Voluntary WOF is the right thing to do – but let’s pause and ‘take stock’ before going further

Wellington City Council's recent move to introduce a voluntary rental warrant of fitness assessment and today’s comments encouraging home owners to adopt the voluntary housing standards is the right thing to do, says Wellington Chamber of Commerce.

“This supports the vision for Wellington, a city that attracts talent to live, learn, earn and create," says John Milford, Wellington Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive.

“It will be yet another reason to want to live here, and at the end of the day this is about doing right by tenants.

“But the council’s comments signalling that this could be mandatory are, at this stage, a step too far. We are yet to see how this plays out – the council needs to literally ‘pause and take stock’ before going further.

“We hope that like with any compliance - bearing in mind this is a voluntary code - that good landlords and home owners ought to have little to worry about. Instead, that they will see using this process as an advantage.

“Given Wellington's current housing stock and climate, most of the proposed assessment criteria are really just common sense basics. Other aspects we would want to see discussed further.

“We would strongly urge that the council first implements the voluntary processes before going further. The Chamber would need to see a review down the track, and encourage the council that there be further engagement following this.

“But we agree that warm, dry, safe and secure housing should be paramount. We will watch with interest to see how the addition of this voluntary assessment will impact on the market and the council resources.”

ENDS

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