Will new bill correct anti-landlord bias?
“Landlords seek tenancy legislation which is balanced and commonsense law”, said Martin Evans, President of the NZ
Property Investors’ Federation, today. “Currently the RTA is skewed and has an anti-landlord bias so we welcome the long
awaited Bill.”
He said members welcome the suggestion that debt collections costs can be added to awards as this may help reduce the
extremely high incidence of rent arrears. It is also considered a good move to introduce exemplary damages for tenants
sub-letting, over-populating the premises or becoming a problem neighbour, as this will lead to longer tenancies and
better communities.
“It is pleasing to see that no mention has been made of allowing advocates in Tenancy Tribunal Hearings,” said Mr Evans.
“This could have led to a lack of justice for rental property providers, potentially leading to a significant reduction
in the supply of rental property.”
Residential tenancy issues are critical for all property investors, especially, for example, in areas such as the
responsibility of tenants for utility charges.
“Our members are looking forward to new legislation reaffirming the 2003 District Court decision ruling that tenants
are liable for all relevant water charges’, said Mr Evans.
As the industry body representing 7,330 members, the NZ Property Investors’ Federation will be opposing vigorously the
draft legislation limiting tenant damages to four weeks. This does not send the right message to tenants and merely
passes responsibility of looking after the property from the tenant to the landlord.
The Federation also maintains that the amount represented by this time period is insufficient to replace items such as
carpets and curtains. On the other hand, they will be supporting the inclusion of relevant corporate body rules into
tenancy agreements.
“This is a golden opportunity for all landlords to make their views known” said Mr Evans. “ NZPIF will be helping to
distribute the draft legislation to all its members and encourages all residential property investor landlords to study
the draft legislation and tell the Government about areas that they believe need more work to get right.”.
Note for Editors
The New Zealand Property Investors’ Federation was established in 1983 and is the national body representing 7,330
property investors. There are 20 Property Investors’ Associations throughout the country affiliated to the NZPIF. These
Associations have regular meetings with guest speakers on a variety of subjects related to property investment and run
educational seminars for their members.
ENDS