More predatory landlords

In this story on stuff.co.nz, medical professionals are warning investors who are snapping up earthquake-damaged homes in Christchurch to make sure that they are livable before renting them out. What has been happening is that rich investors, with cash on hand, are buying up properties that were damaged in the earthquakes that hit Christchurch, but have been written off by insurance companies as uneconomical to repair. The investors are then renting them out for huge returns, up to 25%. Of course, some of those properties will be very unhealthy to live in, but the rental market in Christchurch is so crazy that many people don't have a choice.

We need a warrant of fitness for rental properties, where owners must prove that a property is livable before it can be legally leased out.

Predatory landlords

It's common knowledge that there is a shortage of housing in Christchurch. Thousands of homes were destroyed or rendered uninhabitable in the February 2011 earthquake. But that doesn't excuse the avaricious and predatory renting practices of Christchurch landlords.

While some defend this as market forces of supply and demand at work, let me point out that the market is, by definition, selfish to the point of pyscopathy. Most of the time market forces in rentals work fine, but in states of emergency, with suddenly and drastically restricted supply, they only favour the privileged and predatory.

In my opinion, the government should have legislated a rental price freeze in Christchurch following the earthquake: that would have prevented greedy landlords from inflating rents to ridiculous levels and putting families out on the street.

But, once again, the government acted in the interests of the wealthy and privileged, instead of in the interests of the people.