With the Prime Minister today ruling out any intervention to regulate house rents, one might immediately think there is the opportunity for the Commerce Commission to form an inquiry.
Except …
It's not a price regulated activity such as airport landing charges
There's no obvious cartel behaviour
The state is still a dominant provider
It's not a regulated industry like dairy industry or telecommunications
Unlike petrol or supermarkets there's no oligopoly or anything near it
However last time I bought a flat, the bank was able to show me on a rate card exactly what I should charge.
Also it will take a while before we can see the cumulative effect of the changes both to minimum standards and to landlord financing to see any synchronous price movement.
It was good that the PM and Minister finally reacted against speculative investors. But I would still want the Commerce Commission to invite closed-door briefings from Harcourts, Barfoots, the five main banks, and some of the main landlords including Kainga Ora to get people talking about robust pricing elements.
It would be convincing if rent subsidies would have a cap. This would very soon show how bad the situation really is. If even more of our taxpayer money is being handed over to landlords I will definitely vote for Act. Labor is just throwing money around without flinching that future generations have to pay back, National is on the opportunistic tide- no alternatives there, the Greens are nowhere to be seen. That leaves Act as the only party that has so far at least offered ideas.
So far, every time the sub was increased so where the rents. If these are only allowed to adjust once per year it will be an astronomical amount. Funny that, it will – coincidental of cause – be taking all the sub. Why not have the snout in the trough right from he start and do away with bureaucracy in between?
The market works both ways. Instead of giving the landlord the money, increase benefits. It also shows that obviously incomes are far too low and it maybe needed to reduce taxes for income earners up to 50K. It would than be for landlords to compete with renters not just automatically increase rents because the government is re-indexing the rental subsidy. It would be by far a better solution.
With the Prime Minister ruling out any intervention to regulate house rents
I wouldn’t worry too much. Jacinda and Robbers have a history of saying one thing today and doing the complete opposite tomorrow. We can take what they say today with a grain of salt.
I like history, especially annotated and well-documented history, with reputable references. Got any of that? 'Having a history' implies a series of events, not one, now. So, put them on the table or I'll have to find my salt shaker…………
When you say robust pricing elements, do you mean things like social harm, affordability…that kind of thing, hence Kianga Ora's inclusion. It's not like they set rents they just pay subsidies based on the assumptive market rent which imho has always been out of whack because it assumes that despite shitty antisocial neighbours who will never leave or be kicked out + bad maintanence people will pay the same as other places nearby without those issues.
The way rentals are subsidised is a huge freaking State problem.
If the govt did limit market rents then landlords leasing to Kianga Ora might have a legal point to argue. Their contracts stipulate they will be paid market rent, and from memory it is assessed every year.
If PM has made this statement, and if the situation for first home buyers and renters worsens, I just hope the PM can feel free to break this promise to the rentier class and their political water carriers.
The government will just wait and see what effect the interventions they've just made will have.
I see rent levels as a third term issue now. And even then, they've shown they will subsidise housing, hotels, rents, and accommodation generally about as fast as they can print money.
This is a absolute rort from the landlords. Many renters are on a benefit and the only way to pay for that is when a house is over crowded. And here are the health issues that affects a system that is completely overloaded and people are actually dying waiting for surgery.
"But nobody can really tell at this stage by how much rents could go up and how widespread this might be.
The fact is the days of 'cost plus' being a viable pricing mechanism are long gone in New Zealand, as they are in the rest of the world.
Rents will only go up substantially if 'the market' can take it.
Most renters would probably feel that accommodation in this country is already pretty 'fully priced'. So, the question is what 'market' resistance would landlords face from widespread rent hikes?
I suppose the big question there would be the ability of peeved renters finding alternative living arrangements. But you can't get blood out of a stone. And to mix up my metaphors, landlords would risk killing the golden goose if they squeezed too hard.
So, okay, that's one aspect.
The other significant aspect is the prospect (very real I might have thought) that at least some landlords might see this as all too much bother and look to cut and run – IE sell their property or properties."
It's also not hard to find the vacancy rate in each city. It's pretty tight in Auckland.
And of course not hard to find out the price the state is paying to keep most people in motels and off the streets. It's a fair bit, as you'll see in the upcoming budget.
That is to say, we already have market failure and it's likely to get much worse.
When you say 'the vacancy rate' I assume you mean the rate of untenanted properties available to rent…..that is very different to the rate of untenanted properties that COULD be available to rent but are not.
Since the Prime Minister has ruled out intervening in the price of available renting properties, you can take it as a given that she is ruling out intervening in the price of hypothetical ones as well.
It would also be an impressively flexible Commerce Commission that tried to run that kind of hypothetical as a baseline for an investigation.
lol…they are only hypothetical as long as they remain outside the market….and the PM is busy minimising (not ruling out) rent controls mere weeks after the latest control ended.
From the Guardian quoting the PM's press briefing:
“What we’ve seen in our rental market has not mirrored what we’ve seen with house price growth,” she said.
“In fact, more often than not, it’s tended to mirror wage growth and so we will keep an eye on the numbers closely, but at this stage, we have no further plans in that area.”
She would not be drawn on what level of growth she would rule unacceptable.
Earlier on Monday morning Ardern’s chief press secretary had accidentally sent an email to Stuff, intended for his staff, asking for quotes from economists that could be used to rebut “the assumption rents will go up”.
A common thread I've seen in comments since the Government's announcement is that if landlords have to sell, this will itself force rentals up in price because there will be fewer of them and, well, supply and demand and all that.
Actually, as a piece of logic that doesn't work out….
If it's bought by an investor then the investor will continue to rent the property out – so, there will be NO change to the rental market. Okay the investor might try to hike the rental but I divert you back to the earlier comments in this article about the market and resistance etc……
David Hargreaves
Except if the investor finds the aformentioned market resistance doesn't allow him to get the rent he wants, he might just decide to park up the house, and get what he can from the capital gains.
The thinking behind this, goes 'If I, or other investors drop the rental to what we think tenants can reasonably afford, this will cause a drop in rentals being demanded everywhere. Better to try to artificially limit the supply to keep rentals up.
Yes flooding the market is a big no no in real estate but sometimes you cant control it…we have around 150,000 investors all with peculiar positions that will make their own decisions….good luck herding that many cats….especially if the market starts to fall.
You used to have councils like Auckland City and Wellington and Christchurch with really big council flats, which had very clearly targeted rent controls.
That was when the public sector dominated renting and took the prices with them. Back in the 1940s and 1950s.
Note the Tenants Protection Association and NZFirst were both arguing for rent controls in Christchurch back in 2012. But then the market really did alter:
The large pool of fixed state rentals acted as a competitive brake on private sector rentals.
The political agents of the rentier classes have been trying to whittle this buffer down, as much as they can by privatising and selling off state rentals whenever they are in government.
One of the reasons we are in a housing crisis is the removal of that brake.
agree….and to get the ratio of state houses to population back to the levels we had in the 1990s (before the sell off) we need around 100,000 state houses (total)
Looks like the National caucus is about to make a more on Collins. They voted down an indecisive Collins and her hand picked doctor deputy over mandatory fluoridation.
It doesn't bode well for Collins. It's not a good day in the leadership office when your MPs override your decision on an important public health issue.
National MPs have told Newshub this is incredibly rare and almost unheard of.
One National MP said it's even rare to have these votes in caucus, and that it shows indecisiveness and lack of belief from Collins.
In 2018 Simon Bridges won a leadership battle after Bingles' retirement. Following that I had hoped to see four National leaders in a year. It didn't happen then but it might happen this year.
Todd Muller rolled Simon Bridges on 22 May 2020 so for there to be four National leaders in a year Collins will have to last until 22 May 2021…
…. They voted down an indecisive Collins and her hand picked doctor deputy over mandatory fluoridation.
That's nothing.
Around the globe conservative parties are not noted for heeding sound evidential science based advice.
Collins thinks she has a problem getting her party to accept the science behind flouridation. It could be worse. Collins is lucky she didn't ask her MPs to vote that climate change is real, as Erin O'Toole the leader of the Candadian Conservative Party made the mistake of doing.
'Canadian Conservative party votes not to recognize climate crisis as real'
Blimey, get the popcorn out. Farrar has made a special post trying to run interference after having spoken directly to Collins.
They are doing damage control because the incident suggests Colins and Reti are anti-fluoride. Even Hooton has been trundled out to steady the sinking ship.
Thing is, these two clowns, Farrar and Hooton will know exactly who the anti-Collins faction is but they can't do a thing about it in case they prevail over Collins and then shut Farrar out.
Alo can't belevive Collins is still using Farrar for information distribution. This is the guy whose blog had to be moderated post Christchurch because of Islamophobic hate speech.
Meanwhile, Chris Bishop seems to think himself eminent PM material…but can'r even win his own seat.
I'm astonished that Shane Reti – a family doctor – is not supporting an obvious move to make fluoridation available to more of NZ. It is a very safe and proven way to improve dental health, especially for children. The current local body approach allows vocal opponents with lots of energy to dominate what should simply be a public health matter – the result being more kids with rotten teeth than necessary and much of NZ without fluoridation.
With over 40,000 empty houses just in Auckland alone…
Is it time yet to start using our existing supply of houses more rationally?
Howsabout an empty homes tax, like they have in Vancouver?
Any takers, or is this just a step too far?
Bugger the homeless, would instantly increasing the availability of rentals and houses for sale cool the market to quickly and be too much of a shock for those middle class Moms and Pops who invested in property, to bear?
"Marty Verry, CEO of Red Stag group talks to Jesse about the current shortage of construction timber for building homes and how long he expects that to last.
Red Stag is a privately owned, independent timber company based in Rotorua.'
If those people trying to get the Ever Given out of the Suez Canal want to know what real hard work is, they should try being a landlord in New Zealand
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Many in the mainstream media have taken what was said in New Zealand First’s State of the Nation Speech in Palmerston North on Sunday and deliberately, deceitfully, and ignorantly misrepresented what I said and why I said it. The headlines and commentary on the news stated that I compared ‘co-governance ...
Kicking the most vulnerable people out of state housing and pushing them towards homelessness will result in a proliferation of poverty and trauma across our most vulnerable communities. ...
Te Pāti Māori co-leader and MP for Waiariki, Rawiri Waititi has penned a letter asking MPs to support his members bill to remove GST from all food. The bill is expected to go through its first reading in parliament this Wednesday. “I’m calling on all political parties to support my ...
Good afternoon. Thank you for, in your very busy lives, turning up to this meeting today. On October 14th last year New Zealanders overwhelmingly voted for change. That is exactly what this new government is bringing. New Zealand First campaigned to ‘take back our country’ and stop the disastrous economic ...
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The Government adding Significant Natural Areas (SNAs) to its already roaring environmental policy bonfire is an assault on the future of wildlife that makes Aotearoa unique. ...
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Minister Shane Jones’ decision to step away from a seabed mining project is evidence of the murky waters surrounding the Government’s fast-track legislation. ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The growth of Treaty of Waitangi clauses in legislation caused so much worry that a special oversight group was set up by the last government in a bid to get greater coherence in the publicservice on Treaty matters. When ministers first considered the need for tighter oversight in 2021, there ...
The Coalition Government’s miscalculation saga continues as it has forgotten an eyewatering $90 million gap in its interest deductibility cost figures, say Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds and Revenue Spokesperson Deborah Russell. ...
He Pou a Rangi Climate Change Commission has today released advice that says if the Government doesn’t act now New Zealand is at risk of not meeting its climate goals. ...
The Coalition Government has today confirmed it is abandoning first home buyers who are struggling to get ahead, says Labour Finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds. ...
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New Zealand is strengthening its ability to combat illegal fishing outside its domestic waters and beef up regulation for its own commercial fishers in international waters through a Bill which had its first reading in Parliament today. The Fisheries (International Fishing and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2023 sets out stronger ...
Economists Carl Hansen and Professor Prasanna Gai have been appointed to the Reserve Bank Monetary Policy Committee, Finance Minister Nicola Willis announced today. The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is the independent decision-making body that sets the Official Cash Rate which determines interest rates. Carl Hansen, the executive director of Capital ...
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Transport Minister Simeon Brown is encouraging all road users to stay safe, plan their journeys ahead of time, and be patient with other drivers while travelling around this Easter long weekend. “Road safety is a responsibility we all share, and with increased traffic on our roads expected this Easter we ...
About 1.4 million New Zealanders will receive cost of living relief through increased government assistance from April 1 909,000 pensioners get a boost to Superannuation, including 5000 veterans 371,000 working-age beneficiaries will get higher payments 45,000 students will see an increase in their allowance Over a quarter of New Zealanders ...
Ensuring social housing is being provided to those with the greatest needs is front of mind as the Government restarts social housing tenancy reviews, Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka says. “Our relentless focus on building a strong economy is to ensure we can deliver better public services such as social ...
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The coalition Government is expanding the medium-scale adverse event classification to parts of the North Island as dry weather conditions persist, Agriculture Minister Todd McClay announced today. “I have made the decision to expand the medium-scale adverse event classification already in place for parts of the South Island to also cover the ...
The passing of legislation giving effect to coalition Government tax commitments has been welcomed by Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “The Taxation (Annual Rates for 2023–24, Multinational Tax, and Remedial Matters) Bill will help place New Zealand on a more secure economic footing, improve outcomes for New Zealanders, and make our tax system ...
Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Judith Collins and Tertiary Education and Skills Minister Penny Simmonds today announced plans to transform our science and university sectors to boost the economy. Two advisory groups, chaired by Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, will advise the Government on how these sectors can play a greater ...
The Budget will deliver urgently-needed tax relief to hard-working New Zealanders while putting the government’s finances back on a sustainable track, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. The Finance Minister made the comments at the release of the Budget Policy Statement setting out the Government’s Budget objectives. “The coalition Government intends ...
The coalition Government will look at options to address a zoning issue that limits how much financial support Queenstown residents can get for accommodation. Cabinet has agreed on a response to the Petitions Committee, which had recommended the geographic information MSD uses to determine how much accommodation supplement can be ...
Cabinet has agreed to a short extension to the final reporting timeframe for the Royal Commission into Abuse in Care from 28 March 2024 to 26 June 2024, Internal Affairs Minister Brooke van Velden says. “The Royal Commission wrote to me on 16 February 2024, requesting that I consider an ...
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The Government is recognising the innovative and rising talent in New Zealand’s growing space sector, with the Prime Minister and Space Minister Judith Collins announcing the new Prime Minister’s Prizes for Space today. “New Zealand has a growing reputation as a high-value partner for space missions and research. I am ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters has confirmed New Zealand’s concerns about cyber activity have been conveyed directly to the Chinese Government. “The Prime Minister and Minister Collins have expressed concerns today about malicious cyber activity, attributed to groups sponsored by the Chinese Government, targeting democratic institutions in both New ...
Independent Reviewers appointed for School Property Inquiry Education Minister Erica Stanford today announced the appointment of three independent reviewers to lead the Ministerial Inquiry into the Ministry of Education’s School Property Function. The Inquiry will be led by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Murray McCully. “There is a clear need ...
State Highway 1 across the Brynderwyns will be open for Easter weekend, with work currently underway to ensure the resilience of this critical route being paused for Easter Weekend to allow holiday makers to travel north, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Today I visited the Brynderwyn Hills construction site, where ...
Introduction Good morning to you all, and thanks for having me bright and early today. I am absolutely delighted to be the Minister for Infrastructure alongside the Minister of Housing and Resource Management Reform. I know the Prime Minister sees the three roles as closely connected and he wants me ...
New Zealand stands with the United Kingdom in its condemnation of People’s Republic of China (PRC) state-backed malicious cyber activity impacting its Electoral Commission and targeting Members of the UK Parliament. “The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” Minister Responsible for ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters and Defence Minister Judith Collins today announced New Zealand will provide logistics support for the upcoming Solomon Islands election. “We’re sending a team of New Zealand Defence Force personnel and two NH90 helicopters to provide logistics support for the election on 17 April, at the request ...
The European Union Free Trade Agreement Legislation Amendment Bill received Royal Assent today, completing the process for New Zealand’s ratification of its free trade agreement with the European Union. “I am pleased to announce that today, in a small ceremony at the Beehive, New Zealand notified the European Union ...
Public consultation on the terms of reference for the Royal Commission into COVID-19 Lessons has concluded, Internal Affairs Minister Hon Brooke van Velden says. “I have been advised that there were over 11,000 submissions made through the Royal Commission’s online consultation portal.” Expanding the scope of the Royal Commission of ...
Hardworking families are set to benefit from a new credit to help them meet their early childcare education (ECE) costs, Finance Minister Nicola Willis says. From 1 July, parents and caregivers of young children will be supported to manage the rising cost of living with a partial reimbursement of their ...
A specialised Independent Technical Advisory Group (ITAG) tasked with preparing and publishing independent non-binding advice on the design of a "green" (sustainable finance) taxonomy rulebook is being established, Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says. “Comprising experts and market participants, the ITAG's primary goal is to deliver comprehensive recommendations to the ...
Defence Minister Judith Collins has thanked the Chief of Army, Major General John Boswell, DSD, for his service as he leaves the Army after 40 years. “I would like to thank Major General Boswell for his contribution to the Army and the wider New Zealand Defence Force, undertaking many different ...
25 March 2024 Minister to meet Australian counterparts and Manufacturing Industry Leaders Small Business, Manufacturing, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly will travel to Australia for a series of bi-lateral meetings and manufacturing visits. During the visit, Minister Bayly will meet with his Australian counterparts, Senator Tim Ayres, Ed ...
Government commits almost $3 million for period products in schools The Coalition Government has committed $2.9 million to ensure intermediate and secondary schools continue providing period products to those who need them, Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced today. “This is an issue of dignity and ensuring young women don’t ...
Good morning, it’s great to be here. First, I would like to acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of Building Surveyors and thank you for the opportunity to be here this morning. I would like to use this opportunity to outline the Government’s ambitious plan and what we hope to ...
Minister for Pacific Peoples Dr Shane Reti has announced the Government’s commitment to the Auckland Secondary Schools Māori and Pacific Islands Cultural Festival, more commonly known as Polyfest. “The Ministry for Pacific Peoples is a longtime supporter of Polyfest and, as it celebrates 49 years in 2024, I’m proud to ...
Before moving onto the substance of today’s address, I want to recognise the very significant and ongoing contribution the Breast Cancer Foundation makes to support the lives of New Zealand women and their families living with breast cancer. I very much enjoy working with you. I also want to recognise ...
New Zealand has notched up a first with the launch of University of Canterbury research to the International Space Station, Science, Innovation and Technology and Space Minister Judith Collins says. The hardware, developed by Dr Sarah Kessans, is designed to operate autonomously in orbit, allowing scientists on Earth to study ...
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The Coalition Government is contributing more than $1 million to support the establishment of an emergency multi-agency coordination centre in Northland. Emergency Management and Recovery Minister Mark Mitchell announced the contribution today during a visit of the Whangārei site where the facility will be constructed. “Northland has faced a number ...
New Zealanders have enjoyed a broader range of voices telling the story of Aotearoa thanks to the creation of Whakaata Māori 20 years ago, says Māori Development Minister Tama Potaka. The minister spoke at a celebration marking the national indigenous media organisation’s 20th anniversary at their studio in Auckland on ...
Commercial catch limits for some fisheries have been increased following a review showing stocks are healthy and abundant, Ocean and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The changes, along with some other catch limit changes and management settings, begin coming into effect from 1 April 2024. "Regular biannual reviews of fish ...
By Anneke Smith, RNZ News political reporter A petition urging the New Zealand government to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people has been tabled in the House. More than 200 people gathered on Parliament’s forecourt today and they were met by MPs from Labour, the Greens and Te ...
Pacific Media Watch The Paris-based global media freedom watchdog RSF (Reporters Without Borders) has appealed for information about the “disappearance” of Palestinian journalist Bayan Abusultan. She was reportedly last seen on March 19 among people “sequestered” in this week’s raid and siege of Al Shifa hospital by Israeli troops in ...
EDITORIAL:The Jakarta Post It happens again and again; indigenous Papuans fall victim to Indonesian soldiers. This time, we have photographic evidence for the brutality, with videos on social media showing a Papuan man being tortured by a group of plainclothes men alleged to be the Indonesian Military (TNI) members. ...
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Mining company Trans-Tasman Resources has unexpectedly withdrawn its application for a consent to suck the valuable metals vanadium and titanium from the Taranaki seafloor, as it apparently wagers on the Government’s new fast-track process. It had spent two-and-a-half days putting its case to the Environmental Protection Agency’s decision-making committee, at ...
Contrary to the Associate Minister of Education’s claims, analysis of Healthy School Lunches Programme - Ka Ora, Ka Ako assessments has revealed it provides excellent value for the taxpayer dollar, as a groundswell of public opposition to Government ...
Greenpeace says wannabe Taranaki seabed miner Trans-Tasman Resources is likely banking on Christopher Luxon’s fast-track process to side-step proper scrutiny of its Taranaki seabed mining proposal by bailing out of the Environmental Protection Agency hearing ...
Kiwis Against Seabed mining today slammed Australian owned would-be seabed miner Trans Tasman Resources (TTR) for abandoning its application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to mine the seabed of the South Taranaki Bight. The company ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne A national Essential poll, conducted March 20–24 from a sample of 1,150, gave the Coalition a 50–44 lead including undecided, a reversal ...
The Taxpayers’ Union has today made a formal request under the Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on Open Government Information () for information held about how New Zealand Members of Parliament are spending taxpayer ...
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Whether you’re facing layoffs or are just an emotional junior staffer, it’s always a good idea to scout out a good crying place before you need it. It’s an incredibly hard time for Wellington. Across the city, thousands of public servants are hearing tough news about redundancies and layoffs. Government ...
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Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Daryl Adair, Associate Professor of Sport Management, University of Technology Sydney Earlier this week, independent MP Andrew Wilkie accused the AFL of conducting “off the books” illicit drug testing to identify players using substances of abuse, then inappropriately withdrawing them from matches ...
The Government’s announcement that it will scrap plans for a vast marine sanctuary around the Kermadec Islands is ‘shameful’ and will make it impossible for Aotearoa New Zealand to meet its international commitments, says the World Wide Fund for Nature ...
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While creating a slate of world-class shows, Whakaata Māori also developed a generation of world-class creatives. Television is an odd word. It mixes the Ancient Greek and Latin languages, and its most literal meaning is “far-off sight”. In the contemporary and living language of te reo Māori, “whakaata” as a ...
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With the Prime Minister today ruling out any intervention to regulate house rents, one might immediately think there is the opportunity for the Commerce Commission to form an inquiry.
Except …
However last time I bought a flat, the bank was able to show me on a rate card exactly what I should charge.
Also it will take a while before we can see the cumulative effect of the changes both to minimum standards and to landlord financing to see any synchronous price movement.
It was good that the PM and Minister finally reacted against speculative investors. But I would still want the Commerce Commission to invite closed-door briefings from Harcourts, Barfoots, the five main banks, and some of the main landlords including Kainga Ora to get people talking about robust pricing elements.
It would be convincing if rent subsidies would have a cap. This would very soon show how bad the situation really is. If even more of our taxpayer money is being handed over to landlords I will definitely vote for Act. Labor is just throwing money around without flinching that future generations have to pay back, National is on the opportunistic tide- no alternatives there, the Greens are nowhere to be seen. That leaves Act as the only party that has so far at least offered ideas.
Do you really as you say want renters to be far more exposed to these market conditions, in order that the government can show the amount of subsidy?
So far, every time the sub was increased so where the rents. If these are only allowed to adjust once per year it will be an astronomical amount. Funny that, it will – coincidental of cause – be taking all the sub. Why not have the snout in the trough right from he start and do away with bureaucracy in between?
The market works both ways. Instead of giving the landlord the money, increase benefits. It also shows that obviously incomes are far too low and it maybe needed to reduce taxes for income earners up to 50K. It would than be for landlords to compete with renters not just automatically increase rents because the government is re-indexing the rental subsidy. It would be by far a better solution.
With the Prime Minister ruling out any intervention to regulate house rents
I wouldn’t worry too much. Jacinda and Robbers have a history of saying one thing today and doing the complete opposite tomorrow. We can take what they say today with a grain of salt.
I like history, especially annotated and well-documented history, with reputable references. Got any of that? 'Having a history' implies a series of events, not one, now. So, put them on the table or I'll have to find my salt shaker…………
I’d start with the entire 2017 Labour manifesto then roll forward from there …
… but COVID 🙂
So no real evidence of a history of reversal behaviour? I guess I'll have to use the garlic salt, then…….
When you say robust pricing elements, do you mean things like social harm, affordability…that kind of thing, hence Kianga Ora's inclusion. It's not like they set rents they just pay subsidies based on the assumptive market rent which imho has always been out of whack because it assumes that despite shitty antisocial neighbours who will never leave or be kicked out + bad maintanence people will pay the same as other places nearby without those issues.
The way rentals are subsidised is a huge freaking State problem.
If the govt did limit market rents then landlords leasing to Kianga Ora might have a legal point to argue. Their contracts stipulate they will be paid market rent, and from memory it is assessed every year.
Ad
29 March 2021 at 5:50 pm
With the Prime Minister today ruling out any intervention to regulate house rents….
Hi Ad,
I'm sorry I missed this statement from the PM can you provide a link?
If PM has made this statement, it makes me wonder, who is setting the country's housing policy?
The government, or the Nact opposition?
Robertson Must Rule Out Rent Control
Saturday, 27 March 2021, 2:05 pm
Press Release: ACT New Zealand
https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO2103/S00212/robertson-must-rule-out-rent-control.htm
Government must rule out rent caps – National
4:58 pm today
Jane Patterson, Political Editor
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/439403/government-must-rule-out-rent-caps-national
If PM has made this statement, and if the situation for first home buyers and renters worsens, I just hope the PM can feel free to break this promise to the rentier class and their political water carriers.
As per the link I gave below:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/29/new-zealand-housing-crisis-jacinda-ardern-says-rent-increase-warnings-are-speculative
The government will just wait and see what effect the interventions they've just made will have.
I see rent levels as a third term issue now. And even then, they've shown they will subsidise housing, hotels, rents, and accommodation generally about as fast as they can print money.
Good one, meanwhile in on of the poorest areas in any city in NZ:
Rent in Porirua, Waitangirua: lower end: $ 499, upper $ 588.
This is a absolute rort from the landlords. Many renters are on a benefit and the only way to pay for that is when a house is over crowded. And here are the health issues that affects a system that is completely overloaded and people are actually dying waiting for surgery.
Oh bless your cotton socks.
https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/rent-bond-and-bills/market-rent/
"But nobody can really tell at this stage by how much rents could go up and how widespread this might be.
The fact is the days of 'cost plus' being a viable pricing mechanism are long gone in New Zealand, as they are in the rest of the world.
Rents will only go up substantially if 'the market' can take it.
Most renters would probably feel that accommodation in this country is already pretty 'fully priced'. So, the question is what 'market' resistance would landlords face from widespread rent hikes?
I suppose the big question there would be the ability of peeved renters finding alternative living arrangements. But you can't get blood out of a stone. And to mix up my metaphors, landlords would risk killing the golden goose if they squeezed too hard.
So, okay, that's one aspect.
The other significant aspect is the prospect (very real I might have thought) that at least some landlords might see this as all too much bother and look to cut and run – IE sell their property or properties."
https://www.interest.co.nz/opinion/109735/david-hargreaves-assesses-some-more-intemperate-suggestions-being-made-about-what
All without the mention of AirBnB or vacant properties.
Both through Statistics NZ and through the Tenancy service, the state gives a pretty good idea about what each place is worth to rent.
https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/rent-bond-and-bills/market-rent/
It's also not hard to find the vacancy rate in each city. It's pretty tight in Auckland.
And of course not hard to find out the price the state is paying to keep most people in motels and off the streets. It's a fair bit, as you'll see in the upcoming budget.
That is to say, we already have market failure and it's likely to get much worse.
When you say 'the vacancy rate' I assume you mean the rate of untenanted properties available to rent…..that is very different to the rate of untenanted properties that COULD be available to rent but are not.
Since the Prime Minister has ruled out intervening in the price of available renting properties, you can take it as a given that she is ruling out intervening in the price of hypothetical ones as well.
It would also be an impressively flexible Commerce Commission that tried to run that kind of hypothetical as a baseline for an investigation.
lol…they are only hypothetical as long as they remain outside the market….and the PM is busy minimising (not ruling out) rent controls mere weeks after the latest control ended.
From the Guardian quoting the PM's press briefing:
“What we’ve seen in our rental market has not mirrored what we’ve seen with house price growth,” she said.
“In fact, more often than not, it’s tended to mirror wage growth and so we will keep an eye on the numbers closely, but at this stage, we have no further plans in that area.”
She would not be drawn on what level of growth she would rule unacceptable.
Earlier on Monday morning Ardern’s chief press secretary had accidentally sent an email to Stuff, intended for his staff, asking for quotes from economists that could be used to rebut “the assumption rents will go up”.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/29/new-zealand-housing-crisis-jacinda-ardern-says-rent-increase-warnings-are-speculative
She gave herself a tiny 'out' with her phrasing, but it's pretty clear. They've intervened enough in the market for the foreseeable future.
"Finance Minister Grant Robertson said the Government would be keeping a close eye on any increase to rents and would "take action if necessary".
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/politics/housing-crisis-government-must-rule-out-rent-caps-national/RL5IKJK5QWQN246V4ZJUL3A6HQ/
That was before Ardern's conference. He knows who he works for.
My bet is this is a third term issue … unless there's some almighty uprising.
Have you found that link yet where the PM said rent controls were 'off the table'?
Her phrasing is as cited above.
You want to read that optimistically, go right ahead.
lol…Judith is very concerned about the wiggle room…is she an optimist or a pessimist?
Judith Collins is Leader of the Opposition, for which pessimism is in the job description.
Hi Pat
From the link you supplied;
The shrinking rental market myth
A common thread I've seen in comments since the Government's announcement is that if landlords have to sell, this will itself force rentals up in price because there will be fewer of them and, well, supply and demand and all that.
Actually, as a piece of logic that doesn't work out….
If it's bought by an investor then the investor will continue to rent the property out – so, there will be NO change to the rental market. Okay the investor might try to hike the rental but I divert you back to the earlier comments in this article about the market and resistance etc……
David Hargreaves
Except if the investor finds the aformentioned market resistance doesn't allow him to get the rent he wants, he might just decide to park up the house, and get what he can from the capital gains.
The thinking behind this, goes 'If I, or other investors drop the rental to what we think tenants can reasonably afford, this will cause a drop in rentals being demanded everywhere. Better to try to artificially limit the supply to keep rentals up.
Lol…going mad…this is daily review.
Yes flooding the market is a big no no in real estate but sometimes you cant control it…we have around 150,000 investors all with peculiar positions that will make their own decisions….good luck herding that many cats….especially if the market starts to fall.
Does anyone know if we had rent control in NZ before?
You used to have councils like Auckland City and Wellington and Christchurch with really big council flats, which had very clearly targeted rent controls.
That was when the public sector dominated renting and took the prices with them. Back in the 1940s and 1950s.
Note the Tenants Protection Association and NZFirst were both arguing for rent controls in Christchurch back in 2012. But then the market really did alter:
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300100607/heres-what-would-really-control-new-zealand-rents
we had rent controls last year…they ended on the 25th of September
https://www.hud.govt.nz/residential-housing/tenancy-and-rentals/new-rules-for-rent-increases/
There's nothing new under the sun…
https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/business/your-property/9154737/Ice-cold-response-to-rent-freeze-plan
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/imary-holmi-rent-control-doesnt-help-the-poor/5W7MATYSMIS7JVGYTFNNH5FBJU/
https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/33455/muldoon-announces-a-wage-and-prize-freeze-1982
millsy
29 March 2021 at 7:20 pm
Does anyone know if we had rent control in NZ before?
Yes.
State housing rents are limited to 25% of income.
https://nzhistory.govt.nz/culture/we-call-it-home/the-state-steps-in-and-out
The large pool of fixed state rentals acted as a competitive brake on private sector rentals.
The political agents of the rentier classes have been trying to whittle this buffer down, as much as they can by privatising and selling off state rentals whenever they are in government.
One of the reasons we are in a housing crisis is the removal of that brake.
agree….and to get the ratio of state houses to population back to the levels we had in the 1990s (before the sell off) we need around 100,000 state houses (total)
Looks like the National caucus is about to make a more on Collins. They voted down an indecisive Collins and her hand picked doctor deputy over mandatory fluoridation.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2021/03/national-mps-vote-against-judith-collins-shane-reti-on-fluoride-policy-in-rare-move-for-caucus.html
In 2018 Simon Bridges won a leadership battle after Bingles' retirement. Following that I had hoped to see four National leaders in a year. It didn't happen then but it might happen this year.
Todd Muller rolled Simon Bridges on 22 May 2020 so for there to be four National leaders in a year Collins will have to last until 22 May 2021…
…not looking good at the moment.
Let's check in on them again in 2026.
Muttonbird
29 March 2021 at 8:15 pm
…. They voted down an indecisive Collins and her hand picked doctor deputy over mandatory fluoridation.
That's nothing.
Around the globe conservative parties are not noted for heeding sound evidential science based advice.
Collins thinks she has a problem getting her party to accept the science behind flouridation. It could be worse. Collins is lucky she didn't ask her MPs to vote that climate change is real, as Erin O'Toole the leader of the Candadian Conservative Party made the mistake of doing.
'Canadian Conservative party votes not to recognize climate crisis as real'
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/20/canada-conservative-party-climate-change-real
Blimey, get the popcorn out. Farrar has made a special post trying to run interference after having spoken directly to Collins.
They are doing damage control because the incident suggests Colins and Reti are anti-fluoride. Even Hooton has been trundled out to steady the sinking ship.
Thing is, these two clowns, Farrar and Hooton will know exactly who the anti-Collins faction is but they can't do a thing about it in case they prevail over Collins and then shut Farrar out.
Alo can't belevive Collins is still using Farrar for information distribution. This is the guy whose blog had to be moderated post Christchurch because of Islamophobic hate speech.
Meanwhile, Chris Bishop seems to think himself eminent PM material…but can'r even win his own seat.
For me, the schadenfreude peaked with the last sentence in yr link:
"Remember, National's caucus meetings are supposed to be top secret and impenetrable, but once against the caucus is leaking like a sieve. "
I'm astonished that Shane Reti – a family doctor – is not supporting an obvious move to make fluoridation available to more of NZ. It is a very safe and proven way to improve dental health, especially for children. The current local body approach allows vocal opponents with lots of energy to dominate what should simply be a public health matter – the result being more kids with rotten teeth than necessary and much of NZ without fluoridation.
Hard to believe New Zealand has a timber supply problem. We are basically a forest with some shitty towns tacked on.
The invisible hand strikes again.
The forestry bosses worked out they could make bigger profits exporting whole logs than finished timber, so closed down all the timber mills.
Now we find we can't get timber to build houses in a housing crisis.
So it looks like we won't be able to build our way out of the housing crisis afterall.
Concern grows over impact of timber shortage on New Zealand's house building industry
March 27, 1 NEWS
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/concern-grows-over-impact-timber-shortage-new-zealands-house-building-industry
With over 40,000 empty houses just in Auckland alone…
Is it time yet to start using our existing supply of houses more rationally?
Howsabout an empty homes tax, like they have in Vancouver?
Any takers, or is this just a step too far?
Bugger the homeless, would instantly increasing the availability of rentals and houses for sale cool the market to quickly and be too much of a shock for those middle class Moms and Pops who invested in property, to bear?
All those ugly freemarket chickens coming home to roost.
"Marty Verry, CEO of Red Stag group talks to Jesse about the current shortage of construction timber for building homes and how long he expects that to last.
Red Stag is a privately owned, independent timber company based in Rotorua.'
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/afternoons/audio/2018789495/framing-timber-shortage-in-nz
heh
https://twitter.com/spat106/status/1376310103154913283