Looking Forward in our Residential Investment Business
In last month’s Newsletter we highlighted what has been thrown at our industry to improve the quality of New Zealand’s Residential Rental Housing Stock for our Tenants
Whether we liked it or not these improvements needed to be enforced on us. As with every aspect of our lives there are always those that take advantage of their better position. It can’t be denied some of our houses needed to be insulated (most of our houses were built in the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s and 90’s), they should all have Smoke Alarms, they should all have a heating source (this has been law since 1947), and they should all be ventilated.
From the 1st of July if you change or renew your Tenancy (usually a new Tenant) you have 90 days to comply with all of the Healthy Homes Legislation or by the 1st of July 2024, whatever is the earlier. Are you ready? Do you know what size Heat Pump you require? Do your Properties already comply (good on you – and your Tenants will thank you, stay longer and pay more rent)
All of these changes are not to just improve the quality of life for your Tenants, but it also improves how your houses perform. Cheaper to run, cheaper to maintain (mould will eat your house in the blink of an eyelid), most expenses are tax deductible, your asset will increase in value by a higher amount and when you want to sell your Investment, it will be easier to sell with more Investors or home buyers interested in it.
That was a summary of our Industry up to now, so now what can we look forward to
These are what our Governments have spoken about over the last 10 years that they still want to introduce into our Industry
- Tenants will be allowed to have pets – doesn’t matter that this may put our Property Inspections in jeopardy due to safety concerns around dangerous dogs
- More improvements to houses by making us put in double glazing, ventilation systems in the form of a DVS or HRV as examples, a heater in every bedroom
- They want to regulate our Property Management Industry, at present there are no rules around who manages a Rental Investment. With regulation they will dictate there must be so much Training undertaken each year, that is after you get some sort of qualification. You must have your Clients Rent Monies deposited into a Trust Account which is audited on a regular basis (with a Real Estate Sales Trust account its four times a year). Regulation will make it harder for the cowboys we currently have in our Industry to keep operating. In the last six months three different Property Management Businesses in Tauranga have been fined by the Tenancy Tribunal for unlawful practises, Bay City Rentals, Prime Rentals and At Home Rentals
- Unfortunately, there have been numerous Private Landlords flouting the laws also, mostly in regard to not lodging Bonds or maintaining their houses. Some don’t even know what The Residential Tenancy Act says they must do. This is why they are talking about also making these Landlords do Training so they know how to comply with the law and how to look after their Tenants and Rental Investment Property
I hope these Newsletters help keep you informed and educated about how to manage your Residential Property Investment Business and you are happy to receive them.
Please email Dan either way dan@taurangarentals.co.nz