More Regulations & Restrictions Reduce Number of Rentals

More regulations and restrictions reduce the number of rentals

For 17 years, forty three year old sickness beneficiary, Shanez Akhtar, has always a found a place to rent without difficulty, but that all changed 9 months ago.

"Unfortunately this isn't surprising" says NZ Property Investors' Federation executive officer Andrew King. "As regulations and costs have increased, it is getting harder and harder for people to provide tenants with a rental home."

Some political parties want to further increase the regulations and restrictions relating to providing private rental property. Some of these policies include extending the Bright Line capital gains tax, removing the ability to claim expenses as a tax deduction, removing the ability to remove poorly acting tenants and preventing rental property owners selling their properties.

Special interest groups have used Shanez Aktar's situation to call for an increase in social housing from 86,000 to 106,000.

However social agencies have not been able to provide social housing even when Government gives them properties at significantly discounted value and provides them with market rents.

Provision of social housing by Government, or third sector not-for-profit organisations, is extremely expensive and requires more government funds per property than the accommodation supplement provided to low income tenants renting in the private sector.

"The private sector provides the vast majority of rental property in New Zealand" says King. "If we continue to discourage rental property provision, we will continue making it difficult for people like Shanez to find a suitable rental home".

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