Some landlords are selling up their rental portfolios as the Government looks to introduce tougher regulations that will beef up tenants' rights.
The Government has a raft of proposals including heating homes, taking away a landlord's right to say no to pets and axing letting fees but industry experts say it was a knee-jerk reaction and ''catered to a segment of tenants who have had bad experiences''.
Gary Prentice from Rentals BOP said the agency had lost more than 20 properties in the past 12 months as clients sold their rental properties.
He said implementing changes when there was a shortage of rentals was ''crazy''.
''It's the same deal with most of the landlords, they are saying it's getting into the too hard basket, and it's not worth owning rental properties any more, so let the government do it.''
Ultimately, the tenants would foot any costs, Prentice said.
His experience follows that of an Auckland landlord facing a $42,000 bill to repair a damaged rental property - who has questioned whether it's worth being a property investor under new tenant-friendly Government laws.
Tauranga Rentals owner Dan Lusby said he had advised landlords that his company could not manage properties if they failed to meet new insulation rules which would kick in on July 1.
''It's forcing them to do it because we won't be lumped with a $4000 fine if it's not done.''
Housing conditions needed to improve, he said, but landlords were in for a further shock as heat pumps could be required in main living areas, panel heaters in every bedroom and extractor fans in the bathroom and kitchen, he said.
Spending up to $5000 to cover those expenses would wallop some landlords, he said.
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Government proposal
• Is open for comment until October 21. Any changes are likely to come into force in 2020. Some proposals are:
• Demanding specific and justifiable criteria for a landlord to terminate tenancies.
• Setting the amount of notice a landlord needs to give to terminate a tenancy to 90 days under all circumstances.
• If a tenant considers their rent substantially exceeds market rates they can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for an order reducing the rent.
• Taking away a landlord's right to say no to pets.
• Healthy homes standards will set minimum requirements for heating.