It didn’t take long for Labour’s new tenancy laws to backfire.
Landlords had expressed their concern that antisocial behaviour would skyrocket as bad tenants were now protected from any consequences. Three written warnings are required within a 90-day period to begin the termination process. We predicted that the rowdy parties would start and continue every weekend until 2 warnings, then start again three months later.
Landlords don’t like evicting tenants. It means a loss of income until new tenants are signed up, so it is never taken lightly.
But the real victims of antisocial tenants are the good neighbours, who are usually tenants themselves. Just who is Labour trying to save?
The very first weekend after the law was passed under urgency, a security guard responding to noise complaints in Hamilton at 1am on Saturday was bashed and remains in a serious condition in hospital. The incident took place in the low-decile rental suburb of Bader. The neighbours will have included families with children and shift workers with Saturday morning jobs. They can expect many more sleepless nights and disruption.
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