12. Question No. 12—HousingMARAMA DAVIDSON (Co-Leader—Green) to the Associate Minister of HousingQuestion No. 12—Housing12. MARAMA DAVIDSON (Co-Leader—Green) to the Associate Minister of Housing: Will the recently announced changes to the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 help ensure that every New Zealander has a warm dry secure home; if so how?Hon KRIS FAAFOI (Associate Minister of Housing (Public Housing)): Our announcement on Sunday did deliver on our promise to those over 1 million New Zealanders who now rent to make renting fairer and more secure. It also delivered on our Government's commitment to ensure that every New Zealander has a warm dry secure home whether they rent or own it. We're doing this by limiting rent increases to once every 12 months and banning the solicitation of rental bids by landlords. I could go on Mr Speaker but I fear I've been pulled up once already so I'll stop and use other supplementary answers to deal with those issues. Marama Davidson: Under the proposed reforms will tenants have confidence that their tenancies will not be terminated without cause? Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Yes because under the proposed reforms landlords will need to give specified reasons before ending a periodic tenancy agreement. This is an important change to give tenants a greater sense of security in their own homes. Consultation on this proposed change told us that no-cause terminations have a chilling effect on tenants taking legitimate concerns to either their landlord or to the Tenancy Tribunal for fear they'll be kicked out just for speaking up and we're putting this to an end. Landlords can still end a periodic tenancy if they or a family member need to move into the property or they are selling or renovating the property and we have established a fair process for ending a tenancy if there are antisocial or rent arrears issues because we have taken a balanced approach. Marama Davidson: What changes have been announced in relation to rental bidding and how will these changes help people who are looking for a home to rent? Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Under the proposed changes landlords would not be able to solicit rental bids—for example by holding an auction for a rental property or listing it with no rental price listed. Rental bidding can exploit vulnerable tenants and exacerbate affordability issues especially in a tight rental market because it leads to higher rents being paid for properties than originally advertised. Marama Davidson: Is the Minister confident that restricting rental increases to once every 12 months will reduce the risk of out-of-control rent increases and is he open to further steps to dampen down rental prices?Hon KRIS FAAFOI: Yes. Frequent rent increases have been found to leave tenants vulnerable to rent stress particularly low-income tenants or tenants who have experienced change in their financial circumstances. We have limited rent increases to once every 12 months to give tenants more certainty over their costs but continuing to allow landlords to make reasonable adjustments to rent. This reflects the balanced approach we have taken to improve the tenant's security in their own home while recognising the business needs of landlords. I'm advised that this will not change the overall cost of rental accommodation or impact adversely on landlords' income but it will insulate tenants from shocks. I'm always happy to discuss future issues with Government partners.