Themes and Issues
Is there a problem with the quality of rental housing?
The RTA does not require rental houses to meet particular quality standards and does not directly regulate the quality of rental properties. Instead, it requires landlords to:
- provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair;
- comply with all requirements in respect of buildings, health and safety under any other laws that apply to the premises (such as the Building Act 2004);
- compensate tenants for reasonable expenses incurred in repairing the premises (if certain conditions are met);
- take all reasonable steps to ensure that none of the landlord’s other tenants causes or permits any interference with the reasonable peace, comfort or privacy of the tenant in the use of the premises.
The Building Act 2004 provides for the New Zealand Building Code. This sets minimum standards for residential dwellings and other buildings. These standards, however, only apply to building work and do not impact on existing buildings unless they are renovated, altered or their use changed (for example – from commercial to residential).
While the Building Act also provides for local authorities to take actions against owners of dangerous, insanitary and earthquake prone buildings, these provisions are rarely used and only apply to properties that are in very poor states of repair and essentially uninhabitable.
The Health Act 1956 and the Housing Improvement Regulations 1947 also impact on the quality of housing. The Housing Improvement Regulations are out of date and relate primarily to minimum room sizes and sanitary requirements including the number of toilets required in dwelling houses. The Health Act provides for local authorities to issue cleaning or closure orders for properties that have become a health threat, including those that have been contaminated (for instance by illegal drug manufacturing). There is considerable inconsistency in the implementation and enforcement of these provisions by local authorities.
As a general rule few stand-alone houses are purpose built by the private sector for use as rental properties. The usual way that houses join the rental stock is through ‘filtering down’ from owner-occupation. The rental stock therefore tends to be older than the owner-occupied stock and may not meet modern standards in terms of amenities or energy efficiency, for instance.
The 2003 National Survey of Landlords asked landlords about the ages of the houses they rent out. It found that most are older than 10 years with over one fifth being older than 50 years. The same survey also found that landlords take an unplanned and unsystematic approach to maintenance and repairs.
Housing New Zealand Corporation rents some ‘state housing’ properties from private property owners, and requires these private owners to provide a ‘decent standard’ of rental accommodation. Individual tenants dealing directly with private landlords do not always have the same information, confidence or bargaining power to require such ‘decent standards’ of rental accommodation.
A large number of enquiries to Tenancy Services concern interpretation of the word ‘reasonable’. What is considered a reasonable state of repair by a landlord is not always considered reasonable by a tenant. Further, when the Tenancy Tribunal is asked to decide disputes related to maintenance it has regard to the age and condition of the property – with lower maintenance expectations for properties that are older and near the end of their economic lives.
The law could be amended to provide more guidance to landlords and tenants on the standards required of rental properties. It could set minimum standards for rental accommodation that a property would be required to meet. Such standards could, for instance, set out requirements in respect of fire safety or insulation. Such a requirement could be similar to that which currently applies when the use of a building changes from commercial to residential purposes. Another approach would be to modernise and improve enforcement of the Housing Improvement Regulations.
The RTA could also be amended to provide more guidance to landlords and tenants on their obligations to maintain properties. One way to achieve this would be to provide for maintenance codes or standards, which if followed would provide evidence of reasonable maintenance. The Building Research Association of New Zealand has developed such guidelines to educate homeowners on household maintenance requirements. Another option might be to have quality rating schemes for rental properties, perhaps with incentives for landlords to meet rating standards.
Questions
- What problems are there, if any, with the quality of rental properties in New Zealand ?
- What, if any, building or housing standards should rental properties have to meet? Should standards for rental properties be set out in the RTA, or in other legislation?
- What can be done to clarify the obligations of landlords and tenants for property maintenance?