“In a week when the property sector needs confidence to build, Grant Robertson has dropped another bombshell on property investors,” says ACT’s Housing Spokesperson Brooke van Velden

“This morning Grant Robertson did not rule out rent caps stating ‘that's not on our agenda at the moment, but we will keep an eye on what happens.’

"Combined with this week's shock announcements, the Deputy Prime Minister's welch on rent control fuels a rocket of uncertainty.

“The Government just announced interest on rentals won’t be deductible, a move the Property Investors' Federation estimates will cost $6,000 on renting out a home with a 600,000 mortgage.

“Building housing supply is a long-term activity. Building homes takes years, paying for them takes decades. When he Government changes the rules of the game at a whim, confidence suffers and less gets built.

“Developers are already reporting that they are pulling back while the market digests the latest policy changes, this is the cost of uncertainty, a cost on top of the actual policies announced.

“When the Deputy Prime Minister says the Government might start regulating rent on top of new taxes, it damages investor confidence.

“This Government may have the best will in the world, but everything they do has the opposite effect. Their approach of attacking some groups such as landlords is fundamentally divisive. The role of Government should be to foster confidence so there is more investment. This lot are doing the exact opposite.

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