State House Rentals

As unpopular as it is to say so, linking state house rents to the income of the tenant, instead of the value of the property is seriously flawed.

We see this again today where some people are actually making more money from sub-letting their state houses, than they pay in rent. This is not the intent of government policy, but inevitable.

You see if a tenant pays the same for a one bedroom apartment as a four bedroom apartment, they have no incentive not to stay in the four bedroom apartment and make money out of it.

Some people will rant on about the evil of market rentals, but they overlook that these were coupled with the accommodation supplement, which does take account of both income and costs. It is a far fairer way to deliver support to low income NZers, than income related rents.