As house prices escalate rapidly around the country, Kawerau saw them more than double, the biggest nationwide increase over the decade. Alex Braae goes to the Bay of Plenty town to find out what impact it is having on renters. The headline figure was stark. Data from realestate.co.nz showed that over the last decade, Kawerau’s … Read more
Good morning and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Stories of the modern housing crisis, commerce commission to study supermarket industry, and Tauranga’s local government civil war deepens. The term ‘housing crisis’ featured a lot in NZ politics over the last decade, but it means different things to different people. In today’s Bulletin, I’m going … Read more
New analysis confirms what residents have long suspected: Wellington is substantially mouldier and damper than other New Zealand cities. “My flat had holes in the walls, letting slugs in to roam freely over my shoes and into the shower,” says Zoë Vaunois, a student at Victoria University of Wellington. “Similar holes also let spiders in … Read more
The quest for healthy rentals is often portrayed as a battle between sickly tenants and their merciless landlords. But where do the middlemen (and women) sit on the issue? It’s hard not to view New Zealand’s quest for liveable rental housing as an intense, politically-charged feud: on one side are the renters, the NGOs and … Read more
Jacinda Ardern was called an enemy of landlords and a threat to tenants after a series of changes to New Zealand’s rental law. Justin Giovannetti contrasts the law for renters here with that of his native Canada. “Our national sport is real estate.” I’ve heard some version of that phrase over a dozen times since … Read more
A new poem by Island Bay poet James Brown. Insulation My barber says that people no longer being able to afford houses is a no-brainer opportunity. He turns on the tele. Cue the leafy suburbs. Cue the dawn chorus. The tent of realty is specially crafted to respond to inequity. Its breathable fabric repels applicants … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Analysis that hits the mark after a big weekend of local elections, new party poll released, and Dunedinites turn out to clean up in honour of killed student. By now, you probably know whether or not you have a new local representative. If not, you might … Read more
Landlords face a $4000 fine if their properties are uninsulated on July 1 – but insulation companies say time’s run out and if they haven’t done it by now, bad luck. Don Rowe reports. Two weeks out from the Residential Tenancies Act insulation deadline the industry has reached total capacity, with businesses warning there is … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Harder look coming at the provincial growth fund, rents in Auckland City way up this year, and the long hunt for Louisa Akavi unpacked. The Auditor-General will be placing an increased focus and scrutiny on the spending of the Provincial Growth Fund, reports Business Desk. There will … Read more
The government today announced a raft of measures aimed at making rental homes warmer, drier and healthier. If there’s one thing tenants enjoy more than totting up how much of their wages are going to fund an extension to their landlord’s Waiheke holiday home, it’s enumerating all the highly specific ways in which their own … Read more
Howls of indignation over state housing evictions based on spurious meth testing have masked the reality of New Zealand’s two-speed P standard. Veronica Crichton admitted that she and her friends had been smoking meth in their Gate Pa, Tauranga home. She even got her landlord to help her evict one P-affected flatmate. She and another … Read more
Financial adviser Mike Warrington is warning his clients that investment properties are no longer the great little earners they once were. What does this mean for renters? Rental property investment is progressively being defined by our regulators as a commercial activity and as a result, will be impacted more heavily by future costs. In due … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: AirBnb rates hike ire sums up Auckland housing, health minister accused of cronyism, and calls to change Hamilton’s name. To start the week, we’re going to put the spotlight on an issue that is a microcosm for a lot of Auckland’s housing issues. Auckland homeowners who rent … Read more
A landlords’ spokesman’s claim that renters like paying letting fees shows how disgracefully lopsided our rental market has become, argues Madeleine Holden – and how desperately we need tenancy reform. Earlier this week, Stuff ran a story with a headline perfectly crafted to make millennials choke on their avocado toast: “Renters ‘like letting fees’, property … Read more
Blocked drains, borked stormwater and an ankle-deep swamp under the house, yet the family renting the property in south Auckland feel powerless. The housing minister says it’s an ‘absolute disgrace’ and underscores the need for reform of tenancy rules. Zac Fleming reports for RNZ’s Checkpoint programme. The Housing Minister has described a Papakura “swamp house” … Read more
Quinovic property management have embraced their stereotype of crusty rich people by sharing terrible memes as ads. Madeleine Chapman discovers they’ve been doing it for years. First published 13 August 2018 Mark Richardson explained memes to the eight contestants on The Block NZ last night. “The meme has become very on-trend in the world of … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: Lobby group wants to fundamentally reshape tenancy laws, nurses go on strike, and business leaders pledge action on climate change. Tenant rights group Renters United have put out a 36 point plan that they say will dramatically improve the lot of renters in New Zealand, reports Newshub. They … Read more
The minister in charge of Housing New Zealand has given the agency a dressing down after it took an Auckland pensioner to the Tenancy Tribunal twice over a small table that sits on her front porch. Zac Fleming writes for RNZ. Vivienne Wright’s square, black faux-marble table, which her cat uses to get inside and … Read more
Good morning, and welcome to The Bulletin. In today’s edition: A new poll is out, the government is considering public-private partnerships, and rents are rising rapidly. A new 1 News Colmar Brunton poll shows a drop for Labour, but government parties still comfortably ahead of the National party. It’s being reported by 1 News as the ‘end of the … Read more