The Future of renting in New Zealand

What will being a landlord look like in years to come and what will it mean for tenants?

Rent freezes, rent controls, healthy homes, warrant of fitnesses, tax loopholes, speculators and tenant blacklists!! Has being a landlord ever been more challenging than now?

Everyday, it appears that there is a story in the media about renting in New Zealand in the media. It makes you wonder why you would bother being a landlord. Regardless of this, thousands of New Zealanders continue to invest in residential property and provide roughly one third of the entire housing stock for New Zealanders. Renting is a topic of hot debate and a source of much political wrangling.

The changes have been coming thick and fast from our current Government. Some of them we can anticipate, others come from leftfield and take us completely by surprise.

Since coming to power in 2017, we have seen the following implemented by our current Government:

The introduction and passing of the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act setting minimum standards for rental properties including the minimum indoor temperature capable of being maintained.

Prohibiting charging the tenant a letting fee with this cost now being passed onto the landlord.

The passing of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 which identifies and limits the amount of liability the tenant may face in terms of accidental damage and also defines what a prescribed level is for contamination from methamphetamine (a deadline this Government failed to achieve).

The passing of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020. Here we witnessed the most radical changes in tenancy legislation since the inception of the Residential Tenancies Act back in 1986.

Extending the Bright Line Test from 2 to 5 and now to 10 years, effectively turning this into a Capital Gains Tax.

Changing the taxation of rental properties, removing the ability to offset interest payments against revenue.

Will the changes stop there? Probably not as tenant advocate groups as well as the Green Party are campaigning for the Government to introduce rent controls, limiting the ability of landlords to increase rents.

The Government has created uncertainty with changes appearing to be announced ‘on the fly’ with a sense of panic and desperation. The changes have certainly made it challenging with many predicting that landlords will sell up and move on. If this will happen, only time will tell.

With so much uncertainty and debate around housing and in particular, renting in New Zealand, we feel we have a responsibility not just to our customers and clients, but to the wider Wellington community to educate them on what the changes are, the potential impact they will have as well as what may happen in the future.

On Tuesday the 15th of June at the Dowse Art Museum in Lower Hutt, Tommy’s Property Management will host our exclusive free event ‘The Future of Renting in New Zealand’. Industry expert and former Acting General Manager of Tommy’s Property Management, David Faulkner will share his insights and expertise to help you prepare for the changes to come.

We will examine and provide information on the following:

What has happened to rents in Wellington historically, and what may happen in the future?

Will we see rent controls and if so what will they look like?

What will the impact of rent controls be if they are implemented?

Why are applications to the Tenancy Tribunal dropping and what can we do to make the Tribunal more effective

What is ‘Build to Rent’?

What are the changes in legislation and how they tip the balance of power in favour of the tenant.

We will also have a team of experts to answer your questions regarding to all matters including what the recent Government announcement means for taxation on your investment property

Make sure you register for this exclusive event. Demand will be high and we anticipate that this special event will be fully booked.