Your rights and responsibilities as a tenant

Renting a home comes with a set of rights and responsibilities for both tenants and landlords, all laid out under New Zealand’s Residential Tenancies Act 1986. Understanding them is the key to a smooth, fair, and positive tenancy. This simple guide explains what you can expect from your landlord, and what your landlord can expect from you.

Your rights as a tenant

As a tenant, you have the right to a safe, secure, and private home. Your key rights include:

• A healthy and safe home: Your landlord must provide and maintain the property in a reasonable condition. This includes ensuring it meets all legal building, health, and safety standards, including the Healthy Homes Standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture, and drainage.
• Quiet enjoyment: You have the right to peace, comfort, and privacy in your home. Your landlord cannot interfere with this right or allow other tenants to disturb you.
• A secure home: The landlord must provide and maintain adequate locks to ensure the property is reasonably secure. They cannot change the locks without your permission.
• Timely repairs: The landlord is responsible for keeping the property in a good state of repair. If something needs fixing, you should notify them immediately. For urgent repairs, they must act as quickly as possible.
• Notice for entry: Your landlord must give you the correct notice before entering the property. This is typically 48 hours for an inspection and 24 hours for carrying out repairs.
• Fair rent and bond practices: Your rent can only be increased once every 12 months, and the landlord must give you at least 60 days’ written notice. The bond cannot be more than four weeks’ rent and must be lodged with Tenancy Services within 23 working days.

Your responsibilities as a tenant

A tenancy is a two-way street. In return for your rights, you have several key responsibilities to uphold during your tenancy.

As a tenant, you must:

• Pay the rent on time: This is your primary responsibility. You must continue to pay the rent as agreed, even if the landlord hasn’t completed repairs.
• Keep the property reasonably clean and tidy: You are expected to maintain the home to a reasonable standard. This means leaving it in a similar condition to how you found it, not necessarily cleaning it to a professional standard when you move out.
• Report any damage or need for repairs immediately: Letting your landlord or property manager know about issues as soon as they arise can prevent them from getting worse.
• Pay for your own outgoings: You are responsible for paying for the services you use, such as electricity, gas, internet, and phone bills. You may also be responsible for water charges if the property has a separate water meter.
• Leave the property in good shape: At the end of your tenancy, you must remove all your belongings and rubbish, leave the property reasonably clean and tidy, and return all keys to the landlord.

During your tenancy, you must not:

• Damage the property: You must not intentionally or carelessly damage the property, and you are responsible for any damage caused by your guests.
• Disturb your neighbours: You must not interfere with the peace and quiet of your neighbours or other tenants of the landlord.
• Make alterations without permission: You cannot make any changes to the property, such as painting walls or installing fixtures, without the landlord’s written consent.
• Use the property for an unlawful purpose: The property must be used mainly for residential living and not for any illegal activities.
• Have more people living there than agreed: The number of occupants cannot exceed what is stated in your tenancy agreement.

Unsure about your rights or obligations?

The world of tenancy law can sometimes feel complicated. If you have any questions about your rights, your tenancy agreement, or what’s expected of you, our experienced property management team is here to provide clear, simple answers.

Call us today on (09) 626 6119 for a friendly, confidential chat.