Housing. Cut the Crap.

• Bill
• 7 years ago
• Categories: housing, tenants' rights
• Tags: homes, housing, people

I’m not the only one a bit tired of hearing about housing policy that’s geared to satisfying buyers. And I’m not the only one who rents, who will never buy, and who wants legislation passed that would end forever the type of bullshit that’s going on in Glen Innes.

Here are three simple things that can be done, that already exist elsewhere, that end the bullshit and nonsense within the state sector.

1. When you rent a state house, the tenancy is for life unless you commit a serious breach of the lease conditions.
2. A house swap register, overseen by local authorities, that tenants who find themselves in a house that’s too big or too small for their needs can access and use (this can be people swapping houses or people swapping into vacant houses).
3. If a signatory to a lease dies, but they have had a family member live in the house for the previous 12 months and the relevant authorities know that’s the situation, then the lease automatically transfers to that family member.
4. Abolish all ‘right to buy’ schemes.

Under the above, if the government wants to redevelop the likes of Glen Innes, then they do it off the back of people dying or voluntarily making use of the house swap register.

And then simply transfer the spirit of that into the private rental sector via appropriate legislation designed to grant tenants a sense of security.

So in the private rental sector, we might have legislation that protects the right of a tenant to remain living in their home when it’s been sold on the open market. We might look to set up a Landlord Register that includes a ‘fit and proper person’ test. We might have squatting rights that put an end to speculators leaving much needed properties vacant. And rent caps! For the love of everything holy and unholy and inbetween, introduce rent caps. These could be formulaic and worked from a GV.

None of this is hard. All of it would be hugely popular. But y’know, if we judge NZ by its politicians  and political policies, it can appear as though NZ is the land where intelligence comes to die. Now, wouldn’t it be nice to see that change?