Rental Issues

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Not set out on their website.

• Maintain an income related rental policy of 25% of income for Housing New Zealand Corporation tenants.
• Increase the provision of low interest financing for low-income households seeking home ownership.
• Provide shared equity and supported savings schemes for first home and low income buyers.
• Support third sector housing schemes that encourage moves towards home ownership, both individual and collective. (more here)

• Labour will require all rental properties to be insulated to meet the NZ standard for insulation by 2016.
• Labour will begin work on developing a building 'warrant of fitness' for energy efficiency in residential properties.
• Labour will work with landlord and tenant representative groups to investigate option for providing greater security of tenure for those who rent, and to promote professionalisation of the landlord sector by supporting groups such as the Property Investors Federation to increase their membership and activity in the sector.
• Labour will amend the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act to better balance the rights of tenants and landlords.
• Labour will review the Accommodation Supplement and its effectiveness in improvingaffordability and housing outcomes. (more here)

• Increase the volume of quality, low cost rental housing through greater government investment in iwi and community housing construction projects in those areas where it is needed e.g. Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and some rural areas.  This would also have the additional benefit of creating new jobs and boosting local economies.
• Increase the level of support services to enable people to maintain their rental tenancies.  This includes financial assistance, tenancy advice and advocacy, and better coordination of housing support services.
• Introduce a ‘warrant of fitness’ for all rental housing, to ensure no accommodation is let without basic standards being met, including sanitation, insulation, warmth, fire safety and the removal of any toxic materials. (more here)

Not set out on their website.

Not set out on their website.

• Strengthen legislation to allow Housing NZ to evict problematic tenants more easily. (more here)