ACT Party leader David Seymour has slammed the Green Party's call for a landlord register as a "witch-hunt" as rental prices continue to stay high.
Appearing on AM's panel alongside Seymour, Green Party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick called for data on the distribution of rental properties in New Zealand.
"If we were to do that, then we would have far greater insights into also the likes of wealth distribution and inequality in this country and ultimately, we would be able to make better policy decisions," she said.
The Greens have been pushing for a register for property managers and landlords, alongside a warrant of fitness for rentals and rent controls.
"We do not have a meaningful backstop to understand who owns these properties and therefore, ultimately, how we ensure that we raise the bar of responsibility in order to actually meet the likes of the Residential Act Healthy Homes Standards," she told AM co-host Melissa Chan-Green.
Seymour disagreed, saying the Greens were beating up on landlords.
"It's a witch hunt and I'm sorry but this is the kind of populism that I am getting tired of," Seymour said.
"If you want to talk about evidence, Chlöe, you guys had six years, you beat up on landlords, you put more restrictions on, you put more taxes on – rents went up $200 in two years."
He said his Coalition Government will make it easier for people to build a house and be a landlord by implementing policies such as no-cause evictions.
"The easier it is to own a house and rent it out to another person, the more choice there will be, the more pressure there will be on prices," Seymour said.
It comes as rental prices are still running high, however, the market is slowing down.
Earlier in the show, Trade Me property sales director Gavin Lloyd said rent increases had slowed down in the past few months.
"Which is great news for renters because beyond that we have been seeing some really big growth," Lloyd said.
He said supply has "flipped significantly" with more rental listings on Trade Me than a year ago.
"I think what we are seeing there is the for-sale market - properties aren't selling, they're sticking around a little bit more. So, we are seeing a lot more stock coming back into that rental poll so a bit more choice out there for renters."
Lloyd said national rent prices, which are up around 6.5 percent year-on-year, are is expected to start dropping.
"The heat has definitely come out of the rental market," he said.
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