Tenants with horror stories want rental rules

Cockroach infestations, black mould and doors without locks are among the reasons tenants are joining calls for tougher rental property rules.

The Families Commission called yesterday for more to be done to fix inadequate housing, and tenants have come forward to dish on their own rental nightmares.

One woman, Victoria Dreijer, spoke about a property she took because "it was cheap and I was desperate''.

There were problems in the flat from the start, when the front door jammed closed, and the only other exit, a ranchslider, would not lock from the outside. Ms Dreijer said it was a week before the landlord arranged to have it fixed.

Within a month of arriving, the group also discovered a cockroach infestation.

"The final straw was sitting down to dinner munching away on some green beans, only to wonder what that big brown thing in my food was. That and the fact that the landlord didn't care and refused to get them treated.''

North Shore's Rachel Primrose, 29, had also seen her share of poor housing, and listed cases in which she was forced to constantly run a heater through winter and black mold grew thickly in her bedroom.

"When I mentioned this to the property manager, his response was 'use some bleach'. Never mind that it was growing back on the windowsill by my bed within a week,'' she said.

"I would definitely support stronger laws regarding the quality of rental property, our problems have cost us thousands in doctors visits and extra days off work.''

In a submission to an inquiry into housing affordability, Families Commission Acting Chief Executive Angela Tidmarsh said the stress of living in inadequate conditions not only affected health, it also could stop families from participating in other support programmes.

Dr Tindmarsh said there were some programmes in place to help improve housing for vulnerable families but more needed to be done.

Green MP Gareth Hughes, who has launched the Warm Healthy Rentals Amendment Bill, which would set standards for rentals and introduce penalties for landlords, welcomed the commission's call.

"Rental legislation in New Zealand is absolutely out of date ... the actual minimum standards a house needs are sort of laughable in the modern age - it's got to have an oven, it's got have windows that close - that's pretty much it,'' he said.

Tenants Protection Association Christchurch manager Helen Gatonyi said her organisation had been fighting for at least 30 years to get standards in place, and said more regulation was a "no-brainer''.

"We've been calling for a code of practice, or a warrant of fitness, for years and years,'' she said.

"It's been going backwards and forwards under all the different governments, and I think, in the end, it comes down to the dollar, but anyone with half a brain can tell you that getting it right in the first instance is going to save a hell of a lot of money at the other end.''

Meanwhile, the rental trap looks set to continue, with new figures from Massey University showing a dip in housing affordability.

The university's latest home affordability report showed affordability had fallen 1.9 per cent in the past quarter as the national median house price went up by 3 per cent.

Labour housing spokeswoman Annette King said the Government needed to do more to keep the "Kiwi Dream'' of home ownership alive.

"Housing plays an enormous role in terms of improving health outcomes, reducing the impact of poverty, and creating jobs,'' she said.

"Sadly, however, National treats the availability of affordable and quality housing as a low priority, in effect as an after-thought.''