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Our MPM community includes tenants, landlords, investors, first-home buyers and homeowners, so I thought it would be helpful to share a brief overview of some of the major housing and rental policies currently proposed by the main parties.

National

• Expanding access to First Home Loans with 5% deposits by increasing income thresholds.

• Continuing mortgage interest deductibility for landlords.

• No capital gains tax on investment properties.

• Abolish the blanket ban on minimum car parking requirements

• Home Energy Fund - central government, council-backed financing platform offering long-term loans for households to invest in solar, batteries, insulation and other energy resilience measures.

Labour

• Capital Gains Tax - 28% tax on any profit made after July 2027 when a commercial or residential property (excluding the family home) is sold.

• Remove upfront costs for solar with Government-backed finance, kickstart subsidies, plug-in options for renters and a community battery fund for neighbourhoods

• Keep interest deductibility for landlords

• 6000 additional social housing places over four years

• Raise the Crown guarantee for Community Housing Funding Agency (CHFA) Social Bonds

Party

• Rent controls limiting rent increases.

• Removal of mortgage interest deductibility for landlords

• A Rental Warrant of Fitness.

• Landlord and property manager register.

• Build tens of thousands of new public homes, significantly increase accessible public housing stock and fund more papakāinga to be built on whenua Māori

ACT

• Abolish loss ring-fencing for rental properties

• Allow households to export more power where the network has room

• Households can sell power to different providers from the one they buy electricity from, or through local businesses and community energy schemes.

• Supports stronger property rights.

NZ First

• Social housing for citizens first

• Development of a 30-year Population Plan to coordinate immigration, housing and infrastructure planning

• Require fast-track housing developers to detail infrastructure needed

Opportunity Party

• 1.75% annual tax to the value of land.

• Implement 10 "simple, nationally consistent" planning zones

• Create a national pre-approval system for proven prefabricated and modular building methods

• Update housing laws to make it easier to build a wider mix of homes

This is a neutral summary intended to encourage informed discussion and is not an endorsement of any political party.