A plethora of changes are on the way for renters and landlords with new legislation going to Parliament next month, Housing Minister Chris Bishop has announced.
The changes were signalled as part of National's pre-election commitments and will reverse moves by the previous Labour government.
Several changes are also part of National's coalition agreement with the ACT Party.
While the legislation will go to Parliament next month, the new rules are not expected to come into effect until early 2025, according to the Government.
Read more: Renting? Here's some advice for navigating the Govt's reforms
It comes as rental growth continues to run at "historically high levels".
Bishop said today: "The previous government waged a war on landlords. Many landlords told us this caused them to exit the rental market altogether."
He said the Government was making "sensible, pro-tenant" changes to help increase the supply of rental properties.
"These changes will make it easier for mum and dad landlords to be part of the rental property market, leading to an increased supply of rental properties and applying downward pressure to rents," Bishop said.
What are the changes?
The changes include re-introducing 90-day "no cause" terminations for periodic tenancies, meaning landlords can end a periodic tenancy without giving any reason.
Read more: 'No cause' terminations remind renters 'they are at the whim' of landlords
Landlords currently only have the right to end a periodic tenancy if they wish to move into the home, if it will be sold or renovated, or if the tenant hasn’t been paying rent.
The Housing Minister said: "We’ve heard from many landlords that, without the backstop of 90-day 'no cause' terminations, they were unwilling to take a chance on a tenant who may, for example, not have perfect references or a steady 9-5 job."
While 25,000 people remain on the state housing waiting list, Kāinga Ora's defending its performance. (Source: 1News)
For fixed-term tenancies, the ability for landlords to end a tenancy, at the end of the term, without giving a specific reason will also be re-introduced.
For periodic tenancies, notice periods for ending a tenancy are also changing.
Landlords will now only need to give 42 days' notice for ending a tenancy, instead of 63 days, if they want to move themselves or a family member into the property, or if the tenancy agreement notes the property is usually used to house employees, and they want to move an employee into the property.
Landlords will now only need to give 42 days' notice for ending a tenancy, instead of 90 days, if the property is subject to an unconditional agreement for sale requiring vacant possession, according to the Government.
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The tenancy changes will return the notice periods to what they were before 2021.
Bishop said today: "To end New Zealand’s housing crisis, we need to use every tool we have to increase supply.
"These changes, along with restoring deductibility for mortgage interest on residential investment properties, are part of the Government’s plan to encourage landlords back into the rental property market to increase the numbers of rental homes available."
Rent growth running at 'historically high levels'
The newly announced changes are part of the Government's shake-up in housing, which it says is desperately needed to encourage more rental properties onto the market.
Other changes include adjusting social housing rules and re-introducing interest deductibility for landlords, which Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has said renters will be "very grateful" for.
New CoreLogic data, released last month, showed rental growth was up 6% in the year to February, remaining "well above the long-term average". The growth reflected wage growth and a "tightening supply and demand balance".
Amid cost of living pressure, the impact of rising rents has hit many hard.
An Auckland single mum, Rose, told 1News about her experience in trying to find a rental that didn't involve "constantly being up on our feet, moving every two minutes."
"I've been all the way to the bottom of Auckland to the top of Auckland just trying to find a place to stay with me and my toddler," she said.
"It has been pretty difficult to try to find a safe space, that we can be situated in, and not constantly up our feet moving every two minutes."
The renter said she had been looking for a home since the beginning of the year, after leaving her last property, which had an ongoing rat and mice infestation.
"Living with a toddler, it's not the nicest thing when you have the poison and all of that around. The windows also weren't locking. They couldn't shut properly and I brought it up with the landlord a lot, and nothing was done about it."
The single mum believed landlords often looked down on the fact she claimed benefits.
"It's triggered my mental health a lot because I don't know where I'm going to be next.
"All I want is just to be settled down, and for my son to be able to go to daycare while not having to take 50 bus trips to get there, which I have been doing."
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