POLITICAL & REGULATORY REPORT for September 2011
POLITICAL & REGULATORY REPORT for September 2011
POLITICAL & REGULATORY REPORT for September 2011
NZPIF CONFERENCE – Ministerial Speech
As part of the Federation’s Annual Conference (held 3 September in Queenstown) Minister of Housing Phil Heatley gave the traditional key note address. He traversed a wide range of topics. Of a range of issues the Minister referenced the following of interest to the Federation:
Capital Gains Tax
- No CGT under a National-led administration
- Labour’s CGT plan would drive up rents and penalise tenants
Canterbury Earthquake
- More than 300 private landlords have registered available properties with the Canterbury Earthquake Temporary Accommodation Service (CETAS)
Social Housing
- Private landlords have an important role to play
- Other providers of social housing to step in, in some instances, to lease, buy or takeover surplus state housing stock
- Reviewable tenancies to be introduced for new HNZC tenants
- Where circumstances allow, tenants will be assisted to move into the community housing sector or the private sector with perhaps an Accommodation Supplement
Residential Tenancies Act
- Key legislative changes to the RTA have bedded in since October 2011
- Eg changes made to the way tenancies can be terminated and reviewed by landlords. Enforceability of Tribunal Orders have been improved, some processes are now more clearer, harsher penalties for tenants who are violent towards their neighbours or landlord
- Further improvements are coming, around strengthening the courts’ collection operation. Of specific interest to property investors is that the District Courts Act has been amended to make it easier for creditors to get an attachment order, which is usually the most effective means of recovering a debt.
- A further change has been made to the RTA so that Tenancy Tribunal Adjudicators and Mediators can record the details of an attachment order agreed by the parties at the end of a hearing in their orders. This means an attachment order can be imposed immediately.
Unit Titles Act
- The new Unit Titles Act 2010 came into effect in June 2011
- There is now more clarity around who owns common property, what constitutes a principle unit, rights and responsibilities of owners and bodies corporate and the governance and management structures are clearer.
- There is also a clearer path to making decisions, with a lowering of the body corporate voting threshold.
Delays in the Tenancy Tribunal
Regarding delays in getting hearings at the Tenancy Tribunal:
- Court sitting days nationally to be re-scheduled and increased
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY – RMA & bureaucracy
In a major speech (2 September) the ACT party’s Don Brash says unaffordable housing is a direct result of the myriad of constraints placed on what and where we can build.
The Resource Management Act and council bureaucracy and regulations on buildings add significant layers of cost thus affect house price inflation.
Elsewhere the Productivity Commission is due to release its draft recommendations for improving housing affordability next month. It will deliver its final report and recommendations to the Government by 1 February 2012.
ANZ SUVEY RESULTS – Regulatory & tax risks
The annual ANZ Property Investor Survey released on 6 September reports that Government regulations and tax changes are now considered the biggest risk for investors (26 per cent, up from 13 per cent in 2010).
On tax changes the removal of depreciation on investment properties in last year's Budget have seen some landlords pushing up rents.
ISSUES UNDER WATCH
· Social Service Select Committee Inquiry into Boarding houses – Submissions closed 24 June 2011. Awaiting report back to Parliament.
· New Zealand Productivity Commission Inquiry into Housing Affordability – Submissions closed 3 August 2011. Draft report due Oct/Nov 2011.
- Review of the law of trusts (especially family trusts) – Written submissions to the 4th issues paper closed 31 August 2011
- Trustee Amendment Bill (clarifies functions, duties & rules for trustees) - Awaiting 2nd reading
· Energy Efficiency Conservation (Warm Healthy Rentals) Amendment Bill (to require all rental properties to have minimum standards for warmth and insulation by 2018) - Awaiting a ballot selection for parliamentary debate
· Amendment to the Land Transfer Act 1952 – modernisation of the law to reflect the current use of electronic conveyancing and other technical improvements be made - pending
Published: October 2011
