Greens revive campaign to make more people homeless

ACT Housing spokesperson Cameron Luxton says the Green Party’s latest housing policy is a return to the same failed ideas that drove up rents and reduced supply.

“We’ve just seen rents fall nationally for the first time in years after anti-landlord policies were reversed. The Greens now want to take us straight back.

“Let’s take their ideas one by one.

“Rent caps don’t create a single new home. They just make it harder to be a landlord, which means fewer rentals available.

“Internationally, rent control has a clear track record. It reduces supply, drives up waiting lists, and locks people out. It’s been called the best way to destroy a city short of bombing it, and for good reason.

“Their rental WOF is another layer of compliance that will push properties out of the market. As homes become non-compliant, they don’t magically improve overnight, they get pulled from supply. That means fewer houses on the rental market, higher prices, and more Kiwis living outside of the legal system, cars, garages, and tents.

“Then there’s the promise to build tens of thousands of public homes. We’ve heard this before. KiwiBuild was supposed to solve the crisis and barely got off the ground, because bureaucrats faced the same regulatory barriers as private developers, while having less of the expertise and incentives to get the job done. Repeating it won’t change the outcome.

“ACT is focused on fixing what actually matters for housing. Here’s how we’re getting more roofs over heads:

1) With less waste in Wellington, savings from lower interest rates get passed to tenants.

2) With interest deductibility restored, savings get passed to tenants.

3) With more flexible tenancy rules, there’s less risk for landlords and more tenants get offers.

4) With less red tape in construction, homes get built faster and more affordably, bringing down prices.”