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Jenkins also called for a pledge that any new government would not return to landlords being able to evict tenants with no cause… Bishop was the only candidate not to make the promise - getting a round of boos from the crowd.
True to form.
Yeah, well I think National has promised to roll back a lot of the changes Labour has made to tenancy law/conditions.
There was strong language also from Genter, defending her party’s rent-freeze policy.
Christ almighty, are we still having this debate? Rent control is a good solution in response to a temporary situation like Covid, but it’s not a long term solution.
Long term, it inevitably results in a shortage of supply, as investors put their money elsewhere.
I don’t really want to argue on either side, but I think there is still a reasonable debate to be had: https://rentersunited.org.nz/rent-control-faq/
Number three is an interesting point, even they admit you can absolutely screw up and make things worse.
Not the most compelling argument to be honest, they also bring out the classic “homeowners will buy the rental property” line, ignoring the fact that most tenants aren’t in a position to buy.
What they can do however is ensure that renters are not being exploited by their landlords in a supply restricted market while the government drastically increases supply.
That one gave me a chuckle.
Not the most compelling argument to be honest, they also bring out the classic “homeowners will buy the rental property” line, ignoring the fact that most tenants aren’t in a position to buy.
Actually, a study in San Francisco found this exact situation. Long term rental prices rose because rental properties were converted to owner-operater condominiums, which fueled gentrification.
Rent control appears to help affordability in the short run for current tenants, but in the long-run decreases affordability, fuels gentrification, and creates negative externalities on the surrounding neighborhood.
Exactly what you’d expect to happen really. Do you know if those condo buyers were existing tenants though?
According to the San Fran study often it was yes. There is actually surprisingly little good data on long term trends about this however.
I suppose it’s only been tried a handful of times around the world, sorry not a huge amount of data to draw from.
I’m firmly of the view the best way to address this is building state housing on a massive scale, while making life as easy as possible for commercial builders.
I suppose it’s only been tried a handful of times around the world, sorry not a huge amount of data to draw from.
I would definitely like more data before this policy (or any really) is put in place. Bring evidence-based policy making to parliament.
I’m firmly of the view the best way to address this is building state housing on a massive scale, while making life as easy as possible for commercial builders
I complete agree, with one caveat: Making life easier for the commercial building industry should not compromise building codes, standards and owner protections. We do not want to go back to be leaky-home, cowboy-contractor days.
I had a house build by one of these types. We discovered out main water supply was leaking under the driveway and so had to replace it. We found all the nails and metal from the build surrounding the old pipe, which had been shredded. Paid a pretty penny to fix the problem, among others (leaking windows etc). Absolute nightmare.
I mean, investors mostly just chuck money into bidding up the price of existing housing in this country so it’s kind of a wash in my view
Uhh, what?
The idea that rent control deters investment that increases housing supply seems less believable when we currently don’t have rent control, an enormous housing shortage and money being piled into the existing housing stock which causes prices to explode
I did some reading, and while the long term trend is an increase in rents historically, rent control doesn’t reduce investment. The best study I could find is that it cases less movement of people (they tend to stay put longer) and more owner-renter situations. It also seems to lead to increased gentrification.
I’m undecided if I think it’s a good idea or not. While it seems true that over the long term, rent control appears to increase rents. I wasn’t able to find really solid studies, however, and it’s very hard to compare prices in different locations, etc.
House prices are, on average, either stable or declining in NZ.
Over what time period? There was recently a short period of decline correlating with interest rate increases, but prices are on the up again. And if you look at 10 or 20 years, the increases are pretty crazy.
Very very recently. And that’s temporary, especially if National makes the changes they are proposing.
That’s a very one-eyed view. How can you be so naive?
