Advocacy group needs a crowd

[Andrew]

The NZ Property Investors' Federation and 20 local Associations around the country are a membership organisation that provide a voice for our industry with central and local Government. We are working hard on the meth situation, the Osaki case, Tenancy Tribunal hearings, housing affordability and many other issues our industry faces.

The more members we have the more we can do.

The NZPIF is looking at developing a new membership structure to appeal to a wider range of rental property owners.

We need information so we know what we can do to help people and have developed a very quick questionnaire to get this information.

If you are not a current member of a Property Investor Association, please take this short questionnaire here. The information is vital to us and we hope to do a lot more for the industry with more members and more support.

If you know of people involved in property but not currently members, please forward this link to them. The more people we hear from the better.

Thanks very much and all the best with your investments.

Andrew King
Executive Officer
NZ Property Investors' Federation

[Perry]

Be good if you went back to this thread and assisted with it's completion by providing your report on the conference. I gave up asking, eventually. By avoiding the matter, you - personally - let the organisation down, Andrew.

If you want people to join up (I've discussed this with Peter) then - volunteer or not - if you can't see it through, don't start.

[Sportsvee]

We are working hard on the meth situation, the Osaki case, Tenancy Tribunal hearings, housing affordability and many other issues our industry faces.

Serious question, it's been almost a year, how have things gone with the above identified issues?

Also like to hear about what Perry mentioned from the 2009 - 2011 thread. Any updates there?

Personally, I haven't joined any association or industry group for LL's as looking into it showed no value for money (personal view). Good property managers however are worth their weight in gold.

So a good chance for PR here. Maybe even earn some new members. Just the one question (again, serious question, not being an a-hole):

What has been achieved since the start of this topic?

Cheers.

[Perry]

Serious question, it's been almost a year, how have things gone with the above identified issues? What has been achieved since the start of this topic?

Well, we'll wait and see if there's a response to this matter.

[Andrew]

Hi Sportsvee

The meth situation has improved. Representing the NZPIF, I was on the NZ Standards Meth Committee all of last year which was a large undertaking. Among other things, I advocated for the increased level to 1.5, plus the ability for landlords to conduct self tests rather than having to go through a testing company. There are still things to work out, like how test kit manufacturers get accredited and how landlords get educated on how to take the test. The NZPIF is hoping to get discounted test kits for members and courses on how to take these tests. We are also working on a protocol for members to follow to reduce their risk from meth. Members can also get a reduced price for the Initio rental property insurance policy which I believe still fully covers meth contamination.

We have had meetings with the tenancy Tribunal, government officials and MP's over Osaki. It has been frustratingly slow. While the result of the Foxton dog case appeal was excellent, we still need to get parliament to change the RTA regarding tenants liability for damage. We gained agreement from most political parties that change was required. We successfully lobbied the previous Minister of Housing, Nick Smith, to include changes in the RTA Amendment Bill to address the Osaki situation. While his solution was welcome, it isn't the total fix we would have wanted. We have made written and verbal submissions to the Select Committee handling the RTA Amendment Bill and hope that they will take up our strategy to fix the situation when they report back to Government next month. Even if we have been successful, it is unsatisfactory that we will likely have to wait till the end of the year before the Bill is passed into law. It does appear that the Tribunal is being more lenient on what is intentional damage by tenants which is good.

We have continued to research the housing and rental market to show that the last few years of the housing cycle, while difficult, are not unprecedented and are in fact normal. We researched the situation that first home buyers faced in each decade from the 80's to today and showed that while factors have changed, it actually isn't as hard to buy your first home today as it has been in other decades. Interest rate reductions and Kiwisaver have had a real impact. It was easier to save for a deposit in the 80's, but hard to pay off the mortgage because of high interest rates. As time passed, interest rates fell but property prices rose faster than incomes, meaning it became harder to save a deposit.

We used information like this to show policy advisors, MP's and the general public that while it is difficult for first home buyers right now, it has always been difficult. We advocated that we look to history and not make knee jerk reactions to current situations by implementing policies to encourage people out of providing rental property.

We are continuing to claim that the policies that make it harder to provide rental property will result in fewer rental properties and higher rental prices. At first we were disregarded and our information was seen as self serving. Over the past few months it appears that the media and general public are seeing the effects of rental property availability and price.

To be honest we haven't completed a lot of work on tenancy Tribunal hearing times. Other more important and urgent matters (in our opinion) came up.

The key problem in our view was unlawful properties. We had meetings with Government, officials and the Tenancy Tribunal to find a solution. Frustratingly, while everyone thought that the situation as outrageous and wrong, no one appeared to be in a position to solve it.

We successfully lobbied Government to address the problem in the RTA Amendment Bill. However the solutions in the Bill still left rental property providers at risk. As the matter was so important, we employed Lawyers Chen Palmer at great cost to attempt to speed up the Government action by having it taken out of the RTA Amendment Bill and put through on it's own under urgency. We were unsuccessful with this, however we did use the information gained through the process to help with the Dunedin Appeal case over the matter.

The Dunedin Appeal case went better than we hoped, in that it gave the Tenancy Tribunal an instruction on how to interpret the original High Court Ruling. The judge gave the Tribunal permission to hear cases of unlawful dwellings and also to apply all aspects of the RTA, not just prohibited transactions which mean giving the tenant back all the rent they have paid.

This was fantastic news and the Principal Tenancy Adjudicator confirmed that they would be aligning their decisions with the District Court ruling.

However we still need to get parliament to change the RTA to confirm that this is what they want to have happen and introduce legislation to ensure it happens. This is happening in the RTA Amendment Bill, but the District Court Appeal case has already superseded the bill. As it currently stands, the Bill confirms some parts of the original High Court ruling and puts many in our industry at risk while also likely to remove a large number of rental properties from the market.

We have made submissions to the Select Committee as to how this can be corrected and hope that this will be reflected in their report due out next month.

In addition to this we are still advocating Government on items such as removing 90 day no cause notices, security of tenure, ring fencing losses, the Bright Line Test, Healthy Homes Bill and the Tax Working Group.

I hope this shows that we have been doing a lot for the industry and that we could do with some support. For a few hundred dollars you can join your local Property Investors Association and contribute to the lobbying work we do, attend local meetings, meet other investors, get newsletters, magazines and fantastic membership discounts that should more than cover your membership fee. If you still don't think it provides you with value for money then we are setting up an associate membership for just $25. You can register your interested in this at https://www.nzpif.org.nz/am and we will send you information when it is up and running.

Andrew King
NZ Property Investors' Federation

[Sportsvee]

Thank you Andrew for taking the time to write the above content.

Also credit to you. In over 2.5 years of being in 'the business' that is the first PR I have seen from an association that actually tells me it is doing something constructive for its members.

Do an update (doesn't have to be anywhere near as long) every 3 months and you might just find you get a lot more subscribers. Don't keep your achievement's secret like the Lions Club. PR is good for you and the odd blowing of your own trumpet never hurt.

Again, thank you. You may very well have just earned a new member.

[Andrew]

Thanks Sportsvee. I'm only employed for two days a week which isn't enough to carry out the essential work that needs to be done, so PR takes a back seat most of the time unfortunately.

[Perry]

Sounds like a chicken / egg situation, to me.

You need to do and say (loudly) certain things to get the crowd that's wanted.

Get enough attention, then maybe more resources could become (or be made) available for essential PR.

Don't get too chummy with the MBIE et al. Or the W'gton woodenheads. They'll just 'use' you for their own ends.

And don't always be nice. No harm in being strident and assertive against / for certain things.

Above all, is it possible to be pro-active? This story might have been an opportunity. (There's no shortage of that type)

EDIT: You even have an ally, here.

Try countering the media sensationalist BS.

E.g. The use of the expression "tax breaks" for LLs.

Keep repeating the FEC submission from the IRD, every chance that's presented.

Ask them why their digital items have one of these?


And not one of these?


Another anecdote worth mentioning is here. If tenants can't afford to heat homes, insulation and a heat pump is not going to give the warm and dry outcome that's constantly clamoured about.

Most times, when one sees some media reference to LLs and/or the NZPIF, it's after being approached by the media.

See if you can track down a media contact who's also a LL.

Sportsvee's point could even be amended to monthly.

What went wrong, here?

Keep your eye on this.

[artemis]

Good list Perry. And may I add Trademe's rental price index monthly reports. They are based on their rental vacancy ad data, average of 11,000 properties rented each month, and provide good current and trend information. Those reports are the source of figures showing a drop in rental vacancy ads on their site by 50% in NZ overall and 70+% in Wellington.

Not the only game in town but is getting the most airtime.

property.trademe.co.nz/market-insights/rental-price-index/

They also do similar reports for sales.

[Perry]

Is there not an opportunity, amidst those reports? (Although Glenn has questioned the TM statistics, at times)

This TM report - Number of rentals halve nationwide - (if accurate), looks as good as any to start with.

A NZPIF Media Release inferring that as the gummint joins and fosters the LL-bashing-and-taxing crusade-of-the day, the number of rentals have shrunk and is very likely to continue to do so. Where will all those tenants go? And that's besides the consequence of pushing rental prices up as the supply shrinks. And no relief in sight, given the restraints on construction.

That needs to be complemented by an analysis of where the sold rentals go. Because, in the empty-headed theories of the ivory tower go-gooders, as a rental property is sold, former tenants move in to the house as the new owners. A sort-of zero sum game. It does not happen that way.

And, like the item described, instead of some [not newsworthy] hand-wringing over the trashing of the Christchurch house, Whaleoil castigated Taxcindarella [more newsworthy] for remaining silent about moral-less tenants, while she'd admonished W'gton LLs about their lack of morals.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has urged [W'gton] landlords who raised rents . . . to do what is morally right.

Never heard about about leading by example, Jax?

[artemis]

.... That needs to be complemented by an analysis of where the sold rentals go. Because, in the empty-headed theories of the ivory tower go-gooders, as a rental property is sold, former tenants move in to the house as the new owners. A sort-of zero sum game. It does not happen that way.....

Andrew King of NZPIF was quoted in the media as saying rented houses in Auckland contain an average of 3.9 people and owner-occupied 2.1 people. So every rental property sold to an owner-occupier effectively displaces on average 1.8 people.

There should be census data on this.