116,000 loss-making rental property owners may sell

Confirmation from Inland Revenue last week that 116,000 owners declared a loss on earnings in the 2016/17 tax year shows that ring-fencing of tax losses for rental properties could soon result in 116,000 fewer rentals, Tenancies War spokesman Mike Butler said today.

“The response to my request under the Official Information Act also said that the average loss declared by each owner was $7138, and that includes both individual and non-individual (trusts, partnerships and companies) taxpayers”, Mr Butler said.

Owners who run a rental property at a loss do so to claim the losses against tax paid on their day job to get a refund.

“Advice to the Government (see http://tenancieswar.nz/other/loss-ring-fencing/) about the impact of loss ring-fencing has proceeded without knowing how many private rental property owners are negatively geared”, he said.

“A figure of 40 percent was given in that advice without stating the total number of private rental property owners. The 116,000 number is much higher than I expected”, he said.

“Once an owner has to top-up his or her rental with $138 every week from the day job with a greatly reduced chance of ever getting it back, it won’t be long before that owner decides to sell,” he said.

“Inland Revenue and MBIE advised the Government early last year that ring-fencing losses would result in the sale of an unknown number of properties to owner occupiers, reducing availability of rentals and increasing rents by around 10 percent”, Mr Butler said.

MBIE thought the housing shortage would increase by 16,600 over the two years from 2018, accounting for 6000 KiwiBuild homes over that period.

“The briefing papers were done under the expectation that KiwiBuild would deliver 6000 dwellings in two years”, he said.

But just three weeks ago, Housing and Urban Development Minister Phil Twyford said he could not guarantee that the Government will meet its target of having 1000 KiwiBuild houses built by July so the 6000-extra-dwelling figure is off the table, he said.

“If every negatively-geared owner sold to an owner-occupier, and if each owner sold one property, the shortfall would be more like 116,000 properties, not 16,600”, he said.

It’s decision time for negatively-geared owners, but it is also decision time for the Government that may unwittingly create a further massive shortfall of rental properties by not listening to advice, he said.

Stop the War on Tenancies is a group that since last October has been highlighting the evidence that successive governments have ignored while creating rental property policy.

Submissions on the bill close on February 28. To make a submission, go to https://www.parliament.nz/en/pb/sc/make-a-submission/document/52SCFE_SCF_BILL_82431/taxation-annual-rates-for-2019-20-gst-offshore-supplier

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