The COVID-19 Omnibill

The ​​COVID-19 Response (Management Measures) Legislation Bill (also referred to as the Omnibill) is set to make changes to residential tenancies across the country.

During a tenancies order (when moving between properties is restricted) the bill will:

• Automatically extend almost any tenancy due to end, including tenancies of less than 90 days (4)(1)
• Extend the length of rent arrears for termination from 21 to 60 days (4)(3)(a)
• Extend notice periods, and rent arrears periods for boarders (4)(3)(c), (4)(3)(d)
• Extend provisions for tenants experiencing family violence during COVID-19 (5)(3)(a)
• Make most notices given by landlords or tenants of no effect, and not allow them to be re-issued until the tenancies order ends (6),(7), (9)
• Any landlord that attempts to terminate a tenancy during the tenancies order would be making an illegal act and could face fines up to $6,500
• Make most notices given by the Tenancy Tribunal come into effect no earlier than 14 days after the tenancies order ends (8)
• Allow landlords to terminate tenancy agreements due to commence during level 4 if the property is no longer available due to COVID-19 (11)
• Allow tenants who can no longer move into a new property to terminate their tenancy with two day’s notice (11A)

What you won

Thank you to everyone that submitted, together we made a meaningful difference to the bill. With the help of organisations like Community Law, Citizens Advice Bureau and the Tenants Protection Association we were able to secure the following changes to the bill as originally proposed:

• There’s now a minimum notice period for starting and ending termination restrictions. This means that you’ll have time to prepare before these changes are no longer in effect. There will be at least 7 days notice before a tenancies order ends.
• The drafting was clarified to protect people experiencing domestic violence. Previously people experiencing family violence could be kicked out of their home against their will under the anti-social behaviours clauses.
• Any landlord that attempts to terminate their tenancy will now be committing an unlawful act. Landlords who commit an unlawful act could be fined up to $6,500. Previously these terminations weren’t explicitly considered an unlawful act.
• If you can’t move into your new tenancy you have the option to terminate your new tenancy with 2 days’ notice. In the original drafting, provisions were included allowing landlords to terminate tenancies they couldn’t provide, now tenants can also provide a notice for tenancies that they can’t move into.

*The following is no longer kept up to date

What can be improved?

It’s likely this bill will go through, under urgency, with no amendments made. While this is a small win for renters fighting against COVID-19 there are a number of improvements that could be made to the bill before it’s enacted.

• Certain provisions of the bill can force tenants to be stuck paying rent for two properties. We’re asking that renters are given the ability to delay rent payments on vacant properties during a level 4 tenancy order.
• The bill doesn’t contain any provisions for the price rents are set at, which allows a landlord to use rent increases as a form of termination, a section of the RTA lacking in enforceability. All contracts extended during a tenancy order should be provided at the same price.
• Due to the limitations of the Residential Tenancies Act, this bill doesn’t include any protections for flatmates or private boarders.
• The current rental environment is ignored in this bill and it therefore overlooks the difficulty of accessing hardship grants or applying to end a tenancy due to severe hardship at the Tenancy Tribunal.

Making a submission

To make a submission we recommend that you copy and paste the parts that you feel are the most relevant to you. Since change is unlikely to occur at this stage we recommend you focus your submission on the current rental environment, which is what you probably know best.

 Please note that any information you include in your submission could be publicly relieved under the Official Information Act, so only include information you’re willing to make public.

Your submission

First start off with a small introduction. Your name, where you’re currently renting (don’t be too specific in order to protect your privacy), and how long you’ve been renting.

My name is NAME, I currently rent in REGION and I’ve been renting for X years.

Next you might talk about your position on the bill. Note that there are quite a few different points in this bill, if you only want to reference the residential tenancies section (schedule 5) you might say something like:

The bill temporarily allows anyone in a boarding house to be covered by section 55 of the RTA, which gives them access to better protection when they have missed rent payments.

I would like to explicitly highlight my support for clause 3 subclause d. Tenants in boarding houses play an equal role in keeping Aotearoa safe from COVID-19 and as such they deserve the same protections afforded to tenants in private rentals. No one should have to put Aotearoa at risk because they can’t pay rent. COVID-19 doesn’t discriminate, but we know that renters, boarders and flatmates make up a large proportion of the essential workforce. Therefore I commend the government’s inclusion of clause 3 subclause d.

The bill also adds padding to level 4 by requiring any termination date be at least a minimum number of days after level 4 ends.

I would like to commend the inclusion of a grace period. This provides both tenants and landlords with certainty that they won’t need to make arrangements overnight. It gives tenants longer to find accommodation, and landlords longer to rent their property to new tenants. In a time of uncertainty it’s reassuring to know that tenants will at least have somewhere to live.

Unfortunately the bill has a few shortcomings. If you want to keep your submission purely positive that’s ka pai. But here are a couple of clauses that we picked up that should be amended.

For anyone that was given a tribunal order terminating their tenancy, they are only awarded a grace period of 14 days after we leave level 4. We believe that regardless of who you are you should be afforded the opportunity to find a new home, and that’s practically impossible to do in 14 days.

Speaking of grace periods provided by the schedule I would like to highlight that under clause 8 there are specific cases that a tenant is only given 14 days to vacate and find new accommodation. In this current rental market it’s extremely difficult to find suitable accommodation within 14 days. This is made much more difficult by the fact property viewings can’t take place in level 4, and that any other tenancy’s that may be due to end would be extended for a grace period of 28 days. This would open up a period of 14 days where the market was seeing less properties listed. Therefore making it much harder for tenants to find new accommodation.

If you’re ever had to look for a flat you might want to describe what that experience was like, how long did you spend looking for a flat, how easy was it? Did you have to take time off work, pay for a bus or an uber? Did you have to offer to pay more rent to secure a rental?

If a landlord’s property is going to remain occupied because of this bill, and they had signed another tenancy agreement with a new set of tenants due to move in during level 4 the landlord would be able to void the contract with the new tenant. On the other hand if a tenant was unable to move into a vacant property they would have to pay rent for their existing property, which has been forcefully extended, and the property they are about to move into.

I have also noticed that while there are provisions for landlords to terminate tenancy contracts in the event a tenant can’t move in, no such accommodation has been given to tenants for being responsible for vacant properties. For example if a tenant was due to move out and into a property during the time a tenancy order has been issued they would continue to be liable for the property they currently reside in, and the property that is now left vacant. I would like to see the bill amended so that tenants are not held as liable for any rent to be paid during this period. Legislating this would likely allow landlords to be covered by their insurance for a loss of rental income.

A final point to finish on before summarising. This bill does not cover flatmates (people not listed on a tenancy agreement) or private boarders. This means that these people are only protected by their contract, a lot of which include 48 hour notice periods for termination.

Although out of scope of the Residential Tenancies Act, I would like to mention that renters under flatmate or private boarding agreements aren’t covered by these provisions. That means that flatmates can still be kicked out without a days notice, and private boarders could be charged for rent while not being able to reside at the property. Everyone has a role to play in response to COVID-19 to keep our communities safe, and that includes flatmates and private boarders. If we expect them to keep us safe, then we should give them the rights that allow them to play their part in the team of five million.

Let’s summarise this this 🙂

To summarise my thoughts, I am fully in support of schedule 5 of the COVID-19 Response (Management Measures) Legislation Bill, but I do recognise that for this bill to fully realise it purpose statement further modifications need to be made to protect renters between tenancies, and people who are not covered by the Residential Tenancies Act. COVID-19 does not discriminate, and neither should this bill. Everyone deserves to do their part for the team of five million, with the security of knowing they can remain in their home.

Send in your submission

Submissions can be made here, on the Pāremata Aotearoa website. You can also get in touch with any of your electorate MPs sitting on the Finance and Expenditure Committee.

Follow the Renters United Submission

Renters United will be making a written and oral submission to the Finance and Expenditure Committee (FEC).

Our Written Submission on the COVID-19 Omnibill (pdf, 92KB)

We will be making our oral submission at 9am on Thursday the 7th of October. You can watch the submissions on the FEC Facebook page.

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