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Rental nightmare: Are our tenants second-class citizens?
Originally posted by Stuff
Damp spongy floors, peeling wallpaper and the smell of "mud" and "pond water" are recognisable descriptors to anyone who has lived with mould – which, it turns out, seems to be most Auckland renters. Andrew King from the Property Investors Federation, whose group represents about 6000 landlords owning 22,000 properties, says that some of the power to stop it is in their hands. He says tenants often do things that encourage mould, such as not heating homes and drying clothes on clothes racks. "A lot of tenants actually keep their curtains closed during the day. Both parties need to take responsibility for mould."
Similarly, Housing Minister Nick Smith is proposing a $1.5 million education programme as part of his Minimum Standards bill to educate tenants and landlords about mould.
"The Green Party says mould is solely the responsibility of landlords," says Smith in response to their alternative draft amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act of 1986. "But professional advice I have received is that mould largely depends on the way tenants are ventilating their homes." But the renters Sunday Star-Times interviewed, at least, have gone above and beyond their duties in ventilation – often spending lots of money on dehumidifiers and heat pumps – and find Smith's comment patronising.
Similarly, Housing Minister Nick Smith is proposing a $1.5 million education programme as part of his Minimum Standards bill to educate tenants and landlords about mould.
"The Green Party says mould is solely the responsibility of landlords," says Smith in response to their alternative draft amendment to the Residential Tenancies Act of 1986. "But professional advice I have received is that mould largely depends on the way tenants are ventilating their homes." But the renters Sunday Star-Times interviewed, at least, have gone above and beyond their duties in ventilation – often spending lots of money on dehumidifiers and heat pumps – and find Smith's comment patronising.
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