Originally posted by Sunday Star Times
Revolt is brewing among private landlords leasing homes to Housing New Zealand in a commercial scheme set up to help reduce state house waiting lists.
The landlords, many of whom acquired their properties in the build-to-let schemes that flourished in the housing boom, say Housing New Zealand (HNZ) is mismanaging their properties, paying them less than the market rents they expected, and are too often siding with destructive tenants.
Some of the landlords are so hot under the collar they say their treatment at the hands of HNZ, which is currently advertising for more landlords to lease their properties to it, amounts to state-perpetrated fraud, or a "hidden tax" on private landlords.
The revolt is being led by Auckland landlord Ian Crayton, who is building a protest group to back him in demanding Housing Minister Phil Heatley takes action, without which, he said, HNZ risks becoming a pariah to which no landlord would lease a house or flat.
HNZ inadvertently provided individually disaffected landlords with a means of contacting each other by sending out a group email to over 500 landlords containing each other's email addresses, a breach of privacy the Crown agency has apologised for.
The error happened when it was conducting an email survey of landlords to find out more about the "concerns about the programme" that HNZ staff had become aware of, said a statement from the Crown agency.
It is believed there could be as many as 3000 private houses and flats leased to HNZ, by upwards of 2000 landlords.
Crayton began his revolt by simply hitting "reply to all" and sending a message asking if anyone else had had the problems he said he has. Dozens of responses from landlords flowed from that, he said, with landlords vowing to support his protest and calls for change.
In his email, Crayton complained that the rents landlords are getting from HNZ are artificially low and not the market rents they were supposed to receive. Further, there is no means of challenging reviews by a valuer they have lost confidence in. Another complaint is that, despite paying between 8% and 10% in property management fees, landlords feel HNZ represents the tenants, not the landlords.
Damage done by residents to properties is assumed by HNZ to automatically be at the landlords' cost, and too often passed off as "wear and tear", he said.
He told fellow landlords: "We'd all be much better off using a commercial letting agent to manage our properties. They would charge us 7.5%, they would deal with all damage and repair issues for us at cost, and would automatically act in our interest [not automatically the tenant's]. After all we are paying!"
A flood of responses came back, including many that agreed with Crayton that they felt trapped in their 10 to 15-year lease contracts with the Crown agency, which they signed up to in return for a guarantee their properties would never be without tenants.
Crayton, who has launched a Facebook site (Housing NZ Owners Landlords) for landlords not on the email list HNZ sent out, said: "HNZ are ripping us off and many of us are trapped. Our only crime was to try and make provision for our retirement and now we are being used.
"HNZ is currently advertising for more owners. It is our duty to warn others away from this disastrous 'investment' with a bureaucratic and all-powerful body whose aim is to squeeze the life out of the owners with low rents to save the government money subsidising these rents for HNZ tenants."
HNZ said the [management] fee it charged was "a margin" collected "because we guarantee occupancy and we guarantee the repair of damage. HNZ remains committed to working with participants in the Home Lease Programme and finding solutions to some of the concerns they have."
WHAT LANDLORDS SAY ABOUT HOUSING NZ
"They do not represent us in any way. The revaluation on the properties was a fraud, and the service for us regarding repairs is nonexistent."
"I cringe at their lack of professionalism."
"I feel I am paying all repair cost, if previous tenant has moved out damaging things in the house, I have to face the brunt of it which I feel was not in the contract when I initially signed it. Have contacted HNZ but they are telling me it's all wear and tear."
"I believe that most of the problems arise because HNZ policies are too PC and I was advised by the staff member who escorted me through one of the houses `not to say anything to the tenants' about my opinion of the condition of the seven-year-old house so that I would not hurt their feelings. I appreciate your email and we should collectively get together to pressure them into setting and administering higher standards in the care of our properties, because without us as private investors, HNZ's source of houses to provide to their clients would be significantly reduced."
"My three-year-old property looks like 20-years plus... a crying shame."
"I have felt this way for a long time. The property is always put in the lower range even when it was new ... I believe I've lost hundred[s] if not thousands in lower rent."
The landlords, many of whom acquired their properties in the build-to-let schemes that flourished in the housing boom, say Housing New Zealand (HNZ) is mismanaging their properties, paying them less than the market rents they expected, and are too often siding with destructive tenants.
Some of the landlords are so hot under the collar they say their treatment at the hands of HNZ, which is currently advertising for more landlords to lease their properties to it, amounts to state-perpetrated fraud, or a "hidden tax" on private landlords.
The revolt is being led by Auckland landlord Ian Crayton, who is building a protest group to back him in demanding Housing Minister Phil Heatley takes action, without which, he said, HNZ risks becoming a pariah to which no landlord would lease a house or flat.
HNZ inadvertently provided individually disaffected landlords with a means of contacting each other by sending out a group email to over 500 landlords containing each other's email addresses, a breach of privacy the Crown agency has apologised for.
The error happened when it was conducting an email survey of landlords to find out more about the "concerns about the programme" that HNZ staff had become aware of, said a statement from the Crown agency.
It is believed there could be as many as 3000 private houses and flats leased to HNZ, by upwards of 2000 landlords.
Crayton began his revolt by simply hitting "reply to all" and sending a message asking if anyone else had had the problems he said he has. Dozens of responses from landlords flowed from that, he said, with landlords vowing to support his protest and calls for change.
In his email, Crayton complained that the rents landlords are getting from HNZ are artificially low and not the market rents they were supposed to receive. Further, there is no means of challenging reviews by a valuer they have lost confidence in. Another complaint is that, despite paying between 8% and 10% in property management fees, landlords feel HNZ represents the tenants, not the landlords.
Damage done by residents to properties is assumed by HNZ to automatically be at the landlords' cost, and too often passed off as "wear and tear", he said.
He told fellow landlords: "We'd all be much better off using a commercial letting agent to manage our properties. They would charge us 7.5%, they would deal with all damage and repair issues for us at cost, and would automatically act in our interest [not automatically the tenant's]. After all we are paying!"
A flood of responses came back, including many that agreed with Crayton that they felt trapped in their 10 to 15-year lease contracts with the Crown agency, which they signed up to in return for a guarantee their properties would never be without tenants.
Crayton, who has launched a Facebook site (Housing NZ Owners Landlords) for landlords not on the email list HNZ sent out, said: "HNZ are ripping us off and many of us are trapped. Our only crime was to try and make provision for our retirement and now we are being used.
"HNZ is currently advertising for more owners. It is our duty to warn others away from this disastrous 'investment' with a bureaucratic and all-powerful body whose aim is to squeeze the life out of the owners with low rents to save the government money subsidising these rents for HNZ tenants."
HNZ said the [management] fee it charged was "a margin" collected "because we guarantee occupancy and we guarantee the repair of damage. HNZ remains committed to working with participants in the Home Lease Programme and finding solutions to some of the concerns they have."
WHAT LANDLORDS SAY ABOUT HOUSING NZ
"They do not represent us in any way. The revaluation on the properties was a fraud, and the service for us regarding repairs is nonexistent."
"I cringe at their lack of professionalism."
"I feel I am paying all repair cost, if previous tenant has moved out damaging things in the house, I have to face the brunt of it which I feel was not in the contract when I initially signed it. Have contacted HNZ but they are telling me it's all wear and tear."
"I believe that most of the problems arise because HNZ policies are too PC and I was advised by the staff member who escorted me through one of the houses `not to say anything to the tenants' about my opinion of the condition of the seven-year-old house so that I would not hurt their feelings. I appreciate your email and we should collectively get together to pressure them into setting and administering higher standards in the care of our properties, because without us as private investors, HNZ's source of houses to provide to their clients would be significantly reduced."
"My three-year-old property looks like 20-years plus... a crying shame."
"I have felt this way for a long time. The property is always put in the lower range even when it was new ... I believe I've lost hundred[s] if not thousands in lower rent."
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