Doocey MattMATT DOOCEY (National—Waimakariri): I rise to speak to the Residential Tenancies (Safe and Secure Rentals) Amendment Bill. Just to follow on from my colleague Alfred Ngaro it is a bill that we will not be supporting. Hearing some of the points of the Opposition it is fair to say that I think they are making some very valid points about where we should be ending up around providing an element of safety and security for tenants. I suppose the argument is going to be about how we get to that point. Some of the clauses in this proposed bill I fundamentally disagree with. Just to start off in the explanatory note under the general policy statement there is a very sort of pejorative claim that there has been comparatively little done to address issues faced by renters."I think as my colleague Alfred Ngaro mentioned when you look at the residential tenancies amendment that we touched on this year bringing in more insulation for rental properties bringing in mandatory smoke alarms for rental properties—I have got six volunteer fire brigades in my electorate all reporting back about the positive changes and impacts those amendments are already making in residential properties. Also when you look at an area like Canterbury I think it is a good lesson that can be rolled out to the rest of the country. Post-earthquake there were large tracts of land freed up that increased supply which equals demand.What has happened in the rental market there is that rent has dropped considerably—about 10 percent in the last year. What that has allowed is for tenants to have the pick of some of the properties that they would like. I think where this is going to land as a fundamental principle is can we legislate to get to this end point? I would say that we cannot because basically what this should be built on is the contract between the landlord and the tenant. The premise that a landlord does not want to sustain a good tenant is incorrect. In fact I think it is the complete opposite. Any good landlord knows the value of a good tenant and many good landlords would keep a good tenant in even at below market price because they know there is no value in having an investment property that might sit vacant for 4 6 or 8 weeks while they are bringing in new tenants. That allows for a good working relationship between good tenants and good landlords. I think that is what we should be focusing on.The member in charge of the bill Metiria Turei also raises the issue around covering the cost of fees for leasing the property. I can appreciate some of that. I was in London last week for the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Westminster trip with Jenny Salesa from Labour. In Philip Hammond's first Autumn Statement they have brought in a law outlawing leasing fees—exactly what this is prescribing. However it is already shown that that is passed on to the price of the rent so I do not agree with this. However maybe something around transparency of fees I believe would be the right way forward for people who are choosing to rent a property to understand more about how these leasing fees are calculated and whether they choose to take that property and pay those leasing fees.I think that the clause about only allowing rent reviews every 12 months—I think that is slightly illogical. If the principle behind that is that it will reduce rent increases to only once every 12 months—say it was going to be that every 6 months the landlord would put it up $10; well at 12 months they would just put it up $20. I do not think the frequency of rent review is really the issue here. It is about having the ability for the landlord and the tenant to work together to understand what a good contract is and what is right for them.When we look at the issue around the 90-day notice it is reduced for landlords who are selling their house but bear in mind that tenants will know this. The house will be advertised and at the end of the day if the landlord needs to sell their house they need to sell their house. That is why I do not support this bill. Thank you."