A lesson for the Minister
Stop the War on Tenancies spokesman Mike Butler last week offered Housing Minister Phil Twyford a lesson in the realities of being a landlord.
Mr Butler said Mr Twyford’s claim that letting fees were unfair and had no economic rationale revealed a degree of naivete unbefitting of a Minister. (The Residential Tenancies (Prohibiting Letting Fees) Amendment Bill, which Mr Twyford was speaking to, and is expected to become law on December 12, will prevent charging the equivalent of one week’s rent in letting fees by property managers when they take on a new tenant).
“Far from having ‘no economic rationale,’ a letting fee covers the costs incurred in letting a tenancy, and for Mr Twyford’s benefit, here is exactly what a re-let costs,” Mr Butler said.
“A recent re-let of a $225 per week flat included $102 to Trade Me for the advert and five hours of work responding to 15 inquiries, conducting a viewing, checking references, signing up the new tenant, thanking all applicants, as well as doing the paperwork and lodging the bond.
“If a property manager was paid $22 an hour, the total cost of that re-let was $212, which is pretty much equivalent to a week’s rent ... “Re-letting takes time and money, and if done by a property manager, the manager must be paid. The only source of money in a rental is rent, which is paid by the tenant.
“It looks like Mr Twyford has focused solely on the benefit to the tenant and political benefit for his government, and ignored the cost to the property manager, who ultimately is paid for out of rent,” he added.
“The amendment is yet another onslaught in the 10-year war on owners of rental property by successive governments, which should stop.”
The current shortage of affordable rental property showed would be renters faced much the same problem as home buyers, Mr Butler said, and the Minister should be providing incentives to increase the supply of rental property instead of trying to shift associated costs on to owners.
Te Hiku Hauora has been providing home support services to whanau in our community for more than 20 years.
Home support services enable elderly and disabled whanau members to continue living independently in their own homes. The ability to continue to live within an environment our loved ones have been familiar with over many years is beneficial for their health and well-being.
Home support services may include help with showering, dressing, cleaning, laundry or meal preparation, and assistance with attending appointments and shopping (if included in the referral).
If you think your circumstances are such that you would like home support services, accessing those services is a simple process that begins with a visit to your health practitioner. If they deem you eligible, they will make an electronic referral to the Needs Assessment Service.
A needs assessor will then contact you and make a time to meet with you and/or your whanau support persons to identify the chores you may have difficulty with and prioritise your needs.
Once the assessment has been completed we will receive a referral from the assessor, which will set out the specific care requirements for you and the number of support hours
"If you think your circumstances are such that you would like home support services, accessing those services is a simple process that begins with a visit to your health practitioner. "
required each week.
We will then make contact with you (or your assigned contact person), and during that discussion will make arrangements for the days and times of care to be provided by our support worker.
Our support workers are trained to a national standard, hold current first aid certificates, and sign a privacy and confidentiality agreement. Many of them have provided care and support to whanau in their own homes for a number of years.
It is our genuine pleasure to help you access home support services that will enable your elderly and disabled whanau members to continue to live independently in their own homes.
If you would like to talk with us about this process, or the services we provide, we’d love to hear from you on 0800 808-4024, ext 728 for Cathy or 723 for Jean.