Tamatha Paul, Green MP for Wellington Central, and Party Spokesperson for housing (among other things), caught up with Critic Te Ārohi for a chat about the Green’s upcoming housing campaign.
Housing is something that affects everyone, whether you’re “a student living in a shit flat constantly getting sick, someone who’s rough sleeping at the moment… [or] a young person who doesn't want to rent for the rest of their life.” Tamatha described the housing policy as four pillars that would address the overwhelming need in New Zealand today: ending homelessness, fixing renters rights, building public housing, and helping people to buy their first home.
Tamatha wanted to launch this campaign in Ōtepoti, “because when people think about the quintessential ‘shit student flat’ they’re imagining houses on certain Dunedin streets.” She is well aware of the massive number of horror stories that come out of the Dunedin flatting experience, and how often they’re brushed off as some kind of rite of passage. Tamatha said this concept and the fact that it's so normal has always “pissed her off”, and we “absolutely have to reject that. How can you do well at your studies, and be able to focus and absorb what you’re learning, when your living environment is constantly making you sick.”
“On top of a loan that you’re going to be paying off for a large chunk of your life, on top of the fact that there are not that many jobs for you once you graduate, we shouldn’t also expect you to live in poverty while you get that degree.” While it all sounds a little depressing when put that way, Tamatha described the following policies as having “something for everyone.” And there is certainly a lot for tauira.
The first of these important aspects of the campaign is a cap on rents, ensuring that landlords can’t increase their rent by anything more than 2% each year. Currently landlords don’t need any real reason to increase rent “crazy amounts”, and the increasing need for student housing in Dunedin only leaves us vulnerable and desperate. Tamatha added that this cap would “mean you’d have more money to live your best life and have a good time studying.”
They are also looking to implement a rental warrant of fitness scheme, which Tamatha noted “really appeals to students.” She is adamant that there should be a strong standard for anyone looking to rent their house out. “It shouldn’t be mouldy, or growing mushrooms, or lack ventilation or heating,” and while these may sound dramatic, in Ōtepoti if it’s not you living under these conditions, it's someone you know.
Tamatha emphasised that after putting so much time, effort, and money into our education, it’s completely reasonable to expect to own a home in our futures. Or at least to expect that it might be possible. “Students are working towards their degree, imagining the lives they want for themselves [...] I think part of that is owning a home at some point.” She added that people often forget that “students are doing us a service” by educating ourselves and stepping into crucial roles in society, and asked why we should “have a society and Government that further punishes students for doing things that benefit all of us.” Instead, she argued that we should be supported, most of all in the rental market.
Tamatha added that housing should be treated as a “human right, and not as a commodity”. Implementing policies such as a capital gains tax means that people don’t see housing as a “business opportunity”. Instead, she reckons the tax would posit owning a home as something accessible and give more Kiwis the security that comes with home ownership.
Critic asked how soon students could expect to see these changes in a hypothetical world. Tamatha said they could be done overnight. They would essentially cost nothing, other than the monitoring that would go into the rental WOF scheme. Other changes, like building public housing, are certainly more expensive and time consuming, but are also needed as “that's what's going to bring house prices down, house all of our people, and create jobs in the construction industry.”
Tamatha believes that Universities and Polytechnics absolutely have a role to play here, and thinks they should be “role modeling what it looks like to be a good landlord, and providing affordable and healthy student accommodation wherever possible.” She agreed that halls of residence are crucial for the University experience, but pointed out $20k for accommodation was a tough ask for many families. She wants universities to be thinking about how to expand beyond just first year, and how to help students deal with a broken rental market.
While Tamatha does think that some mainstream media had certainly helped to shape and normalise the narrative that students should be struggling for ‘the experience’, she believes that media has also helped shed light on the level of student poverty around the country. She also thinks that student media has been instrumental in showing the quality of living conditions that students are facing. Student media challenges whether these conditions should be normal, and holds politicians to account for “allowing things to continue the way they are.” We love a little flattery over at Critic.
Tamatha acknowledged that “life is really hard, and really expensive at the moment”. For frustrated students, the biggest thing you can do right now is sign the open letter below to show how much demand there is for policies like these. Whichever way you vote, this campaign undeniably favours students, and demonstrating the demand for these policies will encourage other progressive parties to think about what they can do for renters. According to the 2023 census, there are 1.5 million renters in New Zealand – in theory a powerful group more than able to influence policy changes “if we get organised.” And although students are typically a bit unorganised, this one matters.
Share the open letter. Lobby your local Members of Parliament. Share your rental horror stories with Tamatha. “If a landlord has ever put your rent up unexpectedly, evicted you for no good reason, subjected you to living in something that a dog wouldn’t even live in, let us know.” These stories show what it's like to be renting in Aotearoa in 2026.
“The Green Party is the party for renters,” she told Critic, giving her final pitch to students. Don’t forget that there’s an election this year! “We’re not trying to play the middle, we’re not trying to fight over the landlord class like Labour or National, we’re putting ourselves out there as the party for renters. We are the party that is not going to treat housing as an investment scheme for people. If people support that they should vote Green.”
Rental horror stories: tamatha.paul@parliament.govt.nz
Sign the open letter: https://action.greens.org.nz/housing_2026
