Thriving, surviving, or diving?
Photo: Stuff NZ
If you haven’t noticed, there’s an election coming up. It’s shaping up to be one of the most important in our nation’s history, especially from a financial standpoint.
For starters, if you’re not enrolled to vote PLEASE go do that. Stop reading, do it right now. If you have time to read, you have time to enrol.
Enrolled? Good, read on.
EVERYONE has something to gain or lose come election season, and us students and renters are no different. If you’re both, then it’s doubly important that you’re informed about what’s what so you can make the decision that’s right for you, your whanau, and ultimately the country as a whole.
This article will not be biased towards ANY party but biased towards renters. It’s designed to inform, not through slander directly towards any group. For that reason, I would like to preface I am merely sharing facts, not my own political opinions.
And with all that out of the way, here’s is some of what’s is being touted by the four highest polling political parties.
Labour
While it might feel like your rent takes a painfully large chunk out of your weekly earnings, you might not realise all the protections Labour has brought in to protect you as the tenant.
The existing changes Labour will maintain if elected are:
As of 2021, the time allowed between rent increases being changed to every 12 months.
The ban on letting fees.
The ban on no cause evictions, which as the wording suggests, allowed landlords to evict tenant without cause and with little notice.
National
Chris Bishop has stated that National's changes will make it easier to be a landlord.
Currently, these changes which National are touting, include repealing two of labours tenancy law amendments, those being:
reversing the ban on evictions without cause.
Changing the time allowed between rent increases from 12 months to 6 months.
Change the bright-line test* from ten years to two years.
Greens
The Green party has given out a full ‘pledge to renters’, that pledge being:
Introducing rent controls that will put a limit on how much your landlord can increase your rent each year, giving you peace of mind that you’ll always have enough to pay the bills
Introducing a Rental Warrant of Fitness which will guarantee all rental homes are safe, warm and healthy to live in
Building more affordable, environmentally friendly homes in the places where people want to live
Making warm, safe, dry, affordable homes more accessible to people and whānau by removing funding and regulatory barriers for not-for-profit community housing projects
Ensuring people living on the lowest incomes have a warm, safe place to put down roots by accelerating the public building programme
Creating a national register of all landlords and property managers will show how many properties are rented, who owns them, how much rent is charged over time, and compliance with the Rental Warrant of Fitness.
Outside of the pledge, the Greens will also be limiting rent increases to the lowest of either 3% a year, the inflation rate, or the average wage increase minus 1%.
ACT
Taken directly from a Newshub article, as I had a harder time finding ACT’s specific policies (not sure why, deliberately hiding them or poor web design? You decide!)
Reforming the RMA on a property rights basis, with the presumption that you can develop your land so long as your immediate neighbours' property is not unreasonably affected
Sharing half the GST collected on new residential builds so that councils have the means and incentive to let building carry on
Allowing builders to opt out of council inspections if they have private insurance on new builds, so that new and innovative materials and techniques can be used
Reversing anti-landlord policies around evictions, the bright-line test*, and mortgage interest deductibility so that it's more attractive to rent out a house and tenants have more choice
*For those who do not know, the bright-line test means that “If you sell a residential property you have owned for less than 10 years you may have to pay income tax on any gain on the sale, unless an exclusion or rollover relief applies.” – IRD NZ.
National wishes to bring it from ten years down to two, while ACT wishes to repeal this altogether. This move favours property investment over other types of investment (EG: business, stock, etc) which pushes housing prices up, pricing many first home buyers out of the market, and meaning more people are competing for rentals as they’re not able to afford their first home.
Aiden’s Two Cents
DISCLAIMER: The above article is pretty neutral, but this section is the writer’s personal thoughts and such. If you’re not interested in reading naughty opinions, please skip to the conclusion, mwah
If a property investor relies on interest deductibility to afford their properties, then they have over leveraged and cannot actually afford that many properties. There’s no other investment or business where you cannot provide safe products or services.
If a food provider cannot afford to make safe food, we would give them a low health rating and demand something change, lest they want to go out of business. Healthy rental properties are no different. If a property investor is unable to afford adequate safety measures and liveable conditions in their properties, then they can’t afford to be a property investor.
Why does making living conditions better for those who need it mean the housing market will get worse? Limiting a landlord’s abilities to increase rent regularly and evict tenants without cause doesn’t stop them growing their net wealth, and/or making income off their rental.
End of the day, the landlords are still in power, and the tenant is still paying off the property investors asset, growing the property investors net worth. The tenant is doing this while struggling to make ends meet. That doesn’t change with these new rules. Landlords will still be having their mortgages paid off for them, and will still maintain the ability to increase rent annually. Giving the tenant better rights, better quality of life, it is not an attack against landlords, or something to scare them out of the market.
In conclusion
Outside of my own little rant, I’m not gonna try influence you one way or the other. At the end of the day who you vote for is your choice. All I ask is that when you do vote (and you WILL be voting.) consider who actually has your interest at heart, especially if you’re renting or plan on renting any time soon.
How does each party’s policy effect you as a renter, current, future, or solely hypothetical? How does it affect your friends and family who might be renting?
Don’t just take what each party says at face value. Look into what they’re really saying. Make the most informed decision you can. If you have all the facts, you can confidently walk in and out of the voting place knowing you’ve had a well-informed say about the running of our country.
Also, just to say it again, please remember to vote. Like, seriously, just do it.