Wall LouisaLOUISA WALL (Labour—Manurewa): Tēnā koe e Te Māngai o Te Whare. Tēnā koutou katoa. This is the third reading of the Residential Tenancies (Prohibiting Letting Fees) Amendment Bill. It was heard by the Social Services and Community Committee. They received 187 submissions and heard 27 oral submissions.I'm not a member of that committee but it's been interesting preparing for this third reading debate today. What I've discerned is that the Tenancy Services actually hold 425000 bonds. And this is really interesting—DEPUTY SPEAKER: It might be but is it to do with the bill?LOUISA WALL: Of 425000 bonds 164000 of those are in the name of a property management company or a landlord. Under the legislation private landlords who do not use a letting agent—and I'll repeat that: private landlords who do not use a letting agent—cannot charge letting fees. So currently for 60 percent of the properties where bonds are held by Tenancy Services letting fees are not charged. So essentially all we're doing is making sure the other 40 percent—or the 164000 properties—that have property managers who are also letting agents can now not charge a letting fee. So in essence what this bill is saying is that a landlord is a landlord is a landlord. It's their property it's their right and responsibility if they want to let that property and as such it's their responsibility to pay letting fees.I want to highlight some of the research and evidence that was presented to the select committee about why that is a fair thing. It was presented by people like Kate Day from Renters United who said that the letting fee practice was unfair onerous and not a tenant's responsibility. That's what this bill actually reinforces 100 percent: it's not a tenant's responsibility; it's a landlord's responsibility.So I want to tautoko Minister Twyford for bringing this piece of legislation to the House. I do want to acknowledge however that there is a review of the Residential Tenancies Act and the select committee made some recommendations regarding that but this was a priority for us. I also noted that the select committee don't want a three-month commencement date; they want it to start on 12 December 2018 in recognition that most of the tenancies happen over this Christmas period: November to March. So there is a rationale behind this piece of legislation.The Opposition have tried to paint this as a waste of time and that we don't have any rationale for it. Well can I say that actually it's an absolutely responsive piece of legislation and the Minister in doing so has said that if a property owner—somebody who has an asset—wants to advertise their property wants to have open homes wants to have someone review applications wants to prepare tenancy agreements and wants to have a property inspection then in fact that is not the responsibility of the renter; it is the responsibility of the landlord. That's what this piece of legislation makes crystal clear.We have followed Scotland who did this in 2012 and I must say that for the UK Parliament this will also ensure letting fees cannot be charged in England and Wales. And why? Because of the comprehensive evidence about how unfair and unjust this is from organisations like the University of Otago—their Housing and Health Research Programme: letting fees make tenants stay in unhealthy homes for longer because it would cost them to move. From The New Zealand Rental Sector which was a Massey University SHORE & Whariki Research Centre / University of Otago study: upfront those who can least afford letting fees are likely to have to pay more. They were really clear that renters should only have to pay rent and bond.This whole letting fee practice has been borne by the renter and what this piece of legislation says is that actually it was never their responsibility just as is contained in the legislation where private landlords who do not use letting agents cannot charge letting fees. So what that will mean is that of the 425000 bonds that are now held by Tenancy Services—which we presume are 425000 homes servicing 425000 families—now those renters those families those people who are living in those houses do not have to pay letting fees. I support that 100 percent and commend this bill to the House. Kia ora.