Reforms target slum landlords

Landlords who rent out substandard houses can now expect to get a knock on the door from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) – and may even have rent withheld from them until repairs are complete.

MBIE has a new Tenancy Compliance and Investigation Team, which has the power to investigate substandard housing, even if the tenant does not complain.

An MBIE spokeswoman said it was running a ‘‘targeted riskbased audit programme’’.

‘‘This is designed to help landlords meet their obligations and to ensure that they are,’’ she said.

‘‘The ultimate goal for the targeted audit programme is to audit for compliance, which will give landlords and the ministry the assurance they are meeting their obligations. If they are not they will then be given an opportunity to rectify any deficiencies or, in the case of serious deliberate breaches, compliance action may be taken.

‘‘This will also help ensure there is a level playing field for those landlords who are meeting their obligations.’’

The team recently visited several Dunedin properties and identified worrying levels of noncompliance at a number of student flats.

Peter Lewis, vice-president of the Auckland Property Investors Association, said it would help address situations where tenants were living in poor housing but were too scared to complain in case they were evicted.

‘‘The law-abiding and professional landlords will probably not run foul of this,’’ he said.

Changes that now allow tenants to redirect their rent to MBIE when repairs are not being completed could also have an effect on cashflow for some landlords, he said.

Such reforms were needed to cater for a growing number of people who were lifelong renters and expected a higher standard of accommodation.