SunLive - Landlords evicting tenants before new rules set in sunlive.co.nz - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sunlive.co.nz Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Tenants on blacklists written by landlords, managers: Can post anything they like
4 Feb, 2021 04:42 AM
4 minutes to read
Tenants have objected to blacklists. Photo / Michael Craig
A tenant chief says landlords can post anything they like on blacklists they share, yet there was no recourse for people who rented properties against such lists. Penny Arthur, the Christchurch-based manager of the Tenants Protection Association, said more than one blacklist existed and they weren t fair. We became aware of it at the end of last year, Arthur said of tenant blacklists. There are a number of landlord Facebook groups where landlords can post anything they like about tenants, she said, indicating the tenant might not know nor would be able to object.
Under the new rules, a landlord can increase the rent only once every 12 months, and the practice of rental bidding, where landlords or property managers invite prospective tenants to offer more to secure a competitive spot, is banned. The law will also abolish the practice of no-cause terminations, where landlords can remove their tenants without giving a reason, if they give 90 days’ notice. The tenancy can still be terminated if the landlord wants to sell or needs the property for themselves or a family member.
Supplied
Auckland tenant and tenants’ advocate Bruce Gordon welcomes the new legislation. If a tenant is late paying rent or has carried out anti-social acts on three separate occasions, the landlord can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to terminate the tenancy.
Trade Me figures reveal new record rental prices
Trade Me figures reveal new record rental prices Wednesday, December 23, 2020 Adam Jacobson, Reporter
Rental prices continue to surge across the country as the national median weekly rent finishes off the year 21 percent higher than in 2015.
New data released by Trade Me has found that the country s average rent has again reached $520 a week - a high not seen since February.
The highest rents are on Auckland s North Shore, at an average $620 a week.
However, Wellington now out-prices Auckland with a median price of $580 per week. Porirua and Wellington City were equal-highest priced areas in the capital at an average $595 a week.