Minister speeds up tenant bond releases in Canterbury
Canterbury tenants forced to end the lease of their property due to earthquake damage should have their bond money released with 24 hours, Housing Minister Phil Heatley says.
Canterbury tenants forced to end the lease of their property due to earthquake damage should have their bond money released with 24 hours, Housing Minister Phil Heatley says.
"We need people to be housed in Canterbury and wanted to remove all unnecessary barriers to a tenant finding and renting a new, sound property if forced to leave a damaged one," he said today.
"To facilitate this process the Department of Building and Housing (DBH) is proactively contacting landlords to ensure the speedy release of bonds."
Mr Heatley said that since the quake the DBH had received more than 670 calls from tenants and landlords and had refunded 1242 bonds for properties in the Canterbury region.
He said the department recognised landlords' rights and when there was a dispute the parties were being encouraged to resolve it through Tenancy Tribunal mediation.
"Tribunal applications for the Canterbury region are down slightly on this time last year, so it's great to see that people are working together to find solutions and not needing to go to litigation," Mr Heatley said.
NZPA
Fri, 24 Sep 2010
Fri, 24 Sep 2010
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Minister speeds up tenant bond releases in Canterbury
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