The Residential Property Managers Bill (the Bill) was introduced to Parliament on 18 August 2023. It governs only residential property managers (RPMs) and residential property management offices; landlords (including private landlords, Kāinga Ora, and registered community housing providers) are specifically excluded.
Though it is broadly accepted that RPMs should be regulated, the sector continues to disagree over whether regulation should cover private landlords who manage their own tenancies. We share the government’s view that ‘[t]he activities of property owners who … let their own residential properties to tenants are already adequately regulated through the [Residential Tenancies Act (the RTA)]’ and the cost associated with additional regulations on landlords would not lead to a proportional increase in benefits. Fundamentally, the lack of an agency aspect in a direct landlord-tenant relationship makes regulation of this nature out of place. To regulate landlords as you would a property manager would be the same as banning taxpayers doing their tax returns unless they become chartered accountants. The appropriate way for Parliament to mandate better performance and conduct by private landlords is through an RTA amendment.
However, the Bill is not entirely silent on private landlords’ accountability to tenants. Aspects of it can be significantly consequential on poor-performing landlords:
- Repeat RTA offenders prohibited from managing their own tenancies: Embedded in the Bill is an amendment to the RTA that would allow the Tenancy Tribunal to stop repeat offenders from managing their own tenancies and use the services of a licensed RPM.
- Increase TCIT scrutiny on private landlords: A stand-alone regulatory regime for licensed RPMs will allow the Tenancy Compliance and Investigations Team to redirect its resources into monitoring the compliance of private landlords.
Essentially, the government’s message to private landlords is...
