Better rentals will benefit all

In the vice-like grip of a typical Southland winter, temperatures in Invercargill can struggle to break freezing. Living in such a harsh environment requires a home with adequate heating, insulation and ventilation. Anything less would not be fit for habitation.

Yet one such home in our most southern city was offered as a rental property, and continued to be offered in that condition, after law changes made it mandatory for landlords to install appropriate insulation, and tenants and property managers made several appeals for repairs to be made. That such a house would even be offered for let, and that tenants would see it as a viable option, clearly demonstrates the need both to lift the quality of New Zealand’s rental housing stock and to better protect tenants’ rights.

The Government has attempted to achieve the former by setting minimum standards for insulation, heating and ventilation. It is now setting about the latter and attempting to balance what has been seen as an unequal weight in favour of the landlord.

Associate Housing Minister Kris Faafoi has announced a number of policy changes, including an end to ‘‘no-cause evictions’’, limiting rent increases to one a year, and changing lease arrangements to give tenants more security of tenure. The proposals have drawn the ire of those representing landlords. But their main concerns appear to lie at the extremes of the rental market.

They see unruly tenants running roughshod over neighbourhoods, and the Government removing the means to evict them quickly. But Property Investors’ Federation president Andrew King admits that no-cause evictions are rare, involving barely 3 per cent of the more than 600,000 rented households in the country. One would hope that the cold, damp Invercargill property also represents a small number of houses beyond the pale. That means most tenants want quality housing in keeping with rising rents, and landlords want to provide accommodation that is warm, healthy and fit for habitation.

Neither of these groups should have anything to fear from changes that set good, minimum standards on both sides. Standards likely to produce happier, more stable tenancies that benefit not only the landlord but also a growing rental market as home ownership becomes more out of reach.

If such measures mean the door slams shut on cold, uninsulated, unhealthy homes, and the landlords who provide them, then that will be good. King and other industry commentators predict a stampede from the market, and resulting increases in rents, but property managers are seeing only a small number of investors cashing in on capital gains rather than retreating from more regulation.

Others have seen a growing interest in using professionals to manage properties. That is likely to place a managerial template over what has often been a too lightly regulated sector.

But just as the onus is now on landlords to provide safe, secure housing, the Government must ensure its own house is in order. Tenancy Tribunal proceedings can be slow, meaning expensive delays for both landlord and tenant. That, too, must be fixed to ensure all are happy with the quality of rental properties and the legal infrastructure that supports them.

If such measures mean the door slams shut on cold, uninsulated, unhealthy homes, and the landlords who provide them, then that will be a good thing.