COMMENT: Tenant selection turned into a lotto draw

As if we didn’t have enough to deal with! Ten months on from the infamous story of the “KFC Test” for tenants making the headlines, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (OPC) dropped yet another bombshell on an industry that continues to find itself struggling to cope with the amount of change thrust upon it.

This month, without prior warning or involvement from industry organisations such as REINZ or IPMA, the OPC released new guidelines that property managers and landlords should adopt when selecting a new tenant.

Their advice, if followed to their recommendations, almost turns tenancy selection into a lotto draw. Want the property? Just put your name in the hat, don’t worry about it, you never know your luck.

As Bindi Norwell, CEO of REINZ stated, guidelines are good. However, there are discrepancies and she was also critical that as a body, they were not consulted with before the release of the OPC guidelines.