Confirmation that the Government is extending the deadline for landlords to meet Healthy Homes standards comes as no surprise, National’s Housing spokesperson Chris Bishop says.

“As of July this year, just 50 per cent of the 64,000 homes owned by the Government met the Healthy Homes standards.

“All private rental properties have had to comply with the standards for any new or renewed tenancy since July last year.

“It was one rule for them, and one rule for the Government. And now the Government is extending the deadline for Kāinga Ora houses to 1 July 2024.

“The majority of private landlords have done the right thing, followed the rules and upgraded properties. This is a giant slap in the face from a Government that simply can’t get anything done.

“This extension is the least surprising news in housing since discovering that Labour’s taxes on landlords have resulted in rents going up.

“It’s a bitter pill to swallow for the private landlords who followed the rules. The hypocrisy is industrial-strength and emblematic of a Government that has failed to deliver in housing.

“This inept Government has overseen rent increases of $140 per week, the state house waiting list blowing out by more than 20,000 since they took office, and $1 billion being spent on emergency housing in the last five years.

“Labour has failed spectacularly on housing, and this is yet another failure to add to the ever-growing list.”