11 January 2024 – 1 News Article;
https://www.1news.co.nz/2024/01/11/new-year-new-tenancy-what-landlords-can-and-cant-make-you-do/
This is a great summary of what Landlords can and cannot make you do as a tenant posted this morning via 1News!
“Much of this comes down to what is in the agreement and confusion over what landlords can actually enforce under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).”
Remember, it is important to make sure you check and understand your tenancy agreement before signing.
Property Management Wellington Limited has been ordered by the Tenancy Tribunal to pay $2,000 in exemplary damages to the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), after failing to comply with an Improvement Notice.
This case is the first time the Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team (TCIT) has taken a case to the Tenancy Tribunal for failure to comply with an improvement notice. Improvement notices have been available as an enforcement power since 11 February 2021.
The Improvement Notice was issued to Property Management Wellington after they failed to provide a healthy homes standard compliance statement for multiple properties where they are the landlord, meaning tenants were not informed whether the property met the healthy homes standards.
“It is particularly disappointing in this case that the inaction was by a property management company. Property managers should be aware of their obligations under the Residential Tenancies Act and work to ensure they are meeting them,” said Brett Wilson, National Manager Compliance and Investigation.
The landlord also provided tenancy agreements with unenforceable clauses to multiple properties – such as clauses requiring the tenant to give more notice to terminate the tenancy than what is required and allowing the landlord to give a minimum of four hours’ notice to enter the property. Clauses that conflict with tenant or landlord rights and responsibilities under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) are unenforceable.
An improvement notice is a notice issued to a landlord or tenant by the Chief Executive of MBIE for a breach or likely breach of the RTA.
“An improvement notice is an effective tool to ensure all parties are aware of what needs to be improved and the timeframes for improvement. TCIT works with landlords to ensure these improvements are completed in a timely manner. TCIT also has the power to take action where an improvement notice has been ignored,” Wilson said.
The adjudicator noted that up to 600 tenants did not have the benefit of understanding their rights as tenants because of the actions of the property management company.
The adjudicator’s impression was that “the landlord had elected to evade its obligations under the RTA and beguile its tenants into believing they had less rights than they did.”
“The breach of the RTA was particularly egregious, given that the landlord had not complied with the notice even at the time of the hearing, 18 months from when the Improvement Notice was issued,” they noted.
11 August 2023 – EECA
Homeowners are being encouraged to check their eligibility for the Government’s Warmer Kiwi Homes programme after changes to its eligibility criteria, announced the Minister of Energy and Resources Dr Megan Woods today.
“Extending the eligibility criteria will help more homeowners and their families to enjoy comfortable homes, without feeling they need to economise on heating,” said Megan Woods.
“The changes mean up to 58,000 more lower-income homeowners will now meet the criteria so I encourage homeowners who think they, or those close to them, might benefit from this programme to check the Warmer Kiwi Homes website. People who have applied previously, may now be eligible,” Megan Wood said.
Run by EECA (the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority), it has delivered warmer, drier, healthier, and more energy-efficient homes for tens of thousands of New Zealanders since it began in 2018. Last year, the programme reached a significant milestone of having achieved over 100,000 retrofits in that time.
Grants were previously set at 80% of the cost of insulation, and up to 80% for heating, capped at $3,000 for those living in an area with a ‘Deprivation Index’ of 8, 9, or 10. Further top-ups from community organisations in some centres have made the cost of insulation even lower or no cost.
The change means insulation grants have been extended to include level 7. Further, those in levels 9 or 10 – and Community Services Card holders – will now be eligible for a grant that is 90% of the cost of an insulation retrofit.
“Increasing the grant to 90% for insulation will extend the number of potential homeowners, who may be the hardest to reach,” said Megan Woods.
“It will also allow funding from community organisations who support the programme to spread twice as far, reducing the cost to zero for many people.”
Read the full press release at the Beehive website (external link)
Find out more, and check your eligibility, at Warmer Kiwi Homes