Landlords high on the hog

It is heartening to see the National Party’s new found concern (Sarah Dowie’s column November 28) for those who have been paying increasingly extortionate rents in one of the typically damp and dilapidated houses in New Zealand.

Unfortunately, she fails to mention that National turned a blind eye over nine years to landlords who would rather buy another ‘‘do-up’’, and then fail to spend any money on it, rather than on their existing properties.

But then why would they?

National fought tooth and nail against the Capital Gains Tax that every other country but New Zealand has, even the Land of the Free (United States),to limit untrammelled property inflation and greed.

Landlords have been riding High on the Hog and crowing about their increased equity and rents under National – just check out the Property magazines and conversation amongst the smug clientele of even lowly Invercargill’s busiest cafe.

More than 700,000 people in NZ (one in six) live with a respiratory condition, which accounts for one in eight of all hospital stays, thousands of deaths (2700 in 2011), and costs the country more than $5.5 billion every year.

Right-wing politicians and their ‘‘neoliberal’’ economic policies fail to account for the indirect costs and damage of their dogmas, such as rogue, greedy landlords.

Luckily, we now have a Government that sees things in the round, and is requiring standards for rental properties, while handing Landlords a $4000 grant.

But still they complain.

Here’s a radical idea – why not pay for improvements out of the profits which everyone hears you crowing about, instead of buying yet another house?

Another not-so-hidden cost of course, is that every house bought as a rental is one less for a first-time buyer.

Hence NZ now has the double whammy of expensive property prices despite relatively low wages.

Of course, if you bought only a few years ago, or have a rental in addition, it’s ‘‘all Right Jack’’.

We now have a situation whereby no student presently at school or college will ever be able to buy a property, unless handed the deposit by their property owning parents.

A vicious circle that is consigning huge sections of the population to forever renting, with no price controls over landlords who charge what the market will stand.

Bronwyn Turner

Abridged – Editor