Strength hypocrisy’

National’s Housing spokesperson

Velden said. Megan Woods said that Covid was to blame for pushing out the dates.

Residential property managers will also be regulated in a move that fulfils a Labour Party manifesto commitment in 2020.

Currently, the sector is not regulated – although property managers who are members of an industry association have to comply with industry standards – which the Government says can lead to inconsistent service for tenants and property owners.

About a third of New Zealand households live in rental accommodation, and of that about 40% of those properties are looked after by property managers.

Residential Property Managers Association chairman David Pearse said while they are all for the regulation of property managers, he was a bit shellshocked by the announcement. He said he got the release from a third party, and he was trying to find out more.

‘‘There is very little detail on how things will actually work in the one-pager,’’ he said. The new system will include compulsory registration and licencing for both individual property managers and the organisations, training and entry requirements, practice standards and a complaints and disciplinary process. Property Investors Federation vice-president Peter Lewis said the federation is in favour of property managers being regulated because they handle other people’s money, and there should be checks and balances around that.

‘‘. . . it turns out the Government can’t actually comply with their own rules.’’ Christopher Bishop