Time landlords felt the chill ?

They say that really feeling the cold can be a symptom of a slow metabolism. New Zealand’s housing stock has long included far too many cold, damp homes, yet our national response to this dangerous, not just dispiriting, problem has been symptomatic of a painfully slow governmental metabolism.

Of late, at least, some vigorous measures have been launched, including requirements for rental insulation upgrades. The deadline for these has been reached and now the punitive stage is upon us, although with what force and to what real effect is not yet clear.

Whereas the need is entirely clear, and has been for ages. Nearly 600,000 households live in rental accommodation of conspicuously poorer quality than owner-occupied homes, and not just in terms of flashness. Consider the 6000 children admitted annually to hospital with ‘‘housing-sensitive ailments’’.

So let’s not rush to throw a consolatory arm over the shoulders of landlords who now find themselves facing fines up to $4000 if they have been indolent installing insulation to a standard that nobody could call onerous. They’ve had three years’ warning and a measure of Governmentprogramme assistance.

The Greens have encouraged renters to dob those landlords in to the Tenancy Tribunal and there’s perhaps extra motivation when tenants realise the fines will be paid to them. (That said, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for tenants to have that figure of a $4000 payment too vividly locked into any personal expectations, because it’s the maximum fine and, let’s face it, maximum penalties are hardly imposed on a routine basis.)

In any case, whether or not we’re about to be

deafened by the sound of whistleblowing tenants, diligent followup action is likely to be of limited scale.

Tenancy Services is saying it will act against the worst cases, which apparently means those whose failure has impacted on the health and safety of tenants.

Still, it’s progress, of a not-insignificant scale in itself and part of a staged series of required improvements with further standards to be met by 2021, on top of which we have the 2019 Winter Energy Payments targeted to vulnerable sectors including superannuitants and those on a range of income supports,.

For low-income home owners there’s $142 million in grants being spread over four years to help with insulation costs.

We need to remind ourselves that it’s not just private landlords who have been avoiding their obligations. At least some social housing providers need to sharpen up their act.

Evidence of the problem includes a series of Stuff stories late last year, including the memorable case of Lynda McKenzie in her Christchurch City Council flat.

The council pursed its lips and shook its head about the possibility of insulating her unit because, see, there was no roof cavity. Except there was, and when she independently had a professional company install batts, successfully warming her home in contrast to her fellow tenants’ units, a series of responses from her civic landlord followed.

Seriously, enough of that malarky. Such cases fully deserve notoriety and, more than that, some rather more steely oversight of the public providers’ performance wouldn’t go amiss.

... it’s not just private landlords who have been avoiding their obligations. At least some social housing providers need to sharpen up their act.