March 10, 2011 12:00pm by David Farrar

Christchurch Rent Hikes

Landlords who have hiked rents in the wake of the Christchurch earthquake have been branded looters by another name by Mayor Bob Parker.

In a stinging attack, Mr Parker said he was appalled by reports that some landlords in the city had boosted rents by up to 150 per cent.

“I think that’s looting by another name. I just think that’s appalling,” he told TVNZ this morning.

It is appalling, but not quite the same as looting. Looting is stealing and theft. Hiking your rent up 150% is exploiting a tragedy.

“Sure, there will be market moves and shifts, but there are clearly cases of people ramping up rents to an unnecessarily high degree. It’s destructive to our community and ultimately it’s destructive to those people who engage in activities of that nature.

“There’s not much we [the council] can do. I think the Government could certainly look at some form of control, but even that can create new distortions, and so the first appeal is just to the people who are doing it. Come on, you’re in our community, This is looting by another name. You can’t put this in a polite way. It shouldn’t be happening. We’re not going to get through this if people take that approach.”

I am not a fan of rent control. But I do have a “market” solution.

Someone should set up a website where you can report landlords who have hiked their rental prices by more than x%. They have every legal right to do so, but the community has the right to scrutinise what is being done and make sure their friends and neighbours are aware that while 98% of residents are doing what they can to make life easier for those affected by the earthquake, a small minority are trying to exploit the disaster.

It is inevitable that rental prices will increase over time as the supply is reduced. But overnight increases of 150% are very exploitative.