Meeting the Minister of Housing

[Glenn]

Hi folks.
I have been invited to a one to one coffee chat with the Minister of Housing Phil Heatley.
He and I have a couple of issues we want to talk about.

What would you forumites talk about and what subjects do you think I should talk about.

[essence]

Brilliant!!

How about sorting out the process of getting ex-tenants to pay up??

Automatic deductions of the accommodation allowance to the LL's that the tenants cannot cancel!!!

Why can't mediation cases be on-line?? This would prove that tenants have a history of rorting the system by agreeing to a Mediation, not complying to the Mediation clauses, then it being too expensive/frustrating for the LL's to pursue the debt.

Asking him to sort out is Tenancy Services staff who cosset, aid and abet tenants by delaying mediation/Tribunal dates to favour the tenants??

Ensuring that TS staff do as they are asked - when an applicant wants to go directly to Tribunal Hearing that the TS staff, do not derail the process to Mediation instead??

That should do for a start off.

[Keithw]

Good news Glenn.

In addition to Essence's issues, which I agree with, how about the long term effects of targeting landlords- less rentals, less HNZ leased properties, more properties the state will need to buy & higher rents


The proposed tax changes making it difficult for owners of HNZ leased properties to continue to carry them hence a likely demand for HNZ to increase rents or face legal challenges to their leases- either way higher rents for tenants/ WINZ

The poor quality of tenants placed in HNZ leased properties and poor oversight of those tenants, resulting in massive damage to new houses.

Council and RMA requirements making it difficult or not economic to build 2 bed houses- the type they have a identified a need for.

The lack of responsibility taken by the Govt for leaky buildings & its failure to provide any mechanism to finance and perform repairs, hence tenants/owners living in leaky buildings & owners in extreme financial stress and emotional stress while the courts take their time in doing nothing.

[Glenn]

Great folks keep it coming.
It will only be a limited time so want to make every minute count without seeming to jam the facts down the poor young fellows throat. (one of my many failings) Throat jaming that is.
I opened my email gambit to him about HNZ so it is interesting others are onto it also.
I just wonder how much negative influence HNZ are having in the market.

[essence]

I just wonder how much negative influence HNZ are having in the market.

A lot. Don't forget that present HNZ staff were trained by Labour Government sycophants and those staff are still working for HNZ. What the protocols are and what the staff actually do, are two different things.

Until HNZ staff are re-trained to the REAL WORLD environment, this will continue to be so.

IMHO, John Key and his Government seem to be a lot more realistic with the economic environment (don't debate this, it's only a comment!) and with a bit of luck this will flow on to the HNZ.

We can only hope.

[Keithw]

I opened my email gambit to him about HNZ so it is interesting others are onto it also.
I just wonder how much negative influence HNZ are having in the market.

HNZ will be the main leveraging tool since private landlords are perceived as rich & able to carry extra costs- Now there's another point you can correct him on- I'm sure the cross section of your client owners are by no means rich, I would guess most being middle income salary & wage earners, most of whom don't get WFF since their kids have left home.

Anyway, Anything that can be shown to affect HNZ (& possibly its tenants) will be of a concern to him as that is direct cost to the Govt and ultimately comes back on him.

You might also like to ask him what effect he thinks the tax changes will have on HNZ owned stock(being NZ's biggest landlord- never sure if that is as property manager or as property owners ?), or will that be exempt, creating yet more distortions !

Does he think that Ma & Pa investors who previously leased their purpose built rental to HNZ for a 5% Govt gauranteed return are going to carry on with that return if it is costing them 10 or more(7% interest & 3% depreciation)?
ie the housing shortage we currently have will get even worse as developers will not be able to sell their new properties

[essence]

Glenn

You could ask him -

Why does it take so long for Tribunal decisions to be posted on-line?? In this electronic age, is there any reason why the Adjudicator or the Court Clerk couldn't do it immediately??

I went to TT on 10/2 and I'm still waiting to see when it will turn up on the TT website.

I do wonder whether DBH staff delay the processing of TT's. This would allow the tenants who've just been ruled against, a "window of opportunity" whereby they can lie to any future LL's re TT Hearings. If the tenant lies like this, and you find out, you have to go through a long procedure to get them out of your house.

I know I've had this happen to me at least a couple of times. The tenants turned out to be okay - but what about those tenants you wouldn't have taken on, if you'd been able to read the TT Hearing notes???

[Glenn]

Well he is the Minister of housing not the minister of justice.
The court have to allow the 7 days for appeal.
Then you have to take into account the working to rule that is going on at that moment.
Generally they are there about 2 to 3 weeks after the case.

[essence]

Well he is the Minister of housing not the minister of justice.

True

The court have to allow the 7 days for appeal.

Why? The tenants don't turn up to the Hearings any way. Maybe a suggestion (to whichever Minister is involved) is if the tenant can't be bothered turning up to the Tribunal Hearing, they abrogate the right to appeal.

Then you have to take into account the working to rule that is going on at that moment.

Thought that had finished. I couldn't really tell, the Courts always move slowly anyway.

Generally they are there about 2 to 3 weeks after the case.

During which time the tenant has lied to another LL. *sigh*
__________________

[Keys]

If the tenant lies like this, and you find out, you have to go through a long procedure to get them out of your house.

Read Section 78 (1g).

Modify your application form to reflect several yes/no questions.

Have you been evicted?

Have you appeared before the TT?

Do you have dogs?

Do you have clean credit?

Do you smoke?

Do you have a will?

[Keys]

Glenn. Just a small issue for me really (since you've covered most I'm annoyed about anyway).

Could you ask if bond lodgment could be made via internet banking? Makes it a little easier for us if an automatically generated bond number and receipt gets coughed out.

Just a thought.

Does everyone realise that you can scan a bond refund form into your computer and email it to: [email protected]

[cantthinkofanickname]

address information

Would it be possible to be informed of the address of tenants that owe money to the l/l if the bailiffs can not serve the tenant, as the tenant has apparently moved or they have not received a reply to the letters . This has happened on a number of occasions so if the tenant has moved why is that address still confidential.

[Keys]

as the tenant has apparently moved

HAH!

Get the benefit stopped if the "release of address" information shows the same address more than once and the bailiff can't serve it.

[One]

Might be good to actively point out to him that tenants who wreck houses, don't pay the rent etc aren't poor innocents who need to be protected - their Ma and Pa landlords are. I.e. I think it's time the system treated the landlords as the victims instead of the tenants.

[Glenn]

The other opening gambit was that I have paid heaps and heaps of tax as has other successful landlords. How come the Govt is beating up on us and say us scum are tax avoiders.
There are thousands of taxi drivers, fish and chip sellers, and farmers out there that are not paying their share of tax (I am guessing) so how come they do not make all sorts of threats against them.
Chairman Mao did that to his landlords during the cultural revolution. Look what it did for the peasants there.