5 May 2005
Property rights eroded for property owners
Dr Muriel Newman Thursday, Press Releases - Economy
Landlords property rights will be further eroded if Labour win a third term, ACT Deputy leader Dr Muriel Newman said
today.
"The Labour Party has already identified their agenda with regard to residential rental property. It will include the
registration of tenancies, the introduction of a ˜warrant of fitness check for rental properties and the regulation of
landlords, Dr Newman said.
"Commonsense tells us that it is in everyone's interests to encourage improvements in standards using industry
self-regulation. Yet Tenancy Tribunal statistics show that almost 90 percent of claims are against tenants.
"While there are inevitably some bad landlords, it appears that the major problem faced by the industry is a
predominance of bad tenants. If registration were to be considered at all, surely it should be tenants that should be
targeted rather than landlords?
"Labour also appears committed to regulating for longer tenancies, introducing rent controls, increasing the legal
rights enjoyed by tenants and providing government funded advocates," Dr Newman said.
Labour also intends to strengthen the capital gains test on property investors who sell their rental properties, adding
weight to the speculation that they are planning to adopt the recommendation of the United Party to introduce a capital
gains tax. They also still planning to change the depreciation rates on residential property in order to increase the
tax-take from property investors by an estimated $30-40 million a year.
"With an election just around the corner, I would urge residential property owners to take a real interest in what the
government is proposing. It has the potential to make residential property an undesirable investment for retirement
purposes," Dr Newman said.
ENDS