Making Renting Better

Why renting needs to change

Everyone deserves a decent place to call home. Somewhere you can put down roots, raise your family and build a future.

For one in three New Zealand households, that means renting. But too many people who rent face uncertainty about how long they can stay in their home, worry about the cost of keeping it warm, or struggle to get problems fixed when something goes wrong.

Paying the rent is already one of the biggest household bills. With the cost of living putting more and more pressure on families, people deserve more certainty and a fair deal.

If you pay your rent and look after your home, you should have the security of knowing you can stay there.

Labour will make renting safer, fairer and more secure, so people can feel settled in their homes and build a future here in New Zealand.

1. Give people who rent more security in their homes

The National Government brought back no-cause evictions, so landlords can end a periodic tenancy without giving a reason. For families, that can mean finding another home, paying moving costs and changing their children's school, even when they've done nothing wrong.

Labour will:

• Ban no-cause evictions, so landlords must give a reason to end a tenancy
• Give people more notice - 63 days when a landlord or their family wants to move in, and 90 days for sale, renovation or a change of use
• Keep rent increases limited to once every 12 months and make sure the rule is enforced

People who rent deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing their home won't be taken away without good reason.

2. Make rental homes warmer, healthier and safer

Too many Kiwis still live in cold, damp homes or struggle to get repairs done.

Labour will:

• Introduce a duty of care for landlords, requiring them to keep rental properties safe to live in and fix serious hazards
• Require proper curtains or blinds under the Healthy Homes Standards, helping people keep their homes warm
• Stop insurers requiring routine rental inspections more often than every six months, reducing unnecessary inspections

3. Get problems sorted faster

When something goes wrong in a rental home, people should be able to get it sorted quickly.

Labour will:

• Set clear rules for property managers, so tenants and landlords are treated fairly
• Require landlords, including Kāinga Ora, to act on serious anti-social behaviour, so neighbours aren't left facing ongoing disruption and intimidation
• Strengthen oversight of boarding houses to better protect the people living in them

Part of our bigger plan for housing

Making renting better is part of Labour's wider plan to make sure homes are affordable to buy, rent and live in.

Labour will expand First Home Loans so more Kiwis can buy with a 5% deposit, and introduce a rent-to-buy pathway so eligible families can build up a deposit while renting. See Making it Easier to Buy Your First Home.

We'll also restart Kāinga Ora's building programme (see Start Work Now). We'll back community housing providers with a Crown guarantee so they can borrow more cheaply and build more homes.

See all of Labour's policies →