REINZ Welcomes $100m Funding Announced In Budget To Support The RTA And Healthy Homes Implementation

The Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) has welcomed the announcement of $100 million in funding in the Budget to support the implementation of changes to the Healthy Homes Standards and Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020.

Wendy Alexander, Acting Chief Executive at REINZ says: “There has been significant legislative change in the last few years that has had a substantial impact on anyone working in the residential tenancy space. The $100 million in funding announced in today’s Budget to support this legislative change is to be welcomed.

“REINZ has been extremely supportive of the Healthy Homes Standards as every Kiwi deserves a warm, dry home to live in. The $16 million for proactive investigation and enforcement of the Healthy Homes Standards is to be welcomed and it will ensure that the small percentage of landlords who look to circumnavigate the rules, will be caught and dealt with appropriately.

“With the banks in the process of making cheques obsolete, the $38 million earmarked for ensuing the IT system used to facilitate residential tenancy bond transactions is stable, secure, and supported will be welcome news to landlords and property managers. Currently, there are widespread concerns around what the new system will look like, how it will work and how bonds will be processed under the new system. The current direct credit payment system has been temporary, and we look forward to more detailed information on this in the coming weeks.

“There are already long delays with the release of bonds when tenancies have ended, often leaving tenants and landlords short of funds. The turnaround time for returning a bond when a tenancy has ended can be very slow; it has gradually increased from 1-2 weeks to 4-5 weeks at present and sometimes the tenants have left the country before their bond has been finalised,” points out Alexander.

“Currently there is a 6-8 week wait for a Tenancy Tribunal hearing depending on where you are in the country, so the $5 million announced in the Budget to support the Tenancy Tribunal to manage increasing demand arising from the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 will be welcomed by property managers and landlords across the country. Hopefully, some of this money will be earmarked towards employing more adjudicators, particularly in some of the provinces where the wait for a hearing can be up to three months,” continues Alexander.

Notes to Editors

Specific funding announced this afternoon in The Budget is as follows:

• $16 million for proactive investigation and enforcement of the Healthy Homes Standards with the aim of preventing childhood hospitalisations, raising the standards of rental homes, and supporting the most vulnerable tenants
• $41 million to maintain critical tenancy services, including timely access to dispute resolution services and processing of bond transactions, successful implementation of tenancy reforms, and proactive monitoring and investigation of rentals to reduce the risk of vulnerable tenants being exposed to harm
• $18 million operating and $20 million capital funding to ensure that the IT system used to facilitate residential tenancy bond transactions is stable, secure, and supported. The system replacement will deliver much needed service improvements, improve data quality, and support outcomes across the wider residential tenancy regulatory system
• $5 million to support the Tenancy Tribunal to manage increasing demand arising from the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020.

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