Kerre Woodham: Is the problem the rent itself or the cost of living?

The Green Party has announced another plank in their bid to end poverty, and that is a limit on how much landlords can increase rent every year.

An earlier policy of the Greens, also designed to end poverty, was their wish for a minimum level of income, and that would be funded by a wealth tax. Now they want to see renters protected through a limit on increases, and a register setup of property owners to monitor compliance.

The limit if the Greens have their way would be 3% a year, or when wage growth or inflation is lower than three per cent, the limit should be tied to either the inflation rate or the average wage increase minus 1%, whichever is lower. The limit would apply to new tenancy agreements too, stopping landlords from hiking up the rent when new tenants moved in.

The Property Investors Federation says the policy would worsen a shortage in rental property by prompting more landlords to sell up and more rental deals being done on the black market, where tenants had few protections. But Green Party Co leader Marama Davidson says rent controls were needed because unaffordability of rents was causing so much harm, to so many people.

When it was pointed out to Davidson that rents had increased at a much greater rate under the Labour government. She said it was the many MP's who owned homes keeping the status quo on renting out of self-interest.

From what I've heard, both from tenants and from landlords, when landlords get good tenants they don't want them to go. They want to keep them and their property. It costs them money to have the house empty while they try and find somebody else to take over the tenancy.

If they have set a rent then they tend to keep it at that. But I would very much like to hear from those of you who are at the coalface who, who have struggled to find a rental.

Is the problem when it comes to affordability, the rent itself or the cost of living in general?  

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