbook
launch on Thursday 21st. in the Youth Space Center.
There will be a microphone floating around for questions from the floor on issues concerning renting flats we hope to have stories about renters bad experiences when flatting. There will be a panel consisting of Keith Hilson [HNZ ]
Michelle Flavel [Womens Refuge ] Alistair Saywell [Property Investors Association ] and Kevin Reilly [Manawatu Tenants Union].Throughout the discussions and rants, snacks will be available and Ben and Daniel will be cooking some dishes from the cookbook.
So come along and bring a plate if you want that would be great, should be an interesting night for everyone,OK see you there.
September 11th 2017
Interesting to read the story by Paul Mitchell Sept. 9th "Landlords wary of Reforms". Lets cut to the chase here,landlords will still have power and control over their tenants and apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for evictions on breaches of the RTA 1986. Landlords are running a business not a charity.
The culture of renting is now the norm in New Zealand society,generation rent is the future for increasing numbers of families.The housing reforms from the 1993 National,introduced a range of policies which directly caused the housing crisis that faces New Zealand today.
As for the comments from National MP Ian Mckelvie that the proposed rental changes proposed by the Labour party would drive out investors out of the rental market,is just nonsense.To state that the government providing the provision of housing would be detrimental for all New Zealanders is beyond the pale and highlights just how removed he is from the lives of everyday New Zealanders.
Housing New Zealand maybe the biggest landlord in the country but private landlords control the rental market with 87% of that market,Housing New Zealand are small players in the bigger picture,more state housing is needed not less and it will bring a bit of competition to the rental market,which is fair for all those seeking affordable and decent housing.
Who Made Them Homeless.
September 8th 2017.
Over the last 25 years, New Zealand has gone from being one of the most egalitarian societies in the developed world to one of the least egalitarian,on the issue of the rental housing market.
The 1984 Labour Government had a number of
members Roger Douglas,Richard Prebble to name just two,who pushed to see the selling of state houses to the private sector they did not believe in central government provision of rental housing.Helen Clark was the Minister of Housing at the time and fought a long battle,for government provision of state housing for working class families.She won the battle for Labour's values and belief in supporting the wider community.
When the National Party won the election in 1990 it was a changing point in New Zealand' political history.John Luxton became the Minister of Housing and straight away introduced the Housing Reforms that was the catalyst for the housing crisis that we have today. Luxton was captured by the Business Round Table and implemented their report "Some Broader Perspectives"on housing policy.The bottom line was that Housing New Zealand should sell all its housing stock to private investors and retain around 10,000 state homes for emergency housing.Introduce market rents for all state houses,and introduce an accommodation supplement for renters who struggle to pay market rents,a landlords subsidy.Another area covered by the reforms was the disestablishment of State Advances,Housing New Zealand Loans and the Capitalization of Benefits.All these programmes to first home ownership were scraped with the stroke of the minister's pen,up till then New Zealand had one of the highest home ownership rates in the developed world.Local Authorities were also put under pressure to sell their housing stock many did so,the Minister John Luxton stated that the reform programme would deliver tenants choice in their housing along with cheaper rents,this never happened all that was delivered was poverty and homelessness.The National Government sold 13,500 plus state homes,92% were bought by private investors only 8%of tenants were in a position to purchase their homes. In some cases private investors paid up to $16,000 less than the sitting tenant.
The incoming Labour government started a building programme to replace the state homes that were sold off, made moves to improve the Residential Tenancies Act for tenants.
However the new National Government under John Key started a sell off of state housing and Housing New Zealand was downsized to become a property management company with the Ministry of Social Development providing tenants,it is a system that has not worked out for the increasing number of people looking for affordable housing.The fact that the government is having to use motels to put homeless families is a sign of a system in serious trouble,there is an election soon so lets hope that there is a change in housing policy.It is time for central government to stand up for the weak and put the power of government at the service of those seeking affordable accommodation.It is time to reflect on the good that government can do,make sure you vote and vote for change.
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