$135 rent lift ‘devastates’ pensioner

Woman says she feels betrayed by her home’s owner

An Upper Hutt pensioner is agonising over how she’ll get by after being told her rent will rise by $135 a week to keep in line with the market. The woman, who did not want to be named, got an email from the property manager of her twobedroom Wallaceville flat, telling her the rent would be increasing to $545 a week from mid-April.

At present she pays $410 a week for the flat, where she has lived with her daughter for about five years.

She has been desperately looking for another rental with no luck, and now plans to approach Work and Income to see if she can get any extra assistance. The maximum amount a single person on the pension can receive while sharing accommodation is $391 a week after tax.

“I realise this is an okay place, it’s about five years old, but I just feel betrayed by the owner. I’ve done a lot of stuff around here for him.”

She had kept the place in good nick, and had paid the installation costs for a heater in the bathroom.

There had been rental increases over the years she lived there, but usually only $10 or $20 at a time.

The new rise meant she’d have no money to live on after paying her bills.

“I think it’s totally outrageous and unfair. I’m devastated. I’m still trying to get my head around it.”

The woman had tried to reason with the property manager and landlord, but was simply sent an email with links to three comparable rentals in the area that were being advertised for a similar price.

She felt the response was “rubbing salt in the wound”. “I could have accepted, you know, like $50.”

According to Tenancy Services, landlords can hike the rent on their properties as high as they like, as long as the correct notice period is given and the rent is not increased more than once every 12 months.

Tenants can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to have the rent reduced, but must have evidence their rent is much higher than the rent for similar houses in the same area.

The woman recognised the rent she was paying was low compared with nearby homes but was shocked it could be lifted by so much at once.

New laws introduced in February give renters more protections and freedoms but do not limit how much rent can be increased in one go.

The changes include ending nocause terminations, allowing tenants to make reasonable, minor changes to the home, and prohibiting rental bidding, among other things.

The laws have been met with outrage from some landlords, who say it makes it no longer worthwhile for them to fill their vacant properties.

Property Investors Federation executive officer Sharon Cullwick said her heart went out to the woman.

“It’s really hard at the moment. We know that rents are really expensive but we also know that legislative changes that are going through at the moment means that we can see more rent rises, I think, in the future.

“I think you may find that quite a few property investors will actually decide to get out of the industry.”

Limiting rent rises to once a year even applied if a new tenant came in, she said. This meant if someone was paying well below market rent, landlords were in a tricky spot if they wanted to bring the rental cost up to market levels. She said the laws were targeting landlords when it was really the shortage of houses that needed addressing.