Standards revealed
The Government has announced minimum requirements that residential rental landlords will have to meet for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, as well as rules to stop draughts.
From mid-2021, all rental homes will be required by law to have a heater that can heat a main living area to 18 Degrees celsius. Kitchens and bathrooms will have to have extraction fans or rangehoods and, where rental homes have an enclosed subfloor space, property owners will need to install a ground moisture barrier to stop moisture rising into the home. See details here.
Rents at all-time high
Wellington city’s asking rental prices have continued their rapid growth with average rent hitting an all-time high of $595 per week in January due to lack of supply and returning tertiary students, according to the latest Trade Me Rental Price Index. Meanwhile, Auckland’s median rent also reached a new record in January, up 2.8 per cent on last year to $555 per week while New Zealand’s national median rent rose 5.3 per cent in January to an all-time high of $495 per week.
OCR unchanged
The Reserve Bank kept the Official Cash Rate (OCR) at 1.75% in its February review, with Governor Adrian Orr saying no change was expected through 2019 and 2020 and the direction of the bank’s next OCR move could be up or down. While employment was near its maximum sustainable level, core consumer price inflation remained below the Reverse Bank’s 2 percent target mid-point, necessitating continued supportive monetary policy.
