One of the more exciting things in what was a rather dull Budget last week was funding for home insulation jobs.
This is an idea the previous government started and National initially trashed when it took over the Treasury benches. Seeing it pick the policy up again is, pardon the pun, but warming news.
It’s also something which the media has really got its teeth into too. There are plenty of stories about the “ice blocks” people live in and how cold New Zealand houses are.
Over the week I’ve also heard lots of stories about the old, cold houses and flats people have lived in before, and there are plenty of these stories.
The other thing which has caught my attention is how many people have asked about rental properties and whether landlords are going to get their investments insulated.
To me it is a no-brainer. Provide a good property and you will get better quality tenants, keep them longer and even charge higher rents. But unfortunately it seems not many investors have, in the past, been prepared to do this.
I hope that this attitude changes and landlords wake up to the offer which the government is making.
Meanwhile, if you are a landlord and have insulated a property I’d love to hear from you to find out how you went about it, and what the end result was. You can send an email to thelandlord@landords.co.nz
How will a landlord with say 16 to 20 flats occupied by a mixture of high and low income tenants get on for subsidies?Will he be able to get the subsidy for each flat he insulates, or will there be a cutoff point on the number of subsidies available to any one landlord?
On 5 June 2009 at 8:27 pm Jason said:
Does the tenant still need to have a community services card? I have non residents that are definitely low income but don't have these cards so can I still get this subsidy?
On 5 June 2009 at 11:55 pm mark baker said:
More to the point: I have a 1950s Beazley house that was trashed by an exiting tenant 9has been vacant for two years while I chase her), I'd love to add insulation and a heat pump or log fire but with no tenant, am I going to be able to access the funding or not? Do the Wellington wonks think these things through or is it like Rodney's blinding flash of bat piss...aka the Supercity...conceived in a rare and ill-considered moment of hot passion and regretted as the problems come to light after the moment has passed (hmm.. rather like Rodney himself in that respect)!
On 6 June 2009 at 3:24 pm Jonathan said:
Hi Jason, it sounds like the new subsidy the government is offering will not be income tested so your tenants wont need community services cards.
On 7 June 2009 at 1:02 pm Lorraine Murch said:
I have found these schemes to be very slow to action my applications. I am registered with my third provider in 6-7 years and as yet have only had phone calls seeking address information and appologies. This week I plan to once more to do a follow up with the anouncement of yet another
chang to the offer.
In reply to Mark B why has he not repaired and re let his property while he seeks to find his ex tenant Dept of Building & housing will assist him with this procedure as will any branch of NZPIF.
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One of the more exciting things in what was a rather dull Budget last week was funding for home insulation jobs.
