Guest Post: Changes to the Residential Tenancies Act – Tenants and Landlords be aware

A guest post by a reader:

week the Labour / and NZ First intends to rush through legislation under urgency to further smash landlords and by extension hurt good tenants.  This legislation will further disenfranchise those people in our society who have worked hard scrimped and saved  to buy a rental or two to support them in their retirement.  Bad tenants can destroy the determined endeavours of hard working New Zealanders to build over years a financial stability. 

This is terrible legislation and will have a detrimental effect all involved in the rental markets especially those who the Government seeks to help. Screening of tenants will be so severe that people with the tiniest risk of breaching will simply not be considered for housing at all.

The vast majority of Tribunal rulings go in favour of the landlord, and they have no help or hope in ever getting their money owed back. IRD does not help nor does MSD currently it is literally impossible to enforce the rulings in favour of the ones owed the money. The fines are ridiculously high and the tribunals flip over backwards to let the offenders get away with as much as possible, it is not an even playing field as it is.

The key parts of the legislation that Labour the Greens and NZ First are trying to get over the line are detailed below.

Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill will be considered in under urgency this week.

  1. Section 55A would allow two weeks of unpaid rent every 90 days. This breaches every tenancy agreement which requires rent to be paid as agreed.
  2. Section 36 would permit two separate instances of anti-social behaviour every 90 days. This also breaches every tenancy agreement which forbids anti-social behaviour.
  3. Section 32, which would end contractual terminations by owners, means that the only ways for owners to end tenancies are to renovate, move into, or sell the property.
  4. When considering termination for a serious breach, Tenancy Tribunal adjudicators would be legally obliged to put the personal circumstances of a tenant above the rights of the owner and neighbours, and above fairness and acceptable behaviour.
  5. Schedule 2 would impose massive fines that are far from fair and reasonable. Seventy three of the 87 proposed penalties target owners

Perhaps the can explain why it is being rushed through under urgency. The Government knows that it can't stand scrutiny so Government MPs want to ensure that it is not read or debated.

Comments (126)

Login to comment or vote

Add a Comment