Rent freeze suggested to private landlords’ surprise

Rental property owners say the suggestion is incredible when inflation overall has gone up 7.1% and rents only 4.3%. “Why is the commission picking on only landlords when groceries, fruit and vegetables and petrol have gone up more than rent,” says Andrew King, New Zealand Property Investors Federation president. “Why doesn’t the commission suggest a freeze on these goods?”

The last time there was a rent freeze was during 2020, the first year of Covid-19. It lasted for six months. King says landlords then could see the reason for the temporary rent freeze as everybody was affected by the lock-downs. “They wanted to do the best for their tenants.”

It did mean at the end of the six months tenants faced, in some cases, quite big rent increases instead of gradual rises over the six months, says King.

He says the burning question is how long will the cost-of-living crisis last? The commission has not defined how long a rent freeze should be imposed.