jul 9, 2015 - Tenancy Laws - changed
Description:
The Government announced its intention to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to introduce new quality requirements for rental housing (smoke alarms and insulation), better enforcement and faster resolution of abandoned tenancies. The new law would require:
• the retrofitting of ceiling and under floor insulation in rental homes over the next four years. The new requirements would apply to social housing subsidised by the government from 1 July 2016 and for other rental housing, including boarding houses from 1 July 2019. There would be exemptions where it was impractical to retrofit insulation;
• all landlords to state in tenancy agreements the level of ceiling and under floor insulation to better inform tenants, from 1 July 2016; and
• smoke alarms in all tenanted properties, from 1 July 2016.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment was also to be given new powers to investigate and prosecute landlords for breaking these new laws, particularly where there was risk to the health and safety of tenants. Tenants could also take concerns to the Tenancy Tribunal without fear of being evicted for doing so.
There was to be a new ten-day process introduced to enable re-tenanting of properties where a tenant had abandoned a property with no intention of returning, replacing the current process which could take up to six weeks.
The reforms were expected to require an additional 180,000 homes to be insulated and 120,000 homes to have smoke alarms installed. It was estimated that the flow-on to rents for a property requiring ceiling and underfloor insulation and a new smoke alarm to be $3.20 per week.
Source: https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/about-msd/history/social-assistance-chronology-programme-history.html
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