Government guidelines come to fruition in 2025

The Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) amendment bill passed its third reading in December, heralded by the coalition government as part of their plans to give landlords confidence to re-enter the market.

We signaled these changes in our newsletters throughout last year, and now that it has passed, changes will start coming into play from 30 January. They include:

• Reinstating 90-day ‘no cause’ terminations for periodic tenancies.
• Reducing landlords’ notice periods for ending a periodic tenancy to 42 days in specific circumstances.
• Reducing tenants’ notice periods for ending a periodic tenancy from 28 to 21 days.
• Reintroducing landlords’ ability to give notice to end a fixed term tenancy at the end of its term without giving a specific reason.
• Allowing landlords to require a pet bond alongside the introduction of new pet consent and damage liability rules.

The rules for ending tenancies can be used from 30 January, while pet-related initiatives will likely come in later in the year. We’ll keep you across it as they come up.

The Healthy Homes standards for private rentals takes effect from 1 July. From here, landlords must include a signed statement in new or renewed tenancy agreements that outlines the property’s current level of compliance. At Lodge, we’ve been working with our landlords to achieve compliance since the rules first came out in 2019.

It’s worth noting, and we’ve seen evidence of this in media coverage, that those found not complying WILL be fined.

Interest rate cuts are predicted to continue, some even tipping that the Reserve Bank will cut the rate into the 3s. The message from financial pundits is largely of relief and that the recession is behind us. This will, of course, be great news as many felt interest rates were kept unnecessarily high for too long. Lower interest rates will encourage buyers back, and in my opinion anything that gets people buying property is a good thing.

Have you heard the term ‘the golden assumption’? It’s the belief that those aged 65 and over will enjoy the spoils of retired life in a mortgage-free life. But with our over-65 population growing, ensuring older New Zealanders can ‘age in place’ is tipped to become a significant policy challenge in years to come. 

With New Zealand’s housing tenure changing, it’s predicted that by 2048 60% of people in their late 60s will be homeowners and 40% renters – about 520,000 – 600,000 people, and changes will be needed to ensure this rental population is well-housed. These include:

• Reviewing and updating tenancy management and regulation policies to reflect the needs of older populations (e.g. accessibility of homes).
• Enabling greater access to accessibility features in homes, including affordability.
• Reviewing retirement income entitlements.
• Analysing available transport and care opportunities for older people in-home.

A house’s physical condition and accessibility is critical for supporting ageing in place and ageing well. Accessible housing is built or modified to be safer and easier to use across a person’s life, including those with limited mobility or permanent disability.

Our current housing stock isn’t well configured for accessibility, and it costs a swathe of cash to modify existing houses. Accessible houses are cheaper when built upfront, but we don’t tend to think that far ahead. 

So, what do we need to do? It’s a big task, but as an industry we need to start these conversations now. Here at Lodge, we’re currently thinking about ways to start future-proofing rental accommodation for older populations – but there’s no way we can solve this issue alone. We’ll need cross-sector support and buy-in, so we’ll be sure to update you along the way as we go.