Joseph Mooney - monthly column
Queenstown-Lakes is facing an accommodation crisis so I recently hosted the National Party’s Housing Spokesperson, Chris Bishop, so that he could hear and see for himself what is happening in our town. Along with a public meeting, Chris and I met with the people directly affected, social agencies, and business owners.
Chris also announced a housing policy to help address the immediate crisis which sees many houses in our region sitting empty while people sleep in cars, tents, and on couches. While Labour’s changes to the tenancy laws may have been well-intentioned, they have not worked and have seen many houses taken out of the rental market because it has become too hard for homeowners.
Chris announced that in addition to restoring the brightline test to two years, National will also reverse Labour’s removal of no-clause terminations, and provisions that require a fixed term tenancy agreement to become a periodic tenancy agreement upon expiry. Many landlords who once would have offered short-term fixed tenancy for some months of the year have decided that renting is simply too difficult.
Under Labour, the removal of no-clause terminations has hit vulnerable tenants hard, the very people that Labour have claimed to be concerned about. I have heard that landlords are now reluctant to take a chance on some tenants, particularly those with poor rental histories, because of the difficulty of ending a tenancy when it isn’t working out. This has had the unfortunate effect of leaving some without the ability to secure long-term accommodation.
The effect of Labour’s residential tenancy changes has been that they have discouraged some landlords from offering their properties for rent. It has decreased supply and put upward pressure on rent prices as a result. Some landlords have decided that the risks are too great and have quit the rental market altogether.
Since 2017 Labour has seen national rents rise by an average of $175 per week and Queenstown-Lakes rent go from $555 per week in October 2017 to $700 per week at the beginning of 2023. As rents rise this fast it makes it harder and harder for people to be able to save for their own house, or even just to make ends meet during the cost-of-living crisis.
Mum and Dad landlords are not the enemy in the national and Queenstown housing market, and we need landlords to be able to provide good quality rental accommodation. I have also heard from businesses who are finding it difficult to keep steady staffing levels as their employees find the market too tough and move on. National’s changes aim to make it easier to be a landlord which will lead to an increase in supply of rental properties and help end Labour’s housing crisis.
Officials warned the Labour Government about the risks of their war on landlords and how they could backfire. Ministers were warned that “If not managed carefully, improving security of tenure could potentially affect landlords’ willingness to rent, and the amount of rent charged”. That is exactly what happened.
Queenstown is the perfect example of how these law changes have backfired, with around a quarter of all properties sitting empty, some of which would undoubtedly be available to the rental market with better laws. This is happening while there are reports of many sleeping in tents, cars and on couches.
National wants to see those in Queenstown-Lakes have more opportunity to access quality rental housing by bringing back common sense to our rental market. There will be more announcements around further changes in the weeks and months ahead.
