COMMENT: You think it's easy being a landlord? All we do is sit around and randomly put up rents when our Jags need servicing, writes Ron Goodwin.

All four big banks are now applying new lending restrictions to home loans - six weeks ahead of the Reserve Bank's official September deadline.

COMMENT: It's clear our laws protecting tenants have not kept up with changes in the market which have tipped the balance further to landlords' benefit.

Shared spaces, co-working, hot-desking, desk-surfing. Whatever you call it, there is no denying it's a growing trend.

One real estate agent is worried that Airbnb is taking much needed rental properties off the Auckland market.

A woman who abandoned her leasehold Auckland property and was ordered to pay $175,000 has won the right to go the Supreme Court.

Housing New Zealand is demolishing a multi-million dollar state housing complex in Onehunga because of leaky building issues.

Rents in Auckland have hit a record high, with the median price now $520 a week

Labour leader Andrew Little will tomorrow make a bid to raise minimum standards of heating and insulation for rental properties.

Tenants have been strongly advised to take out contents insurance to guard against being sued for damaging rental properties.

Tenants who damage rental properties aren't necessarily liable for the damage, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

Aucklanders are being pushed out of their own housing market and are responsible for one in five house sales in cities including Hamilton, Whangarei and Tauranga.

Rising rents are believed to be driving a 46 per cent jump in food parcels being handed out each month by the Auckland City Mission since the middle of last year.

Yong Xin Chen ditched her leasehold Cornwall Park house after her annual rent increased from $8300 to $73,750.

Tenant advocates are calling for rent controls and European-style laws requiring landlords to provide a "just cause" for evicting tenants.

A woman has been evicted from her Mt Eden flat for swearing in front of her landlord after he left a gate open and her beloved dog fled onto the road.

Auckland Council says landlords have too much power over tenants and it wants the Government to introduce random auditing of rentals.

Looking at buying a rental property? According to realestate.co.nz there's some attractive investment opportunities in some unlikely areas.

A bed in a prime Auckland location is going for cheap on Trade Me, the only catch is you'll have to sleep under a Japanese woman.

Auckland rents are surging - further bad news for young professionals locked out of the housing market.

A group of transgender flatmates living in Wellington has defended their Trade Me listing for wanting "no heterosexuals" in their advertisement.

Roger MacDonald, the new chief executive of Auckland Council's Panuku Development Auckland, gives his take on the year ahead.

Auckland housing affordability has improved slightly - but the city is now 59 per cent less affordable than the rest of New Zealand.

New data shows renting has become more common nationwide even though most households are still owner-occupied.

Gary Lin says he started buying houses only so he could play World of Warcraft on his computer all day every day.

Influx of tenants moving into the city for work or study is expected to cause more stress in Auckland's rental market.

Interest rates might be sinking but council rates are rising and that could drive rents up.

Housing's perfect storm as cost of renting a typical home in Auckland hits new high.

A young couple wonder if they should reduce their loan or invest in property.