Wellington City Council's Grants Subcommittee has directed council officers to investigate an advocacy service. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington City Council's Grants Subcommittee has directed council officers to investigate an advocacy service. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Wellington City Council is considering a tenancy advocacy service in the capital to help those facing an increasingly volatile rental market.
The perils of renting have recently been highlighted in the city's spatial plan hearing consultation.
One resident told councillors she lived in 10 flats before becoming a homeowner.
"I've lived in at least three turn-of-the-century houses that should not be on the rental market, they are straight-up health hazards. I lived in a place in Hataitai that had a literal swamp out the front next to my bedroom."
The council's Grants Subcommittee has directed council officers to investigate an advocacy service, which would be run by Community Law.
The organisation offers free legal advice and already operates a service in Wellington City providing initial assistance with tenancy law that would usually end in a referral to a private lawyer.
Expanding the service would mean clients get better specialist advice as well as the organisation being able to take on active case management for clients most in need.
Community Law has already launched a specialist housing advice and advocacy service for people living in Lower Hutt.
Debate in Wellington's spatial plan hearings has centred around the tension between affordable housing and protecting heritage. Photo / Mark Mitchell
Specialist lawyers can help with legal problems relating to housing including evictions, rent increases, tenancy damage and repairs, disputes with landlords, and social and emergency housing applications.
The number of people in Wellington City on the wait list for public housing has skyrocketed in the past year.
Latest figures from the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development show there were 482 people on the waitlist in September 2019, which has increased to 772 people for the same time this year.
Meanwhile, the amount the Government is spending on emergency housing grants in the city has increased six-fold.
Figures show that for the quarter ended September this year $6,323,178 had been spent on the stop-gap measures, usually week-long stints in motels.
Grants Subcommittee chair Fleur Fitzsimons said landlords continued not to comply with basic requirements.
She said renters struggle to enforce their rights and hold landlords to account.
"The stories we hear and see online show that the situation for renters in Wellington is dire and the quality of housing and treatment of tenants needs serious attention.
"There is a real power imbalance between tenants and landlords."
Fitzsimons, who is also the council's Social Housing and Housing Partnerships portfolio leader, said the advocacy service would help.
Council officer advice is that an advocacy service in Wellington City would align well with a preventative approach to homelessness and housing insecurity.
"The service can play an important part in preventing evictions and loss of tenancies."
The council already supports Community Law for a range of services through a grant of about $80,000 a year."
Wellington City councillor Fleur Fitzsimons. Photo / Mark Mitchell
To expand this service, council officers have suggested Community Law could apply to the council's social and recreation fund with a decision to be made on the application mid next year.
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) also already offers specialist support in the city for the preparation of claims to the Tenancy Tribunal and to support clients at hearings.
Local area manager Jane Julia said there is a gap in affordable advocacy services.
"Many tenants are not aware of the evidence needed to succeed in a dispute with their landlord. Also, tenants are reluctant or unable to effectively advocate on their own behalf."
In the past year, CAB has received 769 inquiries from tenants with housing or landlord-related issues.
The council's move for a tenancy advocacy service in Wellington comes in the middle of the Government's rental reforms to modernise the law and give appropriate protections for tenants.
The second tranche of changes will come into effect this February including prohibitions on rental bidding and landlords not being able to end a periodic tenancy without cause by providing 90 days' notice.
Acting co-general manager of Community Law Wellington and Hutt Valley Kate Scarlet said these changes were good news for tenants.
"But it's important to be able to enforce the law changes and that's hard for people to be able to do alone."
