Landlords will shortly regain the ability to easily end a tenancy without citing a specific reason, as the Government moves to fulfil a pledge to reinstate “no-cause” evictions.
Cabinet has made policy decisions on its promised tenancy reforms. Legislation is being drafted for introduction next month and is set to be passed by the end of the year. The changes will roll back many of the changes brought in during the first term of the former Labour-led Government.
In the case of reinstating no-cause evictions, it will mean NZ First voting to repeal legislation it helped pass just four years ago, although at the time it noted its disquiet at banning no-cause evictions.
Housing Minister Chris Bishop said the changes were “pro-tenant”, arguing that making it more attractive to be a landlord would drive investment into the sector, boosting supply and generating competition for tenants that would keep a lid on rapidly rising rents.
Pro-tenant? Chris Bishop is a liar and he is lying through he teeth, the exact same way he lied through he teeth when he claimed he wasn’t renting from family and the exact same way he lied when claiming Rental advocates had told him Renters supported his right to evict policy!
Real Estate Pimps donated millions to National and in return National have reopened tax loopholes and have given landlords the right to kick tenants for no reason.
There is a class war on renters but we don’t have the political vocabulary to articulate it.
Let’s remind ourselves just how vested the Landlord class is..
…there is an unspoken promise between the neoliberal State and the untaxed capital gains private landlord class that the neoliberal State never builds enough State Houses to alleviate housing desperation so that the untaxed capital gains private landlord class can exploit that housing desperation ON TOP OF getting a $1.5Billion annual subsidy in the form of the Accommodation Allowance EVERY SINGLE YEAR!
We are not interested in solutions to poverty and inequality, we only believe in making any welfare as difficult and toxic as possible so the poor give up turning to the State in the first place.
We have short changed our own people in terms of housing and safety nets so we can feel superior and smug in the tiny lounge rooms of our lonely bitterness on these shaky isles.
We would prefer harm to our fellow citizen just in case we don’t get something they might.
30 years of downward deunionised wage pressure has created a working people who are so poorly paid they look at welfare with envy.
Meanwhile the megalandlords and property speculators laugh all the way to the bank as homeownership continues to fall.
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Chris Bishop is a genius.
Of course it makes sense that economically incentivizing landlords to evict tenants for complaining about maintenance issues would increase investment in rental housing. Impeccable logic
Bishop talks crap once more. If this legislation passes, from this time on, no renters will have security of tenure again. That is a dreadful thing to be doing to families, and especially to the children who need stable lives for so many reasons. Politicians waffle piously about getting children to school, while now trying to ensure that some children could be uprooted and changing schools forever more.
Bishop talks crap once more, and arrogant condescending crap if he thinks that we, the punters, are gullible enough to believe that social instability for families, will result in landlords conjuring up more properties, and properties at reasonable or lower rentals. This is government opting out of its own social responsibility at every level, to ensure the financial future of the few who are its cronies.
Totally agree,
Garth Morgan spoke about the social cost of this extensively. Children who change schools regularly have worse outcomes in education and social measures. In Germany and other European countries if you are a renter you have security of tenure. You can only get evicted for breach of contract (not paying the rent, wilful damage).
Labour strengthened our weak tenancy laws marginally. Now its back to the wild west.
working at heights. Yes. In other more civilised places like London, Paris, and New York, not run by bumpkins from places like Lower Hutt and outrr Christchurch suburbs, tenants are set for life, for as long as they choose to be.
The personal and societal effects of school changing are well established and well documented. Every educationalist knows this, and anecdotally many other persons do too. I don’t believe that Chris Bishop can possibly be as ignorant as he appears to be, and think that he is a ruthless bastard. He also insults the citizens of this country by implying that we’re dumb enough to believe his claptrap.
Suddenly, and almost unbelievably, I find myself agreeing with Prof Joanne Kidman, that National hates children. So many of their policies impact so harshly on our beautiful kiddies that it’s starting to look pathological.
Luxon was just as bad deflecting concerns about children being made homeless through evictions by sickly sophism declaring that it would benefit other families. This would have him not only failing Sociology 101- which isn’t saying much – but a high school debate. The Nats are a moral disgrace, not that that would worry any of them.
The evidence of downward pressure on rental costs due to this gifting landlords tax breaks is not there . Bishop confirmed there is no modeling to prove this. Further evidence of this, Chris Luxon confirmed he would not reduce rental costs on his properties.
This benefits landlords only.
Clearly, you haven’t been paying attention to the gods of the free market. Inflation will mean that rental costs are still cheaper even if they don’t reduce…
if you get a pay rise consistent with inflation…
oh. Oh.
Pity about that whole stagnant wages thing.
Bishop knows full well he’s lying. He’s enjoying it. Power games.
He is a sadistic torturer. The smirk.
Sickening and so bloody sad.
In spite of claims to the contrary, conservative governments in this country have never governed on behalf of the people as such, just basically whoever gives them money. Mind you, Labour only just scrapes by in this regard.
I am old enough to remember when the National Party talked about making things easier for first-home buyers (they didn’t actually do much to help them though), so hearing Bishop say that the aim was to increase the number of rental houses was sickening. This government is delivering to the 10% who financed them with the seemingly inevitable result of a divided society regarding wealth & opportunity that can only end in tears. I guess they are planning on a property revival as the greedy embark on a spending splurge so we can expect lots of property propaganda to make property investment look glamorous while they ignore the problems faced by those who are unable to achieve property ownership.
I support the idea of investing to develop productive businesses that employ people & increase the community’s wealth but residential rental property is just parasitic in that it relies on tenants’ income from other occupations to increase the landlord’s wealth while the tenant is held in poverty.
Once again, as the gNactzi have taught us, as have the Trumpians – what is done can be undone in short order. There is also precedent for retrospective tinkerings.
Let’s hope Labour, Greens and TPM are getting their bottom lines together, and looking at ways of combating apathy and the ‘they’re all as bad as each other’ crew. (Or is it a ‘team’? in this space going forward)
It’s a bit of a hard ask because Labour and Greens need an effective laxative to get rid of a few, and TPM also need to get their shit together.
I’ve always hated to have to vote for the least worst option – but that’s just the cistern we have, and nothing will change that unless we can stop the less well off from allowing themselves from being walked all over.
(I gone done my research, as you can see)
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