Green Party's co-leader Marama Davidson says they are ready to negotiate its rent-to-own policy as part of the Government's KiwiBuild reset, reforms to the Residential Tenancies Act, and a mandatory Warrant of Fitness to enforce proper standards for rental homes.
The announcement was made today at the Green Party's Annual Conference in Dunedin.
"Everyone deserves a warm, safe and healthy home to live in, and the Government has a role to provide this", Green Party's co-leader Marama Davidson said.
"The KiwiBuild reset is an opportunity to make changes that tackle the causes of the housing crises, and not just manage the problems. We are working to include our rent-to-own policy in the KiwiBuild reset.
"Our rent-to-own policy will offer a pathway to people locked out of home ownership by student debt, high rents, low wages, high housing costs, and high costs of raising a family."
The Greens are planning to shift the country's approach to private rentals, as well as reforming the Residential Tenancies Act this term.
Ms Davidson says it is 'vital' that a Warrant of Fitness scheme be introduced for all rental properties as an enforcement mechanism for Healthy Homes Standards.
"We wouldn't allow people to lease a dodgy rental car, why do we allow dodgy rental homes? Poor quality, damp housing causes sickness. It needs to stop, and a housing Warrant of Fitness will do just that.
"These will be the first genuine steps toward reversing the trend in substandard housing and wealth inequality that has ballooned over the past three decades. It is not merely a short-term patch. It is a long-term transformation."
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