Wellington rents continue to track upwards
Tuesday, 24 October 2023
Scarcity of homes continues to drive Wellington rental prices up, with fears likely law changes will increase the power imbalance between landlords and tenants.
According to Trade Me figures year-on-year to September, the capital’s median weekly rent rose 6.7% to $640 for a house.
Trade Me Property sales director Gavin Lloyd said the number of rental listings continued dropping, keeping pressure on rents.
“This is creating a really tight market and means tenants will have to reach further into their pockets in the immediate term if they’re looking to move.
“So I think we are very unlikely to see landlords drop prices any time soon.”
While the percentage rise was less than both Auckland and Canterbury, tenant advocate Geordie Rogers, of Renters United, said Wellington remained “very unaffordable”.
“Ultimately, we are hindered by supply and unfortunately it doesn’t look like the incoming Government is necessarily interested in addressing the supply of homes,” he said.
The National Party, which dominated the election, has signalled plans to “unlock land for housing” by requiring councils in major towns and cities to zone land for 30 years worth of demand “immediately”.
Rogers was concerned about what another likely government policy might mean for tenant security. National has said it would reinstate the option of no-cause termination, allowing landlords to end tenancies without reason.
“I would like people to imagine how horrific it would be to be able to be told that within 90 days you are no longer allowed to live in your home with no reason at all.”
Law student Katherine Blow, who shares a one-bedroom flat in Brooklyn with her partner, said affordability was a significant issue for her.
They’ve had to settle for “substandard” accommodation – cold, leaky and with mould in the bathroom and no insulation.
“It’s very frustrating to not have any choice in where you live because the rental market is so competitive it doesn’t allow you to choose,” Blow said.
With the potential reintroduction of no-cause terminations, she was worried about losing her tenancy before completing her studies at the end of next year.
Victoria University of Wellington Students’ Association president Jessica Ye said no-cause evictions put students in an “even more precarious place”.
“We already know that students are a group that landlords might not want to rent to and they find it difficult to find a place competing with other groups of people.
“Right now the situation is pretty dire. Students end up filling out so many applications to lots of different places come November for where they’re going to live the following year.”
Students could often end up couch surfing with friends, Ye said. “That’s no position to set you up to be able to study well.”
Peter Lewis, of the New Zealand Property Investors Federation, said landlords did not want vacant rentals and termination would not be necessary without a good reason.
Not having to state the reason prevented ongoing disputes and streamlined the process, he said.
“The minute you give a reason, you give a cause for argument.”
A silver lining to the latest Trade Me figures is that townhouses and apartments are experiencing more modest hikes than other properties.
That was slightly lower than the national average increase of 7.8%, but it still meant Wellingtonians were paying more than the national median of $620.
Wellington’s median for townhouses is $700, up 4.5% on the previous year.
The average apartment rental in Wellington is $570, up 5.6% on the same time last year.
Nationally, Northland had the biggest increase, up $75 a week or 14.9%, lifting from $505 to $580 in the past 12 months.
Marlborough had the second largest increase, up 14% from $500 in September last year to $570.
Auckland had the third largest – up 12% since last year with a median weekly rent of $670. Canterbury is up 10% to $550 a week.