Renters report raw deal from agencies

Tenants renting via a property management agency are much more likely to run into problems, a new Consumer NZ report says.

The watchdog’s head of research, Jessica Wilson, said its survey of 1062 renters showed tenants who dealt with a property manager were more likely to report their home lacked adequate heating and had persistent mould.

‘‘Compared with private landlords, property managers were also more likely to delay getting repairs done. Forty-two per cent of those who dealt with a property manager said they’d made requests for repairs but were kept waiting for a response,’’ she said.

Tenants dealing with a property manager were also more likely to worry about the repercussions of making a complaint, fearing they’d be evicted or their rent would increase, she said.

‘‘Our survey shows the experience of tenants in today’s market varies hugely.

But there’s a much higher chance you’ll get a bad deal if you rent through a property management company.’’

Just 35 per cent rated their property manager’s service highly. In comparison, 54 per cent of those with a private landlord felt happy with the service they received.

Overall, 29 per cent of tenants said their rental didn’t have good heating or insulation. Twenty-six per cent said the property had mould that was difficult to remove or reappeared.

Nearly one in four tenants in the survey also reported their landlord would turn up unannounced, which is a breach of tenancy legislation.

Eight per cent said they’d been charged unexpected fees during the tenancy and 6 per cent hadn’t been given required notice of a rent increase.

Wilson said Consumer NZ was lobbying for changes to tenancy law to improve security of tenure, and is calling for a blacklist of unfair terms and fees.

‘‘Close to one in 10 renters report being charged extra fees by their landlord or property manager. These fees are often not disclosed upfront and are charged unfairly. We want legislation to include a blacklist of unfair terms and fees to make the rules clear.’’

Consumer NZ also wanted the law to regulate property managers.

Independent Property Managers Association president Karen Withers said the body agreed there needed to be stricter regulations of property managers and higher-level qualifications. She said property managers had to pass a NZQA level 4 standard that was not ‘‘robust enough’’.