More could be done to alleviate housing desperation

‘Amidst this housing shortage, many tenants are celebrating the recent and proposed tenancy law changes. This includes the removal of letting fees late last year which prevents landlords from passing the cost of a letting fee onto a tenant, and the proposal to limit rent increases to once per year. The Fees free will also be assisting students through this process’, says Ranstead

The Healthy Homes Act will introduce standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, and draught stopping, though many of the legislative particulars are yet to be decided upon.

‘With such a shortage in housing, students will often take less than adequate housing as it is the only option available, and so we encourage the Government to be ambitious, and to set standards that care for our future leaders and remove Aotearoa’s poor legacy of housing quality compared to the likes of European countries’ says Ranstead.

NZUSA believes an additional way that this can be done is to enforce the need for a rental Warrant of Fitness, currently a voluntary scheme in Wellington that has also been trialled throughout the country.

ENDS