Easing loan restrictions, more affordable homes and better deals involving rental accommodation will be major planks the Labour Party will take into its election campaign this year.
Phil Twyford, the party's housing spokesman, was in Wanganui last week as part of a whistle-stop tour around the country to "get a feel" of housing issues.
Mr Twyford said the prime issue was the Reserve Bank's loan value ratio (LVR) introduced late last year as a means of easing house prices, especially in Auckland and Christchurch. An LVR is the proportion of money people can borrow compared to the value of the property and above 80 per cent is considered a risk.
"We don't believe Wanganui should have to pay the price for the Government's failure to sort out Auckland property speculation," he said.
"But as a result of these LVRs, people in Wanganui are facing the prospect and their major life asset (their house) losing value because the Government's taken a 'one size fits all' approach."
He said the Government should negotiate an exemption clause with the Reserve Bank that will cover the regions.
"There's no practical reason why the LVRs cannot be applied only to Auckland and Christchurch where 95 per cent of house price inflation is happening. And there's no reason why places like Wanganui should pay the price."
Mr Twyford said a Labour government would take a much more proactive approach to housing because it needed a bold and multi-pronged approach to resolve it.
"There's our KiwiBuild policy to build 10,000 affordable homes every years for 10 years, overcoming the acute shortages that are driving prices in places like Auckland sky high."
The spin-off would be to expanding growth in areas like apprenticeship training.
The Labour policy also includes building more State houses, helping accommodate the 20-25 per cent of New Zealanders living at the bottom end who do not have the ability to own their own home.
"We're talking about housing people currently living in private rental accommodation that is often sub-standard and over-crowded."
He said another policy would be make renting a "better option".
"Tenants have virtually no security of tenure. They can be booted out with 90 days notice with no reason. We can't expect people to live in those conditions."
Mr Twyford said his party was looking at similar policies currently in place in Australia and the USA. He said it was about giving more secure tenancies and creating incentives for longer tenancies as well but recognising the rights and obligations of all parties.
He said the damp cold houses, which sparked the debate of housing warrants of fitness, had prompted a decision by Labour to amend the Residential Tenancies Act to set minimum standards for all rental properties.
"There would be a five-year lead-in period but landlords would have to certify the house has been properly insulated and has an efficient heating source. This is not about leaking taps but the big issues, and heating and insulation are the two biggies," he said.
The policy would also include incentives to landlords.