A Christchurch motel owner has had to put up with what he describes as “neighbours from hell”, despite police, Corrections, the SPCA and dog control trying to help. The Motel owner is the latest victim of antisocial tenants.

The antisocial neighbours are Housing New Zealand tenants. However the Government directive of not issuing 90-day notices means HNZ cannot effectively manage their tenants.

“If these were tenants of a private landlord, at the moment that landlord would be able to help the motel owner by issuing their antisocial tenants with a 90-day notice” says NZ Property Investors’ Federation Executive Officer, Andrew King. “However, Government is proposing taking this tool away from private landlords as well.”

Because private landlords do not currently have to say why they are ending the tenancy, they are able to manage these infrequent, but devastating, cases without neighbours having to put themselves at risk by providing evidence.

Government has been told that landlords are evicting tenants for no reason, but that makes no sense. It takes a lot of time and effort to find new tenants, so there is always a good reason to issue a 90-day notice.

This proposed change will do not provide better security for the vast majority of tenants; it will protect antisocial tenants at the expense of their neighbours.

A recent NZPIF survey found that around 7,000 antisocial tenants are issued with a 90-day notice each year. If this proposal becomes law, landlords will not be able to protect the neighbours of their antisocial tenants unless the neighbours are willing to provide evidence of the behaviour to the Tenancy Tribunal. Many will be unwilling to take this risk.

ENDS

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