Category: Business

Source: Radio New Zealand

Sites such as GrabOne and NZSale are probably falling victim to New Zealanders’ desire for even cheaper online bargains, and the “Temu effect”.

NZSale closed for business in New Zealand on Sunday. GrabOne went into liquidation last month, citing financial constraints.

Chris Wilkinson, a retail consultant at First Retail Group, said there were a few reasons why they had not lasted.

“Back when [NZSale] started, we didn’t really have any of the Temus of this world, we didn’t have AliExpress at such scale, we certainly didn’t have Shein. It’s interesting that a lot of products that they’ve had for sale are from businesses that have disappeared on the world market, like Jack Wills, one of the clothing brands from the UK.

“Whether they’ve got this redundant stock or have been able to tap into redundant stock, the challenges around that in a global market are very difficult. We’ve now got the likes of The Outlet filling a gap that possibly none of us realised was there, even.”

He said everything would have a lifespan and NZSale might have reached the end of its. “People start to disengage. In the past where they’ve been able to get unique products at headline prices that was the thing that differentiated them. These days it’s more difficult to do that because there are just so many other competing channels for consumers.”

Movements in the New Zealand dollar could also affect competitiveness, he said.

Temu and AliExpress had become entrenched as new retail channels, he said. “They’re very, very strong in the market.”

Even online retail giants ASOS and Boohoo had been affected by the changes, he said. “ASOS and Boohoo were succeeding because they had free freight into New Zealand, they were able to sell very competitively… then over a period of time they moved more and more into their own brand products away from the brands people were craving. One of the biggest challenges they’ve had is the fact that their product may be no different from any other type of fast fashion that you could get on the high street or in the malls of New Zealand, and often at a more competitive price, too.”

Gareth Kiernan, chief forecaster at Infometrics, said Stats NZ data showing the growth in “low-value imports” coming into the country indicated the increasing dominance of platforms such as Temu.

He said there was a wave of growth between 2003 and 2006 which lifted the proportion of total householding spending on this type of import from 0.1 percent to 0.9 percent.

“This growth was probably underpinned by the early shift in retailing towards online, giving people some access to products overseas that they might not be able to buy in NZ – eBay also probably played a role in this access.”

There was then a dip until 2011 when the proportion grew again through to 2020, up to 1.2 percent of spending.

“There will be general growth in online retailing during this period, but I’d also expect AliExpress to be a key contributor, as well as popular sites like Book Depository and ASOS to have contributed to this trend.”

He said it had stayed at about that level since but the volume being bought had increased a lot over the last 10 or 15 years.

“In other words, we’re not really spending a massively larger amount of money on buying stuff from overseas, but we’re getting a lot more for that money. The volume proportion grew from 0.5 percent in 2011 to 2 percent by 2022 before taking a bit of a breather, and then since 2023 it’s lifted from 1.8 percent to 2.8 percent. The initial surge fits with cheaper products being available from the kinds of stores I mentioned, and the latter increase is likely to be the Temu effect.”

Wilkinson said younger shoppers in particular were still keen on brands, but they were often going to secondhand shops to find them.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

An expert in employment law says new legislation will override a Supreme Court ruling, but that bill is full of holes – and will itself end up being tested in the courts.

The union for four Uber drivers who went through the Employment Court, Appeal Court and Supreme Court – the highest in the land – to win their case for being employees rather than contractors, may have to start all over again.

The Employment Relations Amendment Bill is at select committee stage and is due back before Parliament on Christmas Eve. It aims to define the nature of contracting to give everyone certainty.

Employment law expert Simon Schofield, a professional teaching fellow at the University of Auckland, says it has provision in it to exclude ‘specified contractors’, measured by a five-point gateway test.

“If a person is found to be a specified contractor they will not be an employee, and the Employment Relations Act won’t apply.”

Those tests are that there needs to be a written agreement that specifies the worker is an independent contractor; the worker is not restricted from working for others; the worker is not required to be available to work certain times or days or for a minimum period, or is able to sub-contract the work; and the business does not terminate the arrangement for not accepting an additional task.

The hiring business must give workers the chance to seek advice on the written agreement before signing it.

Asked if the bill as written would override the Uber court decision, Schofield says “yes – although that’s not problematic from a legal perspective”.

But he expects there will be some tinkering with the bill before then, for clarification purposes.

“I think they need to change parts of the bill. Uber has said there should be amendments; Business New Zealand has suggested certain changes. The unions of course have said, ‘throw the whole thing out’; I’m not sure that’s the answer either.

“I would hope that there are changes. There’s a real tension between the written contract, and how the relationship works in practice.”

‘Creates more uncertainty’

He says the way the bill is drafted now, a lot of people who were seeking certainty won’t be getting it.

“I don’t think this bill is a silver or gold bullet to fix the problem. A lot of issues will continue to arise, and we need a strong framework to assess that.”

Schofield believes the bill, when it becomes an act, will be refined by court decisions, but that’s not the best way to make legislation.

“The way in which the bill is currently drafted creates more uncertainty rather than less uncertainty, despite what the minister is saying.”

Meanwhile he says the next step will be the unions seeking to collectively negotiate with Uber in the wake of the Supreme Court decision.

“I imagine Uber will be stonewalling them, saying ‘no we’ve got this Employment Relations Amendment Bill going through Parliament, we’re not going to negotiate with you’ – or at least drag out those negotiations.

“I would also think the unions will be asking for arrears in respect of those Uber drivers going back six years, and of course that will be a massive calculation and will no doubt attract a number of previous Uber drivers to that litigation.”

Schofield says Uber is looking at payouts in the millions.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Retirees need to be allowed to have more money in their KiwiSaver accounts and still receive the accommodation supplement, the Retirement Commissioner says.

The accommodation supplement is available to people who need help with their housing costs, including pensioners.

But applicants need to have assets of no more than $8100 per person to qualify.

Retirement Commissioner Jane Wrightson said that was too low and people with even relatively small KiwiSaver balances could find they could not access support.

The average KiwiSaver balance is about $30,000.

“We’ve been concerned for some time that the accommodation supplement’s cash asset test is set far too low and, because KiwiSaver becomes fully accessible at 65, even modest balances can affect eligibility. The limit has sat at $8100 per person since the supplement was introduced in 1993, and has never been adjusted for inflation,” she said.

“In our 2021/22 Review of Retirement Income Policies, we recommended that the government increase the cash asset threshold to at least $42,700 per person so the supplement can better reach low income retirees facing high housing costs.

“More broadly, this issue underlines the need for a long term policy framework and a cross party accord. Retirement settings interact, so NZ Super, KiwiSaver, and targeted supports like the accommodation supplement, so changes in one area can create unintended consequences elsewhere. Our 2025 review calls for planning, stewardship and political consensus to avoid short term fixes and provide New Zealanders with certainty and trust in the system.”

Shirley McCombe, general manager at Bay Financial Mentors, said the supplement scheme needed a comprehensive review.

“Firstly, the current supplement does not reflect actual rental costs, forcing clients to allocate a significant portion of their basic benefit or superannuation to cover accommodation expenses.

“Secondly, while we encourage people to save for retirement, the system effectively penalises them for doing so. Individuals must deplete their savings to $8000 before qualifying for assistance. This approach feels counterproductive and directly conflicts with the message we give Kiwis about planning and saving for their future.”

Another financial mentor, Fiona Govender agreed.

“This is a very real problem as soon as someone retires with more than $8100 in KiwiSaver they lose entitlement to accommodation supplement for their rent until they run their KiwiSaver balance down to under this … I have raised this multiple times with Retirement Commissioner, Fincap… may as well buy a new car and get the increased accommodation supplement.”

Julia Bergman, general manager of housing, employment and labour market at the Ministry of Social Development said KiwiSaver would not be considered a cash asset until someone was 65 and it was no longer “locked in”.

“We record whether applicants are declined because they’re over the cash asset limit, but we don’t regularly collect or publish data about whether this was caused specifically by a KiwiSaver balance.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Resene Paint’s latest pay offer is “chump change”, says a worker at its Lower Hutt plant, but the company says it is being consistent with the manufacturing sector.

A noisy protest of about 80 workers and supporters braved the rain to picket the company’s head office in Naenae on Monday.

Union affiliated staff were striking to lift pay rates to meet the living wage.

Union delegate Mags Jackson said she was disappointed to have to strike but the company’s latest pay offer – which raised the average employees hourly rate by 84 cents – was “chump change”.

She said negotiations had been going on with the company for almost a year.

“It’s bullshit. It’s like chump change. We’re not asking for a lot. We’ve cut a few [things] in our allowances to try and make it reasonable and yet [Resene] come out with a flat eight cents on the previous offer.

“I want to spit it back at them to be honest. It’s a waste of time going in and sitting around the table with them when they’re not going to value what we’ve put forward. They don’t care about us,” Jackson said.

If the rent goes up – where do we live?

Worker Lui Betham said it would mean a lot if the company would agree to meet the standard.

“It will give us less stress. Less worrying about the power bill, the rent, and – if the rent goes up – where do we live? Life is hard in New Zealand but I don’t want to go and live in Australia,” Betham said.

Betham said other employees had worked for up to 27 years for the company, but were yet to reach a living wage.

He said the company’s latest pay offer – which raised previous offer by an average of 8 cents per hour – was “depressing”.

“Our people we work really hard and it really hurts. It’s like a kick in the guts. You’d like to be treated with a bit of respect. We’re making this company a bit of money so we’d just like to share that,” Betham said.

Worker’s ‘disgusted’ by company’s promotional investment

Lisa Behrent had worked for Resene for more than 20 years.

She said she was “disgusted” the company could find the money to sponsor local sports teams and events while the workers were left out in the cold.

“It’s just crap. I mean [the company] supports the Hurricanes, breast cancer, that home and garden thing [NZ House and Garden Tours]. I mean, you should be supporting your workers,” Behrent said.

Offer consistent with manufacturing sector

A spokesperson for the company said they would not offer any new comment – other than reiterating previous comments – in relation to Monday’s protest.

“Our offer is consistent with the manufacturing sector annual wage increase for the current 12 month period. We will continue to negotiate in good faith at the bargaining table with the E tū Union, and we will not be conducting the bargaining process in the media,” the spokesperson said.

Reverend Alison Robinson of nearby St David’s Anglican Church said church members were turning up in solidarity at the workers’ protests and had been fund-raising among the wider Anglican community to help cover lost wages.

“The rain doesn’t keep us away and we’re managing to get out here at least once a week so I think it’s a really strong movement.

“[Resene] are a really successful company. Which we’re delighted about. They have reaped a lot of benefits over the years and I think that needs to be shared with the workers,” Robinson said.

Cost of living wage ‘a drop in the ocean’

E tū lead advocate Finn O’Dwyer-Cunliffe said the cost of bringing workers up to the living wage was a “drop in the ocean” compared with Resene’s overall revenue and budget.

He said the company’s previous offers would leave their workers struggling in the current economic climate.

“People who are earning $24 – $25 an hour – it’s not enough to make ends meet so we need something significantly better and we don’t think the living wage is too much to ask. That eight cent an hour increase – on average – in their latest offer was pretty insulting,” O’Dwyer-Cunliffe said.

O’Dwyer-Cunliffe said he hoped the company would see the resolve of the workers backed by the support of the local community and come back with a more substantial offer.

“We’ll keep going. We hope that Resene comes to the table with something that really shows their respect and value of their workers rather than skimming around the edges and finding an extra few cents here and there.

“This is a massive company that’s made significant profits in recent years and we want to see them share that value with their workers,” O’Dwyer-Cunliffe said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

All three-storey homes, and any alterations costing $100,000 or more, will be required to get a home warranty under indemnity changes under the Building Act.

Architects, engineers and other building design professionals will be required to have indemnity insurance, and fines for Licensed Building Practitioners will also be doubled.

In August, the coalition government announced it was changing the building consent system to ease the liability load on local councils and speed up consenting.

Under reforms through the Building Amendment Bill, expected to be introduced in early 2026, councils will no longer be the last man standing dealing with building defects. Instead, under “joint liability”, each party will be responsible for repairs for their share of the work.

There have been concerns raised that under the new regime owners could be left vulnerable to costs if parties – such as the builder – disappeared.

On Monday, Building and Construction minister Chris Penk revealed the new consent system would require professionals contributing to building design – such as architects and engineers – to hold professional indemnity insurance.

It will also be mandatory for all new residential buildings three storeys and under, and for renovations over $100,000, to have insurance that covers a one-year defect period and a 10-year structural warranty period.

Disciplinary penalties for Licensed Building Practitioners (LBPs) will increase from a maximum fine of $10,000 to $20,000, and the maximum suspension period will increase from 12 months to 24 months.

“Home warranty schemes are already widely available across New Zealand, and the sector has assured me it can scale to meet new demand, allowing consumers to shop around to find coverage best suited to their build,” Penk said.

“Requiring professional indemnity insurance for building designers ensures these professionals are financially able to stand by their work, giving building owners confidence. This requirement does not extend to other building trades.”

Penk said these measures provided strong protections for the reform, while boosting consent productivity.

Speaking at the announcement, New Zealand Certified Builders Association chief executive Malcolm Fleming said the changes would set the building industry up for growth and support better supply and quality of homes.

“The previous arrangements were unfair to local councils and ultimately to ratepayers also, as they were the ones that had to pick up the bill if something went wrong with a bill down the track and the builder wasn’t able to put things right.

“Understandably, this has led to councils taking a cautious approach to the building consents, which has snailed up the system, causing delays and unnecessary costs to have been imposed on the homeowners.

“This move to proportional liability means that whoever has made a mistake is responsible for putting it right. It sounds simple enough and it is, but the key to making it work is having an effective home warranties in place to protect the homeowner should a builder not be able or willing to rectify any issues that may arise.”

Earlier, the Insurance Council of New Zealand said there could be challenges for insurers with the new approach, and it looked forward to further discussions with the government.

A property lawyer had told RNZ it was not clear who would underwrite the insurance – highlighting that insurers had been reluctant in the past to insure for weather tightness defects.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Kiwi Property Group’s says its first half result reflects strong rental and underlying profit growth, with the outlook for the rest of the year in line with expectations.

Still, the Sylvia Park and Drury township developer’s net profit fell 77 percent with an unrealised fair value loss of $30.3 million, versus a gain in the prior year.

Key numbers for the six months ended September compared with a year ago:

• Net profit $9.8m vs $43.2m
• Revenue $136.7m vs $128.4m
• Rental revenue $102.7m vs $95.3m
• Underlying profit $62.9m vs $56.4m
• Expenses $45.7m vs $43.8m
• Net tangible assets $1.12 per share vs $1.17 per share
• Interim dividend 2.8 cents per share vs 2.7 cps.

Kiwi Property’s flagship build-to-rent (BTR) development, Resido at Sylvia Park, was 99 percent leased.

“This result validates the product offering and the attractiveness of well-located, amenity-rich rental accommodation,” chief executive Clive Mackenzie said.

“As we look to the remainder of FY26 and beyond, Kiwi Property is well positioned to benefit from improving economic conditions and the continued execution of our strategy.”

ASB North Wharf’s lease was extended to 2040, while the Vero Centre, which failed to sell earlier this year, was 94.3 percent leased.

“We are excited about the opportunities ahead, including the opening of IKEA at Sylvia Park in early December, further progress at Drury, and continued improvement in operating conditions for our assets.”

The Drury development remained a key priority and focus of the business.

The Drury large format retail sites were 77 percent conditionally sold to big brand name retail stores including Costco Wholesale, Rebel Sport/Briscoes and Harvey Norman.

“Despite a weak economy and a challenging leasing market during HY26, we have delivered strong leasing outcomes across the portfolio,” he said.

Total rental growth, including new leasing and rent reviews, rose more than 3.5 percent, with office leasing spreads up 3.4 percent.

“These results underscore the enduring appeal of our assets and the effectiveness of our leasing strategy in subdued market conditions.

“We are focused on ensuring our centres and office assets remain the destinations of choice for tenants, allowing us to maximise rental growth.”

Mackenzie said the company stood to benefit from a proposed regulatory change on seismic strengthening, which was expected to remove exempt Auckland buildings, where its assets were concentrated

The company confirmed its full year dividend guidance at 5.6 cents per share.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

Too many new homes are overheating in the increasingly hot summers and the government is being urged to follow other countries’ leads and do something about it.

There is currently nothing in the Building Act to prevent new builds – particularly terraced homes and apartments – from experiencing “unacceptably high indoor temperatures”, as is being “widely reported by homeowners, designers, and the construction sector”, an open letter to Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk released on Monday morning read.

The letter was signed by Phil Wilson, chief executive of Auckland Council, and his counterpart at the New Zealand Green Building Council, Andrew Eagles, and backed by a range of groups covering architects and the construction industry.

“As we approach the warmer months, there is increasing evidence that many recently built homes are experiencing unacceptably high indoor temperatures during summer,” the letter said.

“The Building Act’s primary purpose is to ensure people can use buildings safely and without endangering their health. Current regulatory settings do not adequately address overheating, particularly in modern higher-density housing typologies.”

Penk himself acknowledged the issue at a housing summit in May, saying changes were needed to avoid people being “cooked alive in their own house”.

At the time, the minister said he was disappointed the issue had been raised and debated through the media rather than being foreseen when upgraded energy efficiency standards – such as better insulation – were put in place.

Monday’s letter said with the number of days with temperatures above 25C projected to more than triple by 2050, changes were needed to prevent cost blowouts for occupants resorting to air conditioning.

“From an economic and environmental perspective, reliance on air conditioning to manage these conditions places additional cost burdens on households and adds to peak electricity demand, creating unnecessary strain on the national energy system and sadly undoing great strides towards being energy efficient in our houses.”

Current designs prioritised access to sunlight, the letter said, but not shade, and the “shift toward higher-density housing has intensified the issue, as terraced and apartment dwellings have fewer external walls and openings, reducing opportunities for natural cross ventilation”.

It proposed similar measures to those used in Australia, where architects were required to model overheating at the design phase, and show a building would stay within reasonable heat limits.

In May, Penk said the government would be raising ventilation regulations and requirements for new builds.

An Auckland Council study conducted last year found some newly built terraces and duplexes in the city were getting too hot.

Council urban design manager Lisa Dunshea said a combination of poor window placement, minimal shade, and a lack of natural ventilation was behind the problem.

Wilson said there were already tools available to help designers build cooler homes, but they were optional.

“It would be good to see this mandated in the Building Code for terraced housing and apartments.”

Speaking to Morning Report, New Zealand Green Building Council chief executive Andrew Eagles said it was a “real sad situation” at a time where people should be happy about moving into a beautiful new home.

“All too often we’re finding that people are getting quite upset about the discomfort they are feeling, they’re getting really high temperatures at night, we’ve got people saying ‘my home is like an oven’ or ‘it’s like a sauna without the fun’. That’s causing sleep issues and real concerns and often it’s a really difficult issue to remedy.”

Eagles said his organisation and Auckland Council had expressed concerns for some time now and was calling for action.

It was a simple fix – as shown overseas – and just required designers to check if a home was at risk of overheating at the design stage.

Designers could then get the information and consider how to rectify the issue – such as using ventilation, shading and orientation.

Eagles said he sees “hundreds of homes” getting it right and delivering comfortable homes for Kiwi families – but with more about 50 percent of homes terrace or apartments – and at greater risk of overheating – the change was needed in the code.

He said it did not require legislative change and would only take “three lines” in the code.

It would not make building more expensive – if any, there would be less cost involved, he said.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

What’s being termed ‘dark patterns’ are becoming increasingly prevalent on shopping websites as online businesses scramble for your dollars

Subscriptions that are impossible to cancel, hidden fees added at the checkout, and constant offers of discounts in exchange for your personal information – dark patterns are the internet traps designed to make you spend more money.

While not explicitly illegal, they’re getting overwhelming.

Last month, food delivery company Hello Fresh was fined $845,000 for misleading its customers, and if you’re online shopping this Christmas, you need to be on the lookout.

“It’s things like hidden fees, where you make a purchasing decision, get to the checkout, and suddenly there’s $20, $30, $40 extra,” said Consumer NZ’s Chris Schulz.

“It’s things like scarcity cues … everyone’s seen those, ‘only one left at this price’ notes, and then there’s subscription traps, everyone’s had a meal kit delivery service or a gym membership that they just can’t be bothered to cancel because you know it’s going to be painful.”

Consumer NZ has just released a report detailing its research on dark patterns.

The overwhelming feedback from research participants was frustration, said Schulz.

“[Dark patterns] have a triple impact, they take our money, people told us they have spent more because of dark patterns… they waste our time, some dark patterns are designed to keep us engaged longer on sites or to stop us from going elsewhere.

“They just affect our confidence as well; they chip away at how people feel, especially if you’re in a less confident bracket.”

Some dark patterns also invade our privacy.

“You’ll often get these offers, ’10 percent, if you sign up,’… and then you’ll have to put in your name, you’ll have to put in your address, your date of birth, whether you’re male or female or other, sometimes even more than that.

“Then these companies have information on you, we know they can use that data to target advertising.”

But dark patterns are also incredibly effective.

Alex Sims, a commercial law professor from Auckland University, said a study that monitored websites found those using dark patterns had double the participation rate than websites that didn’t. When there was an aggressive use of dark patterns, participation quadrupled.

But Sims doesn’t think we need new laws, because the Fair Trading Act and the Privacy Act, while not explicitly defining the shady sales tactics, already cover most dark patterns.

“The main one is under the Fair Trading Act, where businesses cannot be misleading, deceptive and mislead people about price… quite a few of the dark patterns are misleading, so therefore breach the Fair Trading Act.”

Under the Privacy Act, if information about an individual has been collected in an unfair manner, then that individual has grounds to lay a complaint, she said.

“Say, for example, you want to buy a pair of shoes… you go to the checkout, and then it says, ‘create an account,’ and it requires your email address, your phone number, and all these other things that you don’t want to give.

“Arguably, you could say that’s not fair because the only way that you could buy those shoes is to enter that information.”

The reason why dark patterns have become so prolific isn’t because of a lack of laws, she said, but a lack of enforcement.

“Even if [companies] do go to the extreme end… what will happen is normally the Commerce Commission will come along, write a letter and say, ‘look we’re investigating this,’ and often if the company goes ‘oh look I’m really sorry we didn’t realise we won’t do it again,’ [and] sometimes the Commerce Commission will keep on going but most of the time they won’t.”

But it’s also a matter of resourcing; taking legal action uses a lot of time and staff, and it’s expensive. But while providing the Commerce Commission with more resources would be a good idea, she said, there is some onus on consumers as well.

“First of all, what they should be doing is when they experience dark patterns, is stop using that website, and that’s what the Consumer NZ report actually identified… almost 40 percent of people had stopped using [those] websites.”

Sharing your bad experience is also helpful, and people can also make a complaint to the Commerce Commission.

“That’s why Hello Fresh was actually prosecuted because a whole lot of people complained… if the Commerce Commission doesn’t know anything about it, it can’t do anything.”

The Hello Fresh case centred around cold calls made to customers between February 2022 and July 2023, where customers were offered vouchers without being told that accepting them would reactivate their subscription to the service.

While this case was still before the courts, Consumer NZ was conducting its study on dark patterns and had participants try to cancel a Hello Fresh subscription.

At the time, this was a five-step process.

Hello Fresh has since updated its subscription services, telling Consumer NZ it streamlined and simplified its cancellation process in the wake of Consumer’s research.

But these kinds of sales tactics remain rife, and in this episode, Sims tells The Detail what tweaks to existing laws she thinks would help tackle the issue.

“With the Privacy Act, have it so when someone has signed up to social media or something like that, that the highest privacy preservation settings are set … and then allow the user, if they want to, then to share it more.

The second one is to prevent nagging, which Sims explains is when little boxes saying ‘buy this now’ or ‘enter your email for a discount’ keep popping up while a shopper is on a website.

“In Europe, the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) and the Data Act say basically you can’t do that and you’ve got a set time period, so you can’t ask them more than say once every year,” she says.

Then there’s the tweak to prevent subscription traps. Sims says it should be as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to sign up for it.

But amidst the frustration and anxiety these dark patterns cause, there is hope that it could encourage consumers to return to in-store shopping.

Schulz hopes that is the case.

“There is something about that experience.

“I love talking to shopkeepers, you don’t get that experience when you’re online, sometimes you can have really good conversations… I think that could be an upside.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Tenants have more control in New Zealand’s rental market than they have for a while.

With rents soft and more options to choose from, it’s not a bad time to be looking for a place to live.

But do you know the rules your landlord has to abide by?

Recent Tenancy Tribunal rulings show some are still getting it wrong.

Turn up unannounced

Landlords can’t just turn up to their rental properties without giving notice, even if it is just to do something outside.

They need to give 48 hours’ notice for things like inspections and 24 hours’ notice for repairs or maintenance. If they don’t, they can have exemplary damages awarded against them to a maximum of $1500.

In one case heard by the Tenancy Tribunal recently, a tenant claimed their landlord arrived at the premises uninvited and unannounced, entered the garden and shouted at them about parking in a shared driveway. The landlord argued he had been working on a neighbouring property and noticed where the car was parked.

The tribunal said even if the landlord only stopped at the gate and did not enter the garden, he raised his voice and shouted at the tenants and threatened to end their tenancy. It said the behaviour was a breach of the tenant’s quiet enjoyment and interfered with their reasonable peace, comfort and privacy.

If a house is listed for sale, the tenant has to give permission for open homes to be held.

Require professional cleaning

Your landlord cannot ask you to pay for professional cleaning when you leave, including carpet cleaning.

Tenants are only required to leave the property in a reasonably clean and tidy state.

Sarina Gibbon, director of Tenancy Advisory, said the introduction of new rules around pets could make this a bit murkier. “With the pet provisions coming in, it’s going to be really interesting.”

She said one of the examples given with the introduction of the new rules was that landlords might say a pet was allowed if carpets were cleaned to a professional standard. “That’s just an example given by Parliament… it doesn’t mean it will cover all situations.

“It’s one of those things that I think we’re just going to have to watch how the tribunal interprets the new laws and applied them to give the industry guidance. At the moment we’re still operating under the old rules.

“But without pets, absolutely a tenant cannot be required to professionally clean the carpet.”

Charge a pet bond (yet)

Landlords are not allowed to collect a pet bond until 1 December.

“I’m hearing every week landlords are collecting pet bonds and they have been all year when they are actually not legally allowed to until December 1,” Gibbon said.

“So if a tenant asks for a pet on November 30 and the landlord gives consent on November 30, that landlord cannot collect a pet bond. If the landlord gives consent on December 1, that’s fine.”

Ask tenants to cover the difference when a property is re-let at a lower rent

Gibbon said landlords generally could not ask tenants to pay the difference in rent if they broke a fixed term and the property could not be rented again for the same amount.

“Especially in this market, I’m seeing with market rent going down and tenants trying to get out of fixed-term tenancies, trying to break their lease early, I’m seeing some landlords and property managers try to charge the rental differential because they can’t get the 2024 level of rent in 2025.

“Even though there are some rare exceptions [where] the Tenancy Tribunal has found that the landlord can charge that, those are really quite unusual.

“The law provides for you to charge reasonable expenses that you incur because of the early break but you can’t charge the rental differential because the loss of income is not an expense.”

In a case the tribunal heard, a tenant broke a fixed term that was due to end in December this year in April.

The property was re-let on 5 June and the tribunal said the tenant could be required to pay rent until then.

But while the new tenant was paying $10 less a week, the adjudicator said the former tenant could not be required to cover this because the landlord did not provide enough evidence that the drop was necessary.

“The landlord would need to show that the lower rent was reasonable in the circumstances and that all reasonable steps were taken to achieve the best rent possible. Without this evidence the claim for rent loss is dismissed.”

The adjudicator also said a break fee could not be charged. “The landlord can only claim reasonable costs that are directly related to finding a new tenant. The landlord must provide evidence of these costs. The only cost that the landlord was able to prove was the Trade Me advertisement which I have awarded.”

Take tenants’ possessions

Landlords cannot take tenants’ possessions to cover money they are owed.

In one case involving a Beach Haven property, a landlord who had been sending the tenant “derogatory and racially suggestive messages”, according to the tribunal, entered the premises, threw the tenants’ belongings out, handed them a bill and took their $4000 computer.

The landlord was told to pay $1500 for breaching the tenant’s quiet enjoyment and $3000 for the possessions.

Let rent arrears add up

If a tenant falls behind on rent, the landlord cannot let the arrears mount unreasonably.

The Residential Tenancies Act says when either party breaches the agreement, the other party needs to take reasonable steps to limit the damage or loss.

Gibbon said that duty to mitigate loss meant landlords had to act quickly on arrears.

She said sometimes people would think that their landlord was being nice by not chasing them, and might be complacent. “If that gets piled up it could tip the legal test and the tribunal could very well say essentially you’ve not done anything about it, you’ve not given a 14-day notice, you’ve not sought to terminate the tenancy, you’ve not initiated an installment plan to get yourself compensated… we’re not going to award you all the rent that’s owed to you.”

Not pass on bills in a timely way

Gibbon said people also needed to ensure tenants received bills promptly.

“In Auckland you get billed by Watercare and you’re supposed to pass the usage fee to the tenant each month… you have to on-charge it to your tenant reasonably quickly. I’m seeing landlords who sit on it for months and months or even years then at the end of the tenancy go ‘oh by the way you owe me this much’, like thousands of dollars in water. They can’t do that.”

Leave the country for more than three weeks

Any landlord who leaves the country for more than 21 consecutive days needs to appoint an agent to act for them.

Bungle cabin questions

Gibbon said there could also be problems with tenants wanting to install a cabin.

“If the cabin is a vehicle it’s not really a Residential Tenancies Act issue and to withhold consent or attach conditions to that consent, as landlords sometimes think they’re entitled to, is a breach of the tenant’s quiet enjoyment. But on the flip side, not all cabins or caravans or tiny homes can be brought on to the property by the tenant without the landlords’ consent. It’s complicated.”

She said people should get legal advice.

Retaliate

Landlords can’t give notice to tenants or raise rent in retaliation for anything they have done.

In one case, tenants were given notice in June that a family member was going to move back into their property.

But they said it was prompted by a dispute, including issues about the rent and the healthy homes rules.

“Where there is a short period of time between the tenant raising an issue about the tenancy (or filing a claim) and the landlord serving a notice, this may lead to a strong inference that the landlord was at least partly motivated by the tenant exercising their rights. In this situation, the evidential onus shifts to the landlord to show that there was a legitimate reason for the notice,” the adjudicator said.

“In my view the fact that the landlords served notice the day after the case management conference held in this matter, at which the tenants itemised their claims in some detail, leads to a strong inference that the landlords were at least partly motivated by the tenants exercising their rights.”

The tenants were awarded $1500.

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Source: Radio New Zealand

National’s announcement that it would push up contribution rates for KiwiSaver to a total 12 percent is a good step – but there is a major flaw that needs fixing first, one KiwiSaver provider says.

Prime Minister and National leader Christopher Luxon said on Sunday that if it was re-elected next year, the party would gradually increase KiwiSaver contributions to match the Australian 12 percent rate by 2032, with 6 percent contributions from both employers and employees.

It has already started a process to increase the default rate to 4 percent plus 4 percent by April 1, 2028.

“Smaller retirement balances present a challenge for New Zealand as a whole, too, as we rely more on investment from offshore to fund the infrastructure, start-ups, and housing we need to grow our economy, create jobs and lift incomes,” Luxon said.

“If we’re serious about building the future, and I am, it’s time to aim higher.”

Rupert Carlyon, founder of Koura KiwiSaver, agreed contribution rates were not high enough.

He calculated that with a return of 5.5 percent a year and 12 percent contributions, a 21-year-old could end up with $2.13 million in their account at 65, compared to $1.08m at a 3 percent plus 3 percent rate.

Even a conservative investor could end up with another $370,000 as a result of the change, and a balanced fund could have more than $500,000 more.

But he said a big problem was that employers could dodge the increase by moving employees to total remuneration packages.

Under a total remuneration package, an employee is told that a certain amount of money is available to them and they can make their KiwiSaver contributions out of that, or use it as take-home pay.

These have been highlighted as a problem by many providers and the Retirement Commission, who want them banned.

Carlyon said as contribution rates got higher, more people might be tempted to shift over.

“An economically rational person would be better taking the cash in hand rather than opting to have 12 percent of your salary locked up until the age of 65. Without incentives, this policy has the potential to achieve the opposite of what we want – people will be actually discouraged from investing in their KiwiSaver.”

He said employers could not put people on to total remuneration contracts simply to avoid the increase. “But they will be able to turn around, and I suspect to a lot of employees they’ll say ‘hey what do you want to do if you want I’ll give you cash from now on’… they’ll use this as an excuse to move a lot of contracts to total remuneration.”

Carlyon supported calls for a ban on total remuneration. “Admittedly it will put a burden on the private sector but actually it’s a nice fiscally neutral way to incentivise people to save for their retirement.”

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