SHAMEFUL STANDARD OF RENTAL HOUSING

Porirua City Council voted to take no action this month with regard to introducing interventionist laws to deal with damp, cold housing.

Unprincipled landlords can continue to rent out sub standard housing, even though it causes health problems such as rheumatic fever.

Porirua East has the highest incidence in New Zealand and the developed world (Google Rheumatic Fever – the information is there).

The mayor, Nick Leggett, says the Government should address the problem. He says the Health and Building Act is toothless, but is willing to wait for reform by the Government. I urge churches, journalists, residents associations etc to lobby for this shameful issue to be addressed. My daughter took her landlord to the Tenancy Tribunal because there was a leak running down a bedroom wall and other problems.

Apart from getting a rent reduction, the tribunal had no teeth to enforce repairs.

I spent $100 getting a roofer to seal the hole, and even then the family were reluctant to act because it’s illegal to repair rented houses.

Then they were told to move because the landlord had family wanting to rent house. Two small children and their parents were reduced to a cabin at Elsdon Motor Camp this winter while waiting on an urgent housing list. People of Porirua, are you ashamed of these landlords? Would you rent out a house you wouldn’t live in? Do you want to pay taxes for medical care of illnesses caused by poor housing?