New rules show National is giving up on affordable housing

July 9, 2015. 3:00pm

National's new regulations on rental housing show that the government is giving up on affordable housing policies, says ACT Leader David Seymour.

"New Zealand has a shortage of warm, dry homes. The best way to address this is to lift restrictions on development and allow New Zealanders to get on with building these homes.

"Instead, the government is fiddling around with retrofitting inadequate housing. The new regulations are being pushed to make up for regulatory failure in housing supply, without regard for the unseen consequences of new legislation.

"It’s inevitable that the cost to landlords will be passed on to renters, so it’s disturbing that the government has not conducted any cost-benefit analysis to determine just how badly renters will be affected.

"The other glaring flaw in the policy is the invitation for landlords to seek exemptions if they think retrofitting will be too impractical. This has the potential to instigate a costly disputes process as landlords and MBIE quibble over what constitutes reasonable levels of practicality.

"This continues National’s trend toward directing more resources into bureaucratic process, while impeding the productive sector which could be building new healthy homes. This would make a real difference in New Zealanders’ lives by reducing housing costs and improving standards at the same time."

ENDS

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