Building Issues Minister Clayton Cosgrove today announced a package of reforms to ensure landlords and tenants are treated fairly and equally, and to revamp the outdated law concerning apartments and other multi-unit properties.

"New Zealand's housing landscape is changing fast, and the law should keep up with the needs of New Zealanders, whether they rent or own property," Mr Cosgrove said.

The reforms aim to ensure a fairer rental market through changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, and to establish a broader and more adaptable framework for multi-unit living through a complete revamp of the Unit Titles Act 1972.

The latest proposed changes to the Residential Tenancies Act include:

• limiting the liability of tenants for damage that they did not cause and could not reasonably have prevented
• extending the coverage of the Act and access to tenancy dispute resolution services to sectors of the community not currently protected

‘If you are a good tenant, as the vast majority are, and someone else in your flat damages the property, you should not have to carry the full cost of their behaviour," Mr Cosgrove said. "These reforms seek to rectify potentially unjust situations."

Mr Cosgrove emphasised, however, that it was crucial that property owners were able to recover the costs of damage to their property.

“We have made sure that landlords won’t lose out. They will be getting more damages from the people most at fault, rather than from innocent tenants who have done no damage,” he said. "Landlords need to know their properties are protected and respected, in order to have confidence in the rental market."

Mr Cosgrove said extending access to tenancy dispute resolution services was another step in creating a fairer rental market for tenants and landlords.

“Everyone who rents - tenants and landlords alike - should have the same support when sorting out tenancy problems. Tenancies in retirement villages, boarding houses and other tenancies with a high service component such as supported living,
have been brought into the legislation to ensure a fair go for all. The aim is to deliver fast, fair and inexpensive dispute resolution.”

Mr Cosgrove said these latest proposals are in addition to other proposed reforms of the Residential Tenancies Act that he announced in September this year.

Mr Cosgrove said today's announcement was also good news for New Zealanders living in multi-unit dwellings.

"It is estimated that within 50 years there will be half a million people living in apartments, townhouses and high-rise buildings in Auckland alone - the traditional three-bedroom family home on a quarter acre section is increasingly becoming a thing of the past," Mr Cosgrove said. "The new Unit Titles Act will establish a broader and more adaptable means for setting up and managing multi-unit living."

Mr Cosgrove said the current Act is 34 years old and out of date with modern needs.

"People in multi-unit developments should be able to make joint decisions effectively and be confident and secure in their living or working arrangements. The proposals seek to create up-to-date legislation that reflects our changing urban landscape."

Key principles of the proposed new legislation include:

• Clarity around the rights and obligations of unit owners and bodies corporate
• Encouraging sound property management practices that will protect long-term value and investments
• Making joint decision making by the body corporate easier
• Effective ways to sort out problems and move forward
• Making information more readily available to purchasers and unit owners so they can make informed choices
• Making survey and title processes more streamlined for surveyors and developers
• Allowing large, staged or complex developments to be set up and managed more easily

"We need up-to-date laws that reflect the realities of New Zealand life and ensure a fair deal for everyone," said Mr Cosgrove.

Mr Cosgrove said he expects to introduce two separate Bills that reform both Acts into Parliament next year.

Other reforms by the Government to improve standards and services across the building and housing sector include the review of the Building Code, the licensing of building practitioners while protecting the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) tradition, auditing and accrediting Building Consent Authorities, a major shake up of the Weathertight Homes Resolution Service, the introduction of a financial assistance pilot for the worst

at