Age Concern New Zealand welcomed the opportunity to submit on the Residential Property Managers Bill.
The bill would:
- Establish minimum entry criteria for applicants to qualify for residential property manager and Residential Property Management Organisation licenses
- Enable the establishment of a professional conduct code to ensure that residential property managers meet professional standards of practice
- Establish an independent complaints and disciplinary process to resolved complaints about the conduct of licensed residential property managers or management organization
- Empower the Real Estate Agents Authority to carry out functions under the bill as the regulator for the new regime.
Age Concern New Zealand supports this Bill in general and has several recommendations to strengthen the desired outcomes. It is a positive step towards regulating the rental market and improving outcomes for renters, including the growing number of older renters. We agree that current industry self-regulation has proved inefficient to mitigate risk of harm to tenants and property owners. Therefore, regulatory intervention is required.
Recommendations
- Input from tenant advocacy service providers in the development of the regulatory framework
- Extend the exclusion criteria to prohibit licensing of landlords who have been ordered to use a property manager
- Definition of unsatisfactory conduct and misconduct include willful or reckless breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act as well as discrimination
- Inclusion of tenant advocacy service provider in the panel maintained by the Real Estate Agents Authority
- Registrar be required to inform complainants if their compliant is dismissed and the reason
- Clarification on the proposed ability of the Tenancy Tribunal to order a landlord to use a property manager