Download The Salvation Army's Submission to the Healthy Homes Guarantee Bill No 2 (PDF, 313KB)
The Salvation Army made a submission earlier this year on the Government’s Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill and welcomed the recognition that legislated minimum housing standards are necessary. However, The Salvation Army also submitted that the proposed amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) did not go far enough to provide tenants with secure, safe and healthy housing.
The Salvation Army supports this Bill’s intention to provide more robust minimum standards that landlords are required to adhere to when renting out homes to tenants. The quality of rental stock in New Zealand has reached a point where it is risking and seriously affecting the health, well-being and lives of its occupants, whom are often our most vulnerable citizens including young children and the elderly. Low-income families are increasingly reliant on such properties, with approximately 58 percent of low-income households in Auckland living in rental properties.