Organisation claims that the emergency provisions had been causing more harm than good
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development has announced that it would end the Residential Tenancy Act (RTA) emergency provisions on June 26.
In March, the government announced emergency legislative changes to protect tenants when the country moved towards COVID-19 alert level 4 lockdown. The emergency RTA provisions will end on June 26, and the government confirmed that it would not extend the initiative anymore.
Bindi Norwell, the chief executive of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ), welcomed the government's decision.
“While the legislation had great intentions in the early days and helped many tenants out during level 4 lockdown, of late, it had been causing more harm than good, which is why we had been imploring the government to bring the legislation to an end,” Norwell said.
“It is great that the Ministry has listened to industry professionals across the country and taken their feedback and insights on board, and for this, we are extremely grateful as it will now provide landlords, property managers, and tenants much more certainty over the coming months as the country hopefully continues to move forward in a post-COVID environment.”
Norwell explained that the decision would also help landlords and property managers to prepare for the upcoming Healthy Homes deadline rather than being distracted by issues caused by the emergency provisions.
“Finally, we welcome the Rent Arrears Assistance announced this morning to support people at risk of being evicted because they are unable to pay rent. This will go a long way to helping people who have lost their jobs or had reduced income as a result of COVID-19,” Norwell concluded.
