Landlord e-newsletter
Issue No. 18 - October 2011
In this edition of the newsletter we cover:
Rental property vacancy information
The Department of Building and Housing wants your help to gather information about rental property vacancies across New Zealand for regular release through the Department’s website.
This data will show whether rental property vacancies are increasing or decreasing, and help landlords and tenants to assess how competitive the rental market is at any point in time.
The vacancy rate will be calculated based on tenancy bonds. A property is assumed to be vacant if a bond has been refunded and no new bond established. Tenancy bonds do not show when a property has been withdrawn from the market, however. To calculate the vacancy rate, it will be assumed that all properties vacant for more than a certain time are no longer available for rent and are not vacant.
You can help us by answering the following Landlord Survey questions »
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Tenancy Tribunal Orders online
A number of landlords conduct credit checks and reference checks when selecting their tenants. Some landlords (and tenants) also search for past Orders made by the Tenancy Tribunal.
This search is free and you can find it on the Ministry of Justice website 
.
The website is not intended to provide an authoritative background check, but it is one of many sources of information landlords and tenants can use when considering entering into a tenancy agreement.
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Claiming compensation and other costs in your Tenancy Tribunal application
If you are seeking compensation through the Tenancy Tribunal you need to state on the application what damages or losses you are seeking.
You need to include a written list of the damages and the amounts sought for each. You also need to state the total amount of compensation you are claiming along with copies of invoices, where possible.
Sometimes it can be difficult to have all invoices ready at the time you file your application. Your costs can also be provided as estimations if any remedial work has not been completed at the time of your application. If you are providing estimations of costs you will need to provide invoices for the work at your Tribunal hearing.
Supporting documents must be on A4 sized paper, clear, legible and printed on one side, as they will be scanned and/or photocopied. You can find more information about making an application to the Tenancy Tribunal.
When making an application to the Tribunal you should remember to include a claim to recover the cost of filing your application. The Tenancy Tribunal must order a respondent to pay the applicant the filing fee if the applicant is wholly successful with their claim. The Tribunal has discretion to order this payment where a claim has only been partly successful.
If you have incurred expenses when seeking payment under a Tenancy Tribunal order, the Tribunal may order the other party to reimburse you. This will only apply if there is a provision in a tenancy agreement that allows this.
The Tribunal may also make higher awards of exemplary damages against parties who commit unlawful acts. The list of all the unlawful acts and exemplary damage limits are in Schedule 1A of the Residential Tenancies Act.
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Lodging the Bond
Around 93% of landlords who collect a bond then pay it to the Department of Building and Housing. Not lodging the bond is a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act. You could be liable to an award of exemplary damages of up to $1000 for failing to lodge a bond.
You must give the tenant a receipt for any bond money paid, and then send the bond money to the Department of Building and Housing, along with the Bond lodgement form, within 23 working days of receiving it.
A boarding house landlord is not required to lodge the bond with the Department of Building and Housing if the bond is the equivalent to one weeks’ rent or less.
You can find out more information about how to lodge a bond here.
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Inspecting and monitoring your property for methamphetamine labs
Up to 75% of meth labs (or “P” labs) are found in rental or holiday properties.
Most of the manufacturers of this drug are highly mobile and move on to new addresses regularly. Occasionally, a manufacturer will take advantage of a tenancy where a landlord does not carry out regular inspections.
Landlords need to be careful and check that the property has not been used to manufacture P. The Tribunal has ruled that renting out contaminated premises is a breach of a landlord’s obligation to provide premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness.
The Department has more information available here.
There are businesses that offer property owners testing and detection services, which you may want to consider for ongoing monitoring of your properties.
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Test your knowledge of the Residential Tenancies Act
The Department has developed a range of quizzes to help test your knowledge of the Residential Tenancies Act. Whether you’re a landlord or a property manager these quizzes are a great way to learn more.
The results of the quizzes also help inform future advice, information and education services we provide. You can take a quiz here.
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