State house tenancies now reviewable

Stuff reports:

All state house tenants will now be subject to reviewable tenancies following the passage of a controversial new bill under urgency today.

The Government’s Social Housing Reform Bill will also increase the role of the private providers in the social housing sector and see needs assessments shifted from Housing New Zealand to Work and Income.

State house allocations should be based on need, not on longevity.

The reviewable tenancies would remove the right of state house tenants to remain in those homes for life, he said.

Smith pointed to a Nelson fishing boat captain who he said once had high need but who was now earning more than $100,000 and still living in a state home but whose tenancy could not been reviewed under the old legislation.

“A person living in a state house earning over $100,000 a year has a right, a legal right to stay in that house forever while there are families with high needs.”

Absolutely. If you are earning over $100,000 a year, then time to give up the state house for someone who needs it more.

Labour’s Housing spokesman Phil Twyford accused Smith of hypocrisy by pointing out he had remained in his ministerial home for six weeks after being sacked as a minister, saying Smith had claimed he did not want to move as it would disrupt his childrens’ schooling.

“That is an outrageous double standard,” he said.

How is that a double standard? Six weeks is a pretty small amount of time. Most tenancies involve giving three months notice. Housing NZ isn’t going to be telling people they must be out in a few weeks. They’ll be reviewing whether a tenancy is renewed months before it expires.