It’s no secret the election is going down to the wire, and that means the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) may be amended again if Labour forms the next government.
Labour Housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty indicated that more detail would be available towards the end of October, just days before the November 7 election.
“We will be making this announcement (about RTA changes) before early voting starts, in roughly 3 weeks,” McAnulty told Tenancy.
Another Labour candidate, Michael Wood, confirmed Labour’s intention to reverse National’s tenancy changes
“Labour’s full housing policy will be released before the election, but we have made commitments during the term to overturning National’s anti-tenant changes to the RTA including no fault evictions,” Wood told Tenancy.
No-cause terminations would therefore likely go should they form a government. Changes to section 60A may also be considered, potentially restricting landlords’ ability to end a fixed-term tenancy at expiry without giving a reason. However, this, and other proposed changes, have yet to be confirmed.
The National-led coalition, on the other hand, is likely to keep the RTA as it is if they form the next government.
They were the driving force behind the RTA Amendment Act 2024 which included new pet laws and changes to termination provisions to enable landlords to end tenancies without reason.
