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Real estate bosses campaign for regulation
Forty organisations have joined the Real Estate Institute to lean on the Government to regulate property managers but one sector boss whose organisation hasn't joined says the campaign has not gone far enough. Bindi Norwell, REINZ chief executive, today released a list of 40 businesses and organisations seeking regulation. "As planning is underway for the 2020 election, REINZ is today calling on the Government to formally review the need to regulate the property management industry, including public consultation, and to announce its recommendations for reform before the 2020 election," her statement said. But Property Managers Institute president David Pearse says 66 per cent of New Zealand residential rental properties were managed by private landlords, not businesses, and those private individuals would not be captured by the new system REINZ wants. "Those landlords don't know what they need to know. Many of them are ignorant and what REINZ is doing won't help. We need to adopt the system used in Wales where even private landlords are regulated," Pearse said. (Source: NZ Herald)
Tenancy Tribunal dismisses tenants $26,000 rent refund claim
An Auckland resident who was moved from his Housing New Zealand home after it was found to be highly contaminated with methamphetamine residues has sought a $26,000 rent refund. But Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator Nicola Maplesden dismissed the claim and found the "extreme" levels of residue found were likely caused by the tenant, Brett Micheal Williams, or "someone at the premises with his consent" an observation the former tenant rejects. Williams applied to the tribunal seeking the refund of all rent paid by him from November 2012 up to the end of his tenancy at the Pooks Rd address in Ranui in December 2018. The premises had not been tested for meth residues prior to the commencement of the tenancy, and were tested by Drug Free NZ at the request of Housing New Zealand (HNZ), after police searched the premises under search warrant on August 1 2018. (Source: Stuff)
Airbnb cheek: tenants fined, lose profit over sub-let flat
A couple who sub-let a central Auckland apartment for $215 per night without the owner's permission has been ordered to pay damages - and give the profits back. The Tenancy Tribunal has ruled Jian Cui and Ma Dong breached their rental agreement when they advertised the Quay St apartment for short-term rent on booking websites Airbnb and Booking.com. The couple have denied they were renting it out short-term and said the ad was in place so they could look for a long-term flatmate to live with them. But the Tenancy Tribunal favoured evidence by the rental agency The Rent Shop that the couple listed the apartment online the day after their tenancy agreement began on February 20, 2019. Tenancy Tribunal adjudicator Nicola Maplesden found the tenants had broken the law by intentionally sub-letting the property without the consent of the landlord - and had deliberately misled the property managers to believe they would be living in the apartment and possibly getting one more flatmate. (Source: NZ Herald)
Bad behaviour behind most 90-day notices
Getting rid of “no cause” terminations won’t benefit good tenants but it will help bad tenants - as most 90-day notices are due to poor tenant behaviour, landlords are warning. Currently, landlords can end a tenancy with 90-days’ notice to the tenant, without having to provide a reason. While this is actually a “no stated cause” termination, in popular opinion it has become a “no cause” termination and means a tenant has been kicked out of a rental property for no reason. In response to this, the Government wants to abolish “no-cause” terminations of tenancies as part of its proposed tenancy law reforms. But landlords are warning that getting rid of their ability to give 90-day notices to end tenancies will cause more problems than it solves – and a new survey by the NZ Property Investors Federation provides support for this. The NZPIF survey, which had around 1,400 member and non-member respondents, found that 90-day notices are not often used with only 3.1% of tenants issued such a notice each year. It also found that when they are used it tends to be when proof of a tenant’s poor behaviour, which is necessary at the Tenancy Tribunal, is difficult or impossible to obtain. The survey shows that 77% of 90-day notices were given for poor tenant behaviour, while the other 23% were for selling the property or undertaking significant repairs or renovations to the property. Further, it shows the main reasons for issuing 90-day notices were antisocial behaviour and disturbing neighbours. These reasons accounted for 42% of all notices. (Source: Landlords.co.nz)
Tenant Ratings and warnings
Our Tenant Rating system gives you the ability to rate a tenant on key areas of their tenancy. You can also load warning alerts regarding drug use, or perhaps you have been verbally or physically abused by a tenant. Let the next property manager or landlord know about it by using our Tenant Rating system. Find it under the Lodge > Tenant Rating menu. You can also lodge a Tenant Rating on a tenant whom you have previously done a tenant check on via the My Account > My Tenant Checks menu, here the Tenant Rating form will be automatically populated with the tenant's details. Each lodgement earns you a $4.60 credit on your account and enters you into the draw to win a bottle of wine!
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