Information for tenants

Tenancy Services have been fielding a high volume of inbound calls in recent months due to a seasonal peak in fixed term tenancies ending, and changes in rental laws coming into effect.

The way the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act (RTA) is being rolled out has created some confusion around which tenancies the changes apply to, e.g., “my fixed-term tenancy started before this amendment passed… does it apply to my tenancy?”, etc.

January 2021 was a busy month for the Christchurch rental property market and the First Avenue Property team. We thought we’d share some of the data and activity we’ve seen to help you put 2020 to bed and keep looking forward. 

The Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill, which seeks to make changes to the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), passed its final reading in Parliament on 5 August and will change the landscape for landlords and tenants.

Before the Healthy Homes Standards (HHS) come into force on 1 July 2021, there is a more pressing deadline of 1 December 2020 that private landlords need to be proactively working to meet.

In recent months we have had to adapt to COVID-19 restrictions on the fly along with the rest of the country. While we’re still subject to certain requirements in Level 1, we’ve actually adapted some of our Level 4, 3 and 2 learnings to improve the ongoing services we provide landlords and residential tenants.

Getting your bond back at the end of a rental property tenancy is an important part of moving to a new house. Some tenants depend on their money being refunded in full to help them cover moving costs, while some overlook this vital step when ending their tenancy because they’re unsure how to apply for a bond refund.

New Zealand’s renting industry has changed dramatically over the last 40 years. Let’s look at six ways the industry has changed since the 1980s.

In addition to the new insulation standards that came into effect, July 2019 also saw new tenancy legislation passed regarding tenants’ liability for damage caused by careless behaviour.

Landlords should now be fully aware of (and taking swift steps to meet) the insulation-related legislation changes that came into effect on 1 July 2019.