The government has signalled more changes are on the way to the Residential Tenancies Act in the New Year. 

The Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing) Kris Faafoi said “the Government has delivered on its promise to the over one million New Zealanders who now rent to make it fairer and more secure.”

While the changes may benefit tenants, they are likely to have unintended consequences that could make the rental crisis worse, not better.

The key changes include:

• Limiting rent increases to once every 12 months. 
• banning rental bidding offers by landlords.
• removing a landlord’s right to end a periodic tenancy agreement without cause.
• letting tenants add minor fittings such as brackets to secure furniture against earthquake risk, baby proof the property, install visual fire alarms and doorbells and hang pictures.
• Improving compliance with the law by increasing financial penalties and introducing new tools to take direct action against parties who are not meeting their obligations.

The changes will impact a large number of landlords and tenants but it remains to be seen if they will help resolve the housing crisis or improve the situation for renters in Wanaka and Queenstown. 

It’s no secret that rents have increased dramatically over the last few years and it’s increasingly difficult, particularly if you have children or pets, to find an affordable property to rent. 

Let’s hope these changes don’t make it too hard for landlords to continue to offer rental properties particularly with the alternative being the short-term rental opportunities offered through Airbnb and other services. 

The changes will be introduced to Parliament in the first half of 2020. If you are a landlord, you need to bring yourself up to speed with the new rules and work out how the changes fit with your rental investment plan. 

Feedback, comments and questions are always welcomed – please feel free to e-mail me on [email protected] or to book an appointment online visit: http://aspiringlaw.co.nz/Booking/.

Janice Hughes is a Director of, and senior legal adviser at, Aspiring Law. Please remember, this information is designed as a general guide, and should not replace specific legal advice on a particular issue.