Better rental laws are "urgently needed"

The New Zealand Council of Christian Social Services (NZCCSS) welcomes the launch today of the United Tenants' Plan for Housing Leasing (). For many years, the NZCCSS and other community organizations have called for better laws on leasing. Our member social services report the desperate plight of many low-income people.

"The members of the NZCCSS are constantly working to address the damage caused by the current lack of regulation of rental housing quality and the implications of the lack of security of tenure," said Trevor McGlinchey, Executive Director of the NZCCSS. "We receive a lot of information about poor, damp and moldy homes, where tenants only end their rentals six weeks in advance, where families have to move several times a year. disrupt the schooling of children. enable good relations with friends and neighbors and disrupt health care.

Urgent action is needed and the plan represents a comprehensive set of ideas covering the key areas where changes are needed to improve the quality of rental housing and make rental A safe and affordable housing option for New Zealanders

Almost half of our population lives in rental housing, with almost 9 out of 10 households renting rent in the private rental market. 7 in 10 children living in poverty live in rental housing and they are likely renters of much of their childhood. If you live with a disability, you are 20% more likely to live in a rental unit.

"Improving leasing will help overcome the very large and growing inequities in our communities," McGlinchey said. in a good quality rental home at affordable rent will help people improve their lives, plan and save for the future, facilitate the search and maintenance of a job, improve their health, help their children to succeed in education "