Kensington resident John Richards has been given notice to leave his unit as it's being refurbished, but he questions why he has to move out. Photo / Tania Whyte
Kensington resident John Richards has been given notice to leave his unit as it's being refurbished, but he questions why he has to move out. Photo / Tania Whyte
Sweeping changes to New Zealand's tenancy laws aimed at boosting the health and rights of renters are having the opposite effect and leaving increasing numbers of residents homeless.
That's what Whangārei pensioner John Richards believes after he and his neighbours received notice to move out of their flats as thebuilding owner completes renovations to get the homes up to scratch.
The Northern Advocate has received several other calls from tenants in the same position.
Richards has dubbed the upcoming changes to the Residential Tenancies Agreement Act and the Government's Healthy Homes Standards as the "laws of unintended consequences".
Richards, 74, and two of his neighbours were late last month given 90 days' notice to move out of their Kensington block of units.
"All they'd have to do is bang in a heat pump and put in an outside vented rangehood to comply.
"These landlords are getting a massive boost in property values, and they think they deserve more rent.
"But the two don't really equate.
"There's a lot of people in this situation. It's the law of unintended consequences."
Another Whangārei resident who was given notice to move out her flat also blamed changes to the Residential Tenancies Agreement Act which come into effect on February 11.
The changes – the biggest tenancy law overhaul in 35 years - were passed by the previous coalition Government in a bid to strengthen the rights of renters.
John Richards believes changes to tenancy laws are having "unintended consequences". Photo / Tania Whyte
They mean landlords can't terminate a tenancy without specific legal grounds, rent can now only rise every year, not every six months, and landlords must give 90 days' notice to sell instead of 42. Tenancy Tribunal fines will rise from $50,000 to $100,000.
Richards, who is paying $340 a week for a two-bedroom unit, received notice to move on January 20.
His neighbours at two adjoining units also received notice, and the fourth had already moved out and the renovations had been done.
Richards said he's worried about finding another rental in today's market.
He wants to buy a section and build "but I've got 90 days now to try and do something. With the property rises all the sections have gone up as well."
With a combination of soaring house prices and rents, and increasing demand for social housing, it's now harder than ever to find a place to call home.
There are currently 852 people waiting to get into a state home in Northland, compared with 485 who were on the register last year — an increase of nearly 76 per cent.
"Now all the February terminations are adding to that pool, it's just getting worse and worse," Richards said.
"It's not so bad if you've somewhere to go, but when you're on a pension you can't afford a hell of a lot."
Rentals.co property manager Ashley Inglis said the owner of the building was renovating the units to a high level because of the new Healthy Homes standards.
This requires the owner to do "extensive work", she said.
The standards became law last July, and mean specific and minimum standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, and draught stopping in rental properties.
All private rentals must comply within 90 days of any new or renewed tenancy after July 1, with all private rentals complying by July 2024.
"We want tenants to have warm healthy homes, so we're completely gutting them and going through an extensive refurbishment, putting in heat pumps, ventilation, new kitchens, new paint, carpet, and new bathrooms to meet the new standards."
Inglis said once complete, the units' rent would be increased but "not significantly".
The units can't be refurbished with the tenants living in them.
"There's so much work to be done to bring them up to standard", she said.
"John is a great tenant and we're happy to help him find a new home. At the moment we don't have anything but they have got 90 days and we truly believe something will come up to move him to."
