4. Question No. 4—HousingCHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister of HousingQuestion No. 4—Housing4. CHRIS BISHOP (National) to the Minister of Housing: What is the current nationwide median rent according to the MBIE rental bond database and what has been the increase since October 2017?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS (Minister of Housing): The median rent is $575 as of January of this year—an increase of $175. For most of the last decade rent increases have been above Consumers Price Index (CPI) inflation. This trend is now changing. CPI in the year to December last year was 7.2 percent whereas the rent part of CPI was 4.4 percent. Unsurprisingly what the evidence is showing us is that the way you solve a housing crisis is you build houses. What we are seeing in the centres where we have the highest number of supply going in is correlating with the lowest rent increases.Chris Bishop: Does she accept her war on landlords is causing collateral damage for tenants by forcing rents upwards?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: What I don't accept is that member's framing. What this Government has done is put in place a range of measures to even the playing field. I don't think it is too much to say that renters have the right to live in a warm dry home. I don't think it is a war on landlords to say that we want landlords to be part of solving a housing crisis but we want them to add to supply—i.e. solve a housing crisis.Chris Bishop: Can she confirm that she was explicitly advised that her Government's policy to scrap interest deductibility would cause upward pressure on rents and that has helped lead to the $175-a-week increase in the last 5½ years?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I think we've been over this in this House so many times. What we had was we had some advice initially in December that told Ministers who were considering the policies that if all we did was remove interest deductibility across the board that could be the outcome. Of course that was not the policy that was implemented; what we did was put in place an explicit lever to privilege new supply by allowing interest deductibility on new builds. And what I will point to is that over the term of the previous Government rents went up 39 percent; under our Government they've gone up 35 percent. So I don't think that that party can say that they can point to that as the only reason.Chris Bishop: Now she's brought back interest deductibility for corporate investors doing build-to-rent developments why won't she bring it back for mum and dad landlords and reduce their costs during this cost of living crisis?Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: There is interest deductibility for mum and dad landlords if they add to the supply by building new houses. There is a 20-year carve-out.Hon Kieran McAnulty: One of the measures she referred to earlier reintroducing Kāinga Ora to areas where it wasn't present since 1999 such as Woodville in the Tararua District—SPEAKER: You need to make a—Chris Bishop: Point of order Mr Speaker. The Minister did not refer to any of those things.SPEAKER: Yeah the question needs to have a question in it. So making a statement is not a question.Chris Bishop: What further rent increases should tenants brace themselves for in the coming months as interest deductibility ratchets up even further at a time of rising interest rates and why won't she stop her war on landlords? Hon Dr MEGAN WOODS: I think what I would like to see from that member is an actual housing policy rather than the empty rhetoric that we see from him. But I point to 2011 where there was a 6.7 percent increase in rents against this year where there's been a 4.5 percent increase. That party needs to understand that the way you solve a housing crisis is you build more houses and that is what this Government is doing.