The Government’s refusal to set minimum warrant of fitness standards for rental homes is causing Kiwi kids to get sick, the Green Party said today.
The Government’s refusal to set minimum warrant of fitness standards for rental homes is causing Kiwi kids to get sick, the Green Party said today.
“Te Ao Marama Wensor and her family should never have been expected to live in a house that’s infested with pink and black mould – no New Zealand family should be,” Green Party Co-leader Metiria Turei said today.
“By refusing to bring in minimum standards for warmth, dryness and safety in rental properties, Bill English and Paula Bennett are saying that these kinds of houses are okay by them and okay by this Government.
“That is absolutely shameful in 21st-century New Zealand.
“Ms Wensor’s house is clearly not fit to be lived in.
“It’s extremely concerning that several agencies and advocates told Housing New Zealand this and yet the family’s still living there.
"A comprehensive, transparent warrant of fitness system would be invaluable in situations like this.
“It would mean that all houses would have to be warm, dry and safe to be deemed fit to live in.
“This family’s house would not meet the standards, and neither would all the other cases we keep hearing about of children falling seriously ill because they live in cold, damp, mouldy housing.
“Under a rentals’ warrant of fitness, all tenants and all landlords, including the Government, would know their rights and responsibilities, and would be legally required to keep to them.
"National’s refusal to adopt comprehensive minimum standards, beyond the paltry insulation and smoke alarm provisions they’ve offered up, will mean more Kiwis living in rotting, mouldy homes, and more children getting sick or dying because of it,” said Mrs Turei.
