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If the house was built to government building code and has a council code of compliance - then why is it the owners problem if there are deficiencies?
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The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates and a monthly salary - Fred Wilson. -
Lack of R & M and un-remedied wear and tear?Comment
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Insulation requires R&M?
What is the depreciation rate for insulation?
Oh that's right - houses don't depreciate - so no maintenance required.The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates and a monthly salary - Fred Wilson.Comment
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In the House today there was a patsy series of oral questions to Mr Twyford about the timing and content for reform of the RTA. See below. Greens are pushing hard for reform; Mr Twyford is trying to keep Ms Davidson happy without giving much away. Though he is saying legislation is planned for introduction later this year.
No cause terminations still seems to be on the table. I wonder what his opinion will be if this is introduced and the social housing list and emergency motel costs spike (again) as landlords take action.
And note he is repeating the sick children numbers that Mr Butler has comprehensively scuppered.
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Oral Questions—Questions to Ministers
Question No. 9—Housing and Urban Development
9. MARAMA DAVIDSON (Co-Leader—Green) to the Minister of Housing and Urban Development: When can renters expect to see legislation introduced to reform the Residential Tenancies Act and protect their right to a secure home?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD (Minister of Housing and Urban Development): The Government is committed to improving the balance between providing renters with security of tenure and allowing them to make their house a home while protecting the rights and interests of landlords. Officials received over 4,500 submissions on the policy proposals. We're currently working on the policy and, with Cabinet's agreement, we're aiming to introduce legislation this calendar year.
Marama Davidson: Does he continue to support ending no-cause tenancy terminations?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well, we're committed to improving the security of tenure for renters and striking the right balance between a tenant's right to make a house a home and ensuring that landlords can still get rid of rogue tenants. Cabinet will be making policy decisions in due course on this, but we consulted on removing no-cause terminations because we want renters to be able to put down roots in their communities.
Marama Davidson: Has he instructed officials to consider how to prohibit rental bidding so that property managers are no longer able to run rental tenders like the one Cutlers recently advertised in Dunedin?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well, it was disappointing to see that property management company treating the renting out of properties to students as some kind of contest or a game. Having a home is a basic necessity, and making students compete against each other for a flat is distasteful. Officials are currently looking at considering the options on banning rental bidding.
Marama Davidson: Does he agree that our law needs more protections against frequent and significant rent increases?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well, as the Reserve Bank says, rents are set primarily by supply and demand, which is why so many of our policies are designed to increase the supply of housing. We consulted on limiting rent increases to one per year, because in a rising market, as we've seen over the last decade in so many parts of New Zealand, frequent and large rent increases can have a punishing effect on renters.
Angie Warren-Clark: What other changes has the Government made to make life better for renters?
Hon PHIL TWYFORD: Well, the healthy homes standards will set minimum standards for insulation, heating, ventilation, moisture, and draft control so that rental homes are warm and dry. They are part of the Government's plan to improve the health and well-being of children. Ministry of Health data shows that at least 6,000 children are admitted each year for what they call housing-sensitive hospitalisations, and Otago University recently found that homes that are damp or mouldy cause more than 35,000 nights in hospital.Comment
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Artemis - thanks for your ongoing efforts to inform the forum on this. It is even more helpful to me while I'm out of NZ.Comment
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The Moronic Myth Continues
The 'standards' do not - of course - specify the when, how and requirement for utilisation of said heating by tenants.Originally posted by artemis View PostComment
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BBC - No-fault evictions to be banned in England
Quite a long article at the below link, with input from tenants and landlords. Looks like a done deal, and that will encourage our government to follow..
"Under the government's new plans, landlords would have to provide a "concrete, evidenced reason already specified in law" in order to bring tenancies to an end."
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A lot of confused and confusing statements in that item. Quire a few events are already covered by NZ tenancy law. E.g.
In NZ, any such eviction notice would be quashed by the TT Kangaroo Kourt.Alicia Powell was evicted after complaining about a leak.
I see that "no fault" is used to describe certain end-of-tenancy processes, rather than the asinine "no reason" language used by Dhil Twitford et al.
All the usual claptrap emotive language is employed, too. E.g.
Too hard to say that tenants received the required notice to end their tenancy.no-fault eviction that they may be thrown out.
Same media BS dross there, as here.Comment
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'High rents not just a city problem any more'Originally posted by Perry View PostPublic housing waitlist cracks 10,000, with more families waiting for longer for housing
19 Feb 2019
Finally! Someone has not just noticed, but mentioned what's been painstakingly obvious, for so long.
As for LLs selling up - according to Dhil, that was just scaremongering.*
Hang on! Twitford said that the advice was "only a scenario" and he "wasn't assuming that is going to happen."
* "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."
Dhil thinks buying and selling are the same thing.
27 May 2019
Worry not, all ye tenants. Dhil Twitford said it was just a scenario that he did not [want to] assume was going to happen.Originally posted by Stuff
None so blind as those who cannot see.Comment
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Ms Collins asked a whole bunch of written questions on the reform of the RTA to add more tenant rights.
Replies due by 24 July. I will report back!Comment
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Report eagerly awaited.
But political rhetoric being what it is, [10,000-affordable-houses-a-year, anyone?] perhaps not too much weight should be given to it?Comment
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Damage, meth tinkering, tangles tenancy law
Political meddling with the Residential Tenancies Act regarding damage to rental properties, meth contamination, and living in garages, has just made tenancy law more complex and litigious, Tenancies War spokesman Mike Butler said today
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill (No 2), which seeks to address issues related to liability for damage, methamphetamine contamination, and living in garages, passed its third reading on Wednesday.
The bill:
1. Makes tenants liable for careless damage but is limited to four weeks' rent or their landlady's insurance excess, whichever is lower.
2. Extends the definition of "residential premises" to ensure that all premises which are used or intended to be used for residential occupation are covered by the Residential Tenancies Act,
3. Provides yet another regime to address any health risks of any harmful substance in rental properties, including methamphetamine.
4. Enables tenancies where contamination has been established to be terminated in two days.
The architect of this bill, Nick Smith, and the current Minister responsible, Kris Faafoi, should explain how limiting a tenant's liability for accidental destruction of, let's say, a $500,000 house, to four week's rent, is either fair or just, Mr Butler said.
Tenancy Tribunal hearings concerning damage will become more complex and many more cases will be appealed through the court system, based on the following clause that says:
Moreover, the bill fails to address a substantial legal anomaly in that people who wilfully damage rental property escape the consequences of a wilful damage conviction under the Crimes Act, which carries a jail term of seven years, he said.(a) it is for the landlord to prove—
(i) that any damage is not fair wear and tear; and
(ii) that any destruction or damage occurred in circumstances described in subsection (1) (b); and
(iii) that any insurance moneys are irrecoverable for the reasons described in subsection (3A) (a) (1) (c); and
(b) it is for the tenant to prove—
(i) that any destruction or damage was not intentionally done or caused as described in subsection (1) (a); and
(ii) that any destruction or damage was not caused by a careless act or omission described in subsection (2).
Regarding contaminants, the issue of evidence of harm has been avoided. The bill assumes that current level of 15 millionths of a gram per 100 square centimetres is a meaningful indicator of harm, which it is not, Mr Butler said.
The bill should have simply stated that the onus was on anyone claiming harm from a contaminated tenancy to provide evidence of harm, Mr Butler said.
Treating garages as residential premises to extend coverage of the RTA to them so that they are confirmed as non-residential is the sort of thing that gives rise to the expression "the law is an ass", he said.
This bill, that seeks to clean up messes created by the Tenancy Tribunal, the Court of Appeal, and the previous Government, has just made the issues more unfair, more complex and more litigious, Mr Butler said.
Stop the War on Tenancies is a group that - since last October - has been highlighting the evidence that successive governments have ignored while creating problematic rental property policy.
Contact:
Mike Butler 27-277 7295
[email protected]
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Replay video of Andrew King's Tuesday afternoon talk on current legislative changes around:
- liability for tenant damage
- meth contamination
- unlawful properties
Is now available.to view.
Due to technical reasons, the video is in two parts
https://www.facebook.com/I.like.APIA/videos/412300829397542/
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In July Ms Collins asked a series of written questions addressed to Mr Faafoi about progress on the reform of the RTA. Basically nothing substantive in the (late) replies except that there was a consultation process and everyone will have to wait until the Cabinet has made decisions some time in the future. A couple of replies were slightly more than fluff, including that 4784 'viewpoints' were received during the consultation, and the following -Originally posted by artemis View Post
27164 - When the reform of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 was announced in August 2018 there were 390,349 active bonds lodged at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The number has since increased and as of June 2019 there were 393,527 active bonds lodged.
Noted that the number of current bonds is a lot fewer that the supposed number of private rentals, said to be a tad under 600,000 at the end of 2017. Also that current bonds includes social housing bonds as well as private rentals. So does that mean about half of private rental landlords do not lodge bonds? Bit of a disconnect there.
If interested, the written questions are - 27160, 27163, 27164, 27165, 27166, 27167, 27169.Comment
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