PM’s office rallies to fight rising rents talk – email
The Government is concerned about the perception that its new housing policy will raise rents, according to an email from the Beehive that was accidentally sent to Stuff.
The email, from the prime minister’s chief press secretary, Andrew Campbell, was sent to the press and policy teams in the offices of Housing Minister Megan Woods and Finance Minister Grant Robertson. Campbell said it was a regular email he sent on a Monday to gather information from Beehive offices to brief Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on any topic she might face in her afternoon press conference.
The email gives a rare glimpse into the Beehive’s spin operation. ‘‘I assume rents will come up at post-cab [post-Cabinet press conference] today,’’ Campbell said.
He also noted that ‘‘a bit’’ of the correspondence Ardern had received from voters related to rent increases.
Campbell sought advice on six topics: ‘‘Can we get a table rent increases year on year since been in Govt year on year compared to increase in wages and house prices [sic],’’ he wrote.
‘‘My understanding rents have been in line with average wage growth and obviously a lot less than house price growth. Do we know if our rent increases have been in line with increases under National? If they have been that would be good to point out.’’
It’s difficult to get data on small increases in rent that landlords charge tenants. The main government measure only captures a snapshot because it records rent when a new bond is lodged.
Under National, the national median rent went up from $290 a week at the end of 2008 to $400 in September 2017. The national median rent is now $495 a week.
The issue of whether rents will go up as a result of the policy has garnered a range of views from economists. Many think rents will continue to rise, although many acknowledge the contortions of the rental market make it difficult to draw a direct line between the policy changes and rent increases.
Speaking to Stuff about the incident, Campbell said the email was a standard part of the Beehive’s Monday morning routine.
‘‘There is nothing unusual about it – it is a standard email requesting information on the topics that are likely to come up at post-Cab,’’ he said.