Resist WOFs for private rental property

I don't sign many petitions but this one I have. Some rental properties are below par. Some landlords are negligent. But as Muriel Newman points out, there are already legal requirements on landlords and protections for tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act and via the Tenancy Tribunal. I'd urge you to read her column this week.

STATE CONTROL OF RENTAL HOUSING
By Dr Muriel Newman

Sir Bob Jones told property investors at a conference last year that he was sick of landlords being called evil persons and getting attacked by politicians. “You are providing a terrific service. You have to get politicised. Government’s declaring war on you. You have to kick back.”[1]
Sir Bob is correct – property investors provide a crucial service to society by supplying housing to almost half a million New Zealanders who do not own their own home. Yet politicians across the political divide treat property investors as a whipping boy, knowing they won’t get much of a fight and that landlords will not get much sympathy from the public at large.
They are under attack again – this time from groups who want state control of the rental property sector. But first, some facts.

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