Age Concern New Zealand welcomes the opportunity to submit on the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill. Our comments and recommendations build on our October 2018 submission to the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment on the Reform of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.
Age Concern New Zealand (ACNZ) supports government initiatives to improve the situation for renters. We are particularly concerned for the well-being of older renters.
Within 18 years it is estimated that one quarter of New Zealand’s total population will be people aged 65 years and above and more than half of those turning 65 will be renters. To illustrate this further, 97,000 renters in 2018 were aged 65 and above.
Of concern is that the majority of older renters are reliant on the volatile private rental sector, which is less regulated than state and social housing.