The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) has today welcomed the announcement from Ministry of Housing and Urban Development that the emergency provisions relating to the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) will come to an end on 26 June.

On 24 March 2020 the Government announced emergency legislative changes which were designed to protect tenants as the country moved towards Alert Level 4. The provisions were initially implemented for three months with the possibility of extending them for an additional three months.

Bindi Norwell, Chief Executive at REINZ says: “We welcome the announcement today from Minister Faafoi that the emergency RTA provisions will come to an end on 26 June. REINZ has been advocating for the emergency legislation to be removed given we are now in Level 1.

“Whilst the legislation had great intentions in the early days, and helped many tenants out during Level 4 lockdown, of late it had been causing more harm than good which is why we had been imploring the Government to bring the legislation to an end.

“It is great that the Ministry has listened to industry professionals across the country and taken their feedback and insights on board, and for this we are extremely grateful as it will now provide landlords, property managers and tenants much more certainty over the coming months as the country hopefully continues to move forward in a post-COVID environment,” continues Norwell.

“Today’s announcement will also allow landlords and property managers to now shift their focus to dealing with the upcoming Healthy Homes legislation and ensure that they are prepared ahead of the upcoming deadline, rather than being distracted by issues arising out of the emergency provisions.”

“Finally, we welcome the Rent Arrears Assistance announced this morning to support people at risk of being evicted because they are unable to pay rent. This will go a long way to helping people who have lost their jobs or had reduced income as a result of COVID-19,” she concludes.

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