Green Party election housing policy: Rent increase caps, a rental WoF and tens of thousands of new public homes

The Green Party is promising to build tens of thousands of new public homes, cap rent increases at 2% a year and create a national register of all landlords as it unveils its housing election policy. The policy, with a tagline of “A Home for Everybody”, is intended to “end homelessness, fix renters’ rights, and end the housing crisis”. Announced in Wellington, the policy includes passing a Renters’ Rights Bill, which would legislate a cap on rent increases to no more than 2% a year. It would also scrap no-cause evictions, create an “independently certified rental warrant of fitness” and a ”national register of all landlords, property managers, and boarding houses to ensure professional accreditation, transparency, and regulatory compliance". On access to housing, the policy promises to “build tens of thousands of new, affordable and accessible public homes”. The party’s policy document does not mention an estimated cost or timeframe. The party would also strengthen local government by increasing long-term funding for councils and community housing providers to assist public housing initiatives, while committing to adequate funding for Kāinga Ora. Predictably, the policy includes reversing National’s reinstatement of full interest deductibility for residential investment property owners. On homelessness, the Greens would create a new law, named the “Duty to Assist law”, which the party said would place a legal duty on agencies to proactively ensure that people, especially our young people, have the housing they need, instead of putting up barriers. It would go alongside reversing the Government’s changes to emergency accommodation eligibility criteria, which was likely a reference to housing being potentially refused if a person is deemed to have contributed to their own housing need. The Greens would also increase funding for support agencies that specialise in helping people with issues relating to mental health, alcohol, drugs and budgeting. “This isn’t rocket science. Mass building of public housing almost 100 years ago led to decades of stable, affordable homes for New Zealanders,” Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said. “Other countries have shown how sensible, practical policies to strengthen renters’ rights and common-sense tax settings, to stop housing being treated as a state-sanctioned casino, mean more affordable homes.” Adam Pearse is the deputy political editor and part of the NZ Herald’s press gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.

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