- Great yet more increases in rents"
Roy
- Good move by the Govt. Will not worry members of NZ Property Investors Federation, as 92% of members houses are already insulated."
Rob Halcrow
- I am curious as to how the government will determine if a house is insulated or not. Even I do not know. Does this include walls as well? If so, how will these be insulated, especially whilst tenants are living in the houses.
Chris
- Thousands of landlords own one investment property, live on a modest income and compromise their own lifestyle in order to support the rental, at the same time housing others. These individual landlords go without now (e.g. no insulation in own home) trying to responsibly create financial resources for their later years so as to not rely on social services. It's a fine line and does not take much to tip the balance. Will rents go up? Will government fund insulation? Oh - and while landlords ride the up and down wave of property investment everywhere except the major cities, to give long-term tenants more security .... when exactly, does Dr Angela Maynard suggest rental property owners might be permitted to sell?
Request name not be printed
- I am a landlord with a rental property in a less well off part of Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt. I was fortunate my property had already been retro-fitted with insulation when I bought it. I put in smoke alarms before renting the property out as that is simply a no-brainer to protect my investment. Honestly, I would not be happy renting out a cold damp property to tenants; people need somewhere healthy and comfortable to live. People who can't afford to insulate their properties (ceiling and underfloor) and provide smoke alarms shouldn't be in the business. (You need smoke alarms in your whole house to get a renovation signed off; why should there be a lower standard if you're renting out a property?).
Imogen Wybourne
- If the new rules being introduced for rental properties are for health and safety reasons then surely they should apply to all owner-occupied houses as well. Why will children and elderly people be allowed to live in owner-occupied homes that will be deemed unsuitable for tenants?
Gary
- Sound idea but I'm afraid the landlords' response to this new requirement will be significantly increased rents. Perhaps they (government) need to consider capping the rents as well by then.
Zee
- To only require rental properties to be insulated without extending the rule to owner occupied houses seems to be just another measure to make things harder for landlords.
Amy-Elizabeth
- Let tenants choose - if they want insulation they should be able to come to an agreement with the landlord to pay a small amount extra for it. As a current landlord who is also a tenant I cannot currently afford to insulate my property when the tenant is routinely weeks behind on their rent.
Mike W
- All properties should be insulated. We don't expect rentals to be gold plated, but the basics should be sound. It ends up saving people costs and leads to a healthier society and less stress on public hospitals that we all pay for.
Gandalf
- This is a good move in the interest of people who cannot afford to buy. Some ugly landlords including mine are forcing me and my little kids to live in a non insulated house despite paying a decent rent return!
Rehan
- I am against the government interfering in matters that are not genuine public safety issues. I hope you are saving now for the rental increase that will accompany this governmental meddling.
Jason
- The information missing on this announcement (besides who is to judge it is insulated or capable of being so), is if this compulsory change regarding insulation is tax deductible.
JP
- We get what we deserve. In the end the tenant will pay for the additional expense. I've today given all my tenants notice of a $100pw rent increase to cover the additional costs.
Don Henderson
- In Australia, this kind of thing led to a rush in the market, with fly by night contractors getting in on the deal. They were installing reflective foil insulation, and the workers installing it were stapling into power cables, either killing themselves or making the house electrically live.
Barnacle
- Surely if you own it, and live in it, you don't need the government to tell you how to fix it?
Derryn
- Most tenants are Pretty rough on rentals because it is not there house. Besides if you are in a older home where it is not insulated just think of the people who have lived there throughout its life who have never complained. Toughing up or pay up for a warmer home.
Mike Mahony
- It's always someone else's fault. It's always someone else's responsibility. It's high time people started taking some responsibility and accountability for their family's health.
Ted Filter
- It's enough to put you off investing in property. All that's left is staggering tax free capital gains. It's a close call now.
Luke
- I'd like to know if there is going to be inspections and warrant of fitness on the insulation itself. At the last place I lived in, I asked my landlord to get insulation and she told me she bought the house fully insulated. Upon inspection by the insulation company, the house had been insulated in the 70's when the house was built but it was a very old, very thin worn insulation that would not meet today's standard (it was like "blown paper"). However, the house was sold to the landlord as "fully insulated". She went ahead and got new wool insulation which we were thankful for.
Sarah Melady
- I just wanted to make a small comment about getting houses insulated. I think this is a great idea but some insulation companies especially the companies that you are able to get the government subsidy with will come up with barriers why they are unable to insulate your house. This has happened to me twice. The first was the last rental I was living in. The company said they were unable to do half the house due to a pipe running under the house so they ended up not doing it at all. And there was no man hole in the roof. We had to move as it was way too cold for my 4 year old son. The second house we just brought. A different company but we could still receive the government subsidy, they also said that the clearance was not enough for a person to fit under. So I called a different company for a second opinion but they did not offer the subsidy. They fully insulated the underfloor without hesitation and they said there was heaps of room. So it's not doing to be as easy as everyone thinks. Especially the no man holes, we also don't have a man hole in our new house but had to get the roof done so got the insulation done then. My question is what happens when they can't insulate??
Yuki
- On this subject i have some concerns.I recently had my insulation done i had let my landlord use my community services card which meant it was absolutely free but when it came to insulation been done under our bedrooms it wasnt possible as it was a bit too low for them to get under and i might add that our rooms were the coldest areas of the house. However, the insulator then said for $500 they can dig trenches to reach that area,the landlord then turned her nose up and said oh no thats too expensive, considering my community services card got her home full ceiling and underfloor insulation except the bedrooms of course which cost around $2000 without the card, how is that fair. So where it says landlords are to get houses insulated ,and when it comes to situations like mine where some parts are too low does that mean they dont have to pay for trenches to be dug by the insulators to complete the insulation????
Christine Hape
- The new requirement for insulation makes so much sense. Having managed energy efficiency projects for years, I've seen the difference it makes. I remember one Mum in Auckland who wrote to thank our team for getting subsidised insulation into her home and who told us that her child had needed to visit Starship hospital a lot less often since it was put in. Her landlord had done nothing for years and it was only when she was able to 100% of the cost covered that things changed. Making it a legal requirement is even better. Good on Metiria Turei and the Greens for pushing hard on this. The government realised they had to budge.
Tejopala Rawls
- I think it's a great idea about their new laws of installation because it would be warm for there families and houses not it's freezing cold and I'm sure that's why there's a lot of sick children as well it would help a bit and smoke Alams is really good idea so I'm all for their new rules
Brenda and Donald Matheson
- My husband and I have been property investors since early 2004. Our rentals are in Christchurch. We have experienced the loss of the ability to claim depreciation, we have experienced the insurance issues associated with the Canterbury earthquakes, and we are now being hit with the beginning of a rental WOF. Quite frankly, we are not wealthy people. We have 3 older (1920s and 1950s) homes in Christchurch and we would be happy to live in any of them ourselves. Two of them we have lived in (previous homes). For the whole time that my husband and I have been together, we have lived in a low end house in a lower socio-economic area, so that we could also invest in rental properties for our retirement. Our houses are all safe and have ceiling insulation and smoke detectors. One house is getting a bit scruffy (just paint) because it is has good long-term tenants (more than 5 years) and we can't get in and renovate without kicking our good tenants out. We have also installed ventilation systems and heat pumps into our rentals - before we could afford to do our own home. Quite often our rentals have been better than our own home.
We have made sacrifices to be property investors and we believe we are good and reasonable landlords. I know that the next Labour/Green government is going to introduce a full rental WOF. Quite frankly, these days the risk of being a property investor far outweighs the return. Yes, you might get capital gain, but that cannot be guaranteed (and the Labour/Greens government will also want a slice of that, if you are so lucky). Someone tell my why keeping rentals is a good idea these days. It seems that every 5 minutes someone is slamming landlords. We are not evil, we are normal working folk just trying to fund our own retirement when we eventually get there. At the moment I'm not seeing any good reason why we shouldn't sell up and buy a flash house to live in - we've never lived anywhere better than working class areas such as Hornby & Redwood in Christchurch, and Henderson in Auckland. Tell me why it is worth us bothering to remain investors? I hope someone is still keen on being a landlord because we have 3 lovely sets of tenants (some also have dogs) who will have nowhere to go!
Meghan Holender
- All I can say is ABOUT TIME!! there are too many cold damp draughty rental houses and too many kids getting sick. No one in this generation should live in a cold house.
Tina
- I have been flatting in a Hamilton central rental since February 2015. The house, (particularly in my room due to it being blocked from the sun) is so cold I can see my own breath easily. It's usually warmer outside than inside. It takes four days for my washing to dry (if it's raining and I can't dry them outside).
I mentioned we should have the house insulated, but the landlord refused. Luckily I have my electric blanket, even if it means sitting in bed all day. (The idea of a heater is out of the question, considering the power they suck up) Sometime after I moved in I had a bad flu for a few weeks and then eventually my body adjusted to withstand the cold temperatures in my room. (Although sometimes my hands still freeze up and I can't write) I'm really happy with this new law to insulate rentals, because quite frankly it's cruel to rent out a house for the money and not consider the health and safety of it's tenants. I only hope my landlord acts soon, before I lose my mind on this frost.
Megan Hutt.
