Everything you need to know about renting post-lockdown

Each week the NZ Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking the Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's everything you need to know about your rights as a renter, and what financial help you can get. Hosted by Frances Cook.<br /><br />Keeping a roof over your head is one of the most important things in life, particularly as we head into rough economic waters. <br /><br />A lot of the public discussion so far has focused on mortgage help. That’s really important, but we can’t forget renters. <br /><br />A Renters United survey shows two out of every three renting households have had their income drop by more than a third. <br /><br />More than half of all renting households are now worse off, even after the government measures to help. <br /><br />Half said their renting experience during lockdown hurt their mental wellbeing, citing increased anxiety, stress, and depression. <br /><br />When you’re renting it’s a less stable situation, and there is a power imbalance that we need to be realistic about. <br /><br />There is also less targeted help available specifically for renters. <br /><br />But that doesn’t mean there’s no help – there certainly is. <br /><br />For the latest Cooking the Books podcast I talked to Robert Whitaker from Renters United. <br /><br />We discussed the main issues facing renters currently, what rights renters have, and what financial help is available. <br /><br />If you have a question you'd like answered in a future podcast, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here <a href="https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/" rel="noopener">https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/</a> Instagram here <a href="https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/" rel="noopener">https://www.instagram.com/francescooknz/</a> and Twitter here <a href="https://twitter.com/FrancesCook" rel="noopener">https://twitter.com/FrancesCook</a>