Consultation on proposed RTA changes

[Wayne]

I wonder if we'll see Dhil Twitford blathering on (Ahhh assume that it's not going to happen) about this article, when he gets back from his ill-earned break from media & photo opportunities?

Mother raising four children in tents after being unable to find home
8 Jan 2019

Because LLs never sold before?
Are they selling more now (other than people saying that they are because it suits their narrative)?
Generally, on here, we like to see facts - except when we don't.

Forgot to mention - it used to be that we thought all media was a beatup but now, it seems, it isn't.
I suppose it all depends on the story that you want to see told.

[Perry]

We'll See

There's likely a degree of confirmation bias on each side. And sometimes the spin works, too. Take this bit from a past post.

Mr Twyford in denial about landlords selling up quoting Corelogic "National saying that landlords are selling up is simply scaremongering," he told NZME. "Corelogic data shows that landlords purchased 38 percent of properties in October, which is consistent with the last two years - there has been no change in landlord activity." (Newshub link 19 November)

Media: LLs are selling up (in greater numbers than in the past?)
Dhil: LLs are still buying the same amount. (avoids any reference to the actual posit re selling up)
Dhil: therefore there's no change in LL activity.

Successful strawman logical fallacy - most everyone suckered!

Keep an eye on Artemis' post and the follow-on, in the year ahead.

[Wayne]

There's likely a degree of confirmation bias on each side.

I don't suffer confirmation bias on this subject.
Facts speak for themselves (though are very open to interpretation so often are 'facts' as such).
I don't have a desired story. The Govt is making mistakes and I hope they will get the hang of this 'being in Govt' thing. They certainly have a desired story and will, as always (Labour, National and all others) will latch onto the positive aspects (or spin the rest). They all do it - nothing new there (National said there wasn't an issue at all).

What I do see is a lot of noise and vested interests.
There seems to be a lack of properties, both rental and owner occupied, in some areas causing accommodation problems (shortage and high rents).
Latest stats re builds seems to indicate that Auckland is probably producing enough now to keep up with growth but needs to sort the shortage (backlog).

[Perry]

I was suggesting that confirmation bias was likely to be implicated on the gov't. side and the LL side. Both are vested interests and both can be noisy. The media will report (and possibly spin) whatever suits them.

In this gummint's war on LLs, truth was the first casualty.

As someone on PT suggested: when the raft of regulations fail to realise their fond and faint-hope objectives, the gummint will not say, "that didn't work; we'll rescind those and try again." Rather, the gov't will blame any and everyone else (for not supporting / trying to defeat the gummint's intentions) and will simply add more regulations and statutes.

No matter how incremental, would the letting fee / tenancy fee and concomitant rent increases be an example?

The embarrassment of admitting policy error would be too much for Dhil et al to even consider.

[artemis]

..... Facts speak for themselves (though are very open to interpretation so often are 'facts' as such).
.....
Latest stats re builds seems to indicate that Auckland is probably producing enough now to keep up with growth but needs to sort the shortage (backlog).

Here are a few facts, and while not definitive they do indicate a trend.

Trademe in December reported that property listings for sale in November 2018 were up 4% on the same month last year. And for rentals listed on Trademe, “In November there were 4 per cent fewer rentals in Wellington than the year prior. We’re also seeing sharp dips in Lower Hutt and Porirua which are down 14 per cent and 30 per cent respectively.” December rental figures will be available soon, and I'd expect them to continue the trend.

Then a sharp decrease in bank lending to property investors -

https://www.landlords.co.nz/article/976514155/mortgage-lending-to-investors-plummets

[Perry]

Brain Fade

Then a sharp decrease in bank lending to property investors -

www.landlords.co.nz/article/976514155/mortgage-lending-to-investors-plummets

But didn't Dhil Twitford deny that?

"National saying that landlords are selling up is simply scaremongering," he told NZME. "Corelogic data shows that landlords purchased 38 percent of properties in October, which is consistent with the last two years - there has been no change in landlord activity."

That he refers to buying, rather than selling, which was the main point, is telling, of course.

Housing Minister Phil Twyford has dismissed figures from his own officials . . . He said he trusts data from property analysts CoreLogic over that from MBIE, calling it "much more true". "I don't agree with all the advice we get from officials."

Oh, dear. I wonder how many ministry staff will now need counselling and / or stress leave?

[Perry]

Super Duper Dhil To The Rescue

Aucklanders share beds with flatmates, rent out living rooms as housing crisis bites
16 Jan 2019

Aucklanders are resorting to sharing a bed with a stranger or paying upwards of $100 per week to live in someone's lounge as the cost of renting in the super city continues to rise. One young woman said she paid $195 per week to share a bed with another woman for about six months.

[Wayne]

Aucklanders share beds with flatmates, rent out living rooms as housing crisis bites
16 Jan 2019

Someone has to come to the rescue since this sort of thing has been happening for a few years now.
I suppose we could all give up and bury our heads in the sand (there is no housing crisis said some politicians).

[Perry]

Is hammering LLs a solution, then?

[flyernzl]

Yes of course.
And if that doesn't work then hammer them harder.

[Perry]

I wonder how much of this is exaggeration - media hype - and how much is really a consequence of the anti-LL reforms embarked upon by Taxcindarella and Dhil Twitford & Co.

From $200,000 a year to a desperate search for a rental property

Young mum-of-two booted out of motel ahead of Sevens guests' arrival

The use of the expression, "booted out," was used when it was simply a matter of a prior booking becoming due.

"I think it's really unfair. Regardless of the booking, WINZ should have had something set up beforehand and told us beforehand. They would have known the Sevens were on."

[AlFa]

Life is unfair. Otherwise I wouldn't have to pay for some useless human flesh who can only breed.

[Bluecoat]

Cooling house prices and rising yields in many areas are slowly changing the landscape for residential property investors
23 Jan 2019

There are signs the residential investment property market is slowly cooling, according to interest.co.nz's Rental Yield Indicator. The Indicator tracks the gross rental yields (a property's annual rental income expressed as a percentage of its purchase price) that would be achieved if an investor bought a three bedroom house at the REINZ's lower quartile selling price for such properties, in 56 locations around the country where there is a high level of rental activity, and rented it at the median rent for three bedroom houses in the same location.

[Perry]

2019 Kick-off


Where is the penalty for removing insulation?

In the current drive to insulate an unknown number of uninsulated rental properties, the Government has not considered penalties for removing insulation, Tenancies War spokesman Mike Butler said today.

For instance, there is a legal requirement for owners to install life-saving smoke alarms, with a $3000 penalty for interfering with them, Mr Butler said.

Yet the legal requirement for owners to install ceiling and underfloor insulation by July 1, which is merely to reduce energy costs for tenants, brings a larger $4000 penalty payable to the tenant who reports it, he said.

This gives the impression that the Government regards insulation as more important than smoke alarms and creates an incentive for the unscrupulous few to remove insulation then dob in an owner to get $4000, Mr Butler said.

The absence of any penalty for removing insulation shows a gap in current law which should be corrected, he said.

Proof will be required to show that insulation was installed at the start of every tenancy and the Government has not specified the required proof, Mr Butler said.

The presence of insulation is a limited cost-saving measure for tenants and not a life-and-death requirement like smoke alarms, he said.

Yet we have a heavier penalty for non-insulation, and no penalty for removing insulation, he said.

Stop the War on Tenancies aims to empower both owners and tenants in the face of ongoing Government ineptitude with NZ housing.

---

Contact
Mike Butler: 027-2777295

[Perry]

More tenant / LL tales of woe - of one sort or another.
1 Feb 2019

Up close and personal with Auckland’s rental crisis

Woman living in a tiling showroom for six months owed $3420 by her landlord