The National Government’s proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act will mean tenants can be turfed from their homes by landlords with little notice, Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said.

“They’re pulling the wool over New Zealanders’ eyes, making all sorts of announcements but not doing the one thing that will actually make a difference, which is build more houses,” Kieran McAnulty said.

“Housing is expensive, so they’re tinkering around making people’s lives harder instead of fronting up the cash to keep the previous Government’s house building programme going.

“Today’s proposed changes include the reintroduction of 90-day ‘no cause’ terminations for periodic tenancies and allow landlords to give notice to end a fixed-term tenancy at the end of the term without requiring a specific reason. Both of these clauses will make housing less secure for many people.

“The proposed changes will not help tenants as the Government claims. Instead it makes it easier for a landlord to evict a tenant, or take a home off the rental market.

“Just like their claims on interest deductibility which even the Prime Minister has admitted won’t see him reduce rents on his property – their claims they are helping renters are baseless.

“What we need is more houses. All we’ve seen from this government is shifting the incentive back onto competition on existing stock which will see fewer houses built and house prices climb. This will lock people into renting, which is about to become less secure.

“This will not create a well-functioning rental property market that will solve New Zealand’s housing crisis, and the proposed changes will not make it easier to be a tenant.

“This Government continues to prioritise landlords and the wealthy, not those who are waiting for emergency housing, or hoping to buy a first home,” Kieran McAnulty said.

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