WOF an insult not a protection

The national Federation representing Kiwi landlords is warning against progressing with the flawed rental WOF scheme, claiming its trialed roll-out is raising serious concerns for both tenants and landlords.

Wellington landlord Jackie Thomas-Teague took part in the WOF trial earlier this year and shared her experience at a NZPIF meeting yesterday.

“One of my tenants said a Building WOF insulted her intelligence and ability to choose for herself a property that best suited the needs of her family. She also went on to say that the Government should be directing its efforts to more critical issues, like Housing New Zealand stock, and leave the private rental market alone,” said Ms Thomas-Teague.

Andrew King, Executive Officer of the NZ Property Investors’ Federation (NZPIF) said Ms Thomas-Teague’s experience is not isolated.

“We need to shift our focus away from a WOF scheme and look at how we can improve insulation and heating. This will be a much more effective way of improving the health of families living in cold or damp homes,” says King.

“Already there are calls for additional requirements to be added, such as P Lab testing and orientation towards the sun. This makes an already costly exercise more time consuming and expensive.
More than a decade ago it was proposed that older homes could not be rented out in spite of renovations which makes no sense whatsoever. It's time to consider the negative implications of the WOF scheme. It will be a burden for both landlords and tenants," says King.

The property investors and landlords were all members of property investors’ associations affiliated to the NZPIF and were meeting to discuss a number of critical issues related to the investment in, and management of, residential rental properties.

ENDS

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