Wellington

 

PHOTO: MONIQUE FORD/STUFF Shamubeel Eaqub says Wellington could lose its quality of life advantage over cities like Auckland if rents continue to rise.

Skyrocketing rents are destroying Wellington’s quality of life and the city needs to use the council’s balance sheet to change things, an economist says

Shamubeel Eaqub said inclusionary zoning, densifying to bring on more housing supply, and taking more risk off private sector balance sheets were among the options available to stem rent rises that had now overtaken Auckland’s,  according to data from Homes.co.nz.

“Wellington used to be the best place for a good life in New Zealand, but not anymore,” Eaqub said.

He made the comments ahead of his appearance at “Getting Real About Renting” , a renters’ forum on Wednesday. .

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