by Rob Hosking
Under the new policy announcements those already in Housing New Zealand homes will not have to pay market rents: and those who do come in will be entitled to the accommodation supplement.
For both private and public sector landlords the supplement can be paid directly to the landlord – but only if the tenant agrees. That last addition will disappoint some property investors who have been pressing for it to be mandatory.
National says it will also continue the current review of the Residential Tenancies Act but is not indicating where it intends to take that review.
The policy only says the party will “draft legislation that will eliminate anomalies and deliver a fair balance between the interests of landlords and tenants”.
The party also promises to investigate other home-ownership schemes.
National is not keen on Labour’s KiwiSaver savings scheme, which includes a large grant for first-home buyers.
National points to similar schemes in overseas, for example in Australia, where the result was simply to put up house prices by roughly the equivalent of the subsidy.
“Overseas examples tend to suggest such schemes have many loopholes and ultimately the cost of housing rises to match the size of the grant. Other overseas examples are worth investigating.”
Rob Hosking is a Wellington-based freelance writer specialising in political, economic and IT related issues.
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