Landlord e-newsletter
No. 15: December 2010
In this edition of the e-newsletter we cover:
Test your Residential Tenancies Act knowledge
The Department of Building and Housing has launched a series of ten online quizzes to help landlords and property managers build and test their knowledge on changes to the Residential Tenancies Act.
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 has made some important changes including updating and clarifying the rights and responsibilities of landlords and tenants, and extending the Act's coverage to include boarding houses. The Act came into force on 1 October 2010.
Each quiz involves a series of questions on changes under different parts of the Act including:
- tenancy agreements – fixed term tenancies will revert to periodic tenancies on the tenancy expiry date, unless the tenant or landlord gives notice.
- service of documents – landlords and tenants will be able to use an email address, PO Box or fax number as an alternate address for service.
- terminating a tenancy – new rules have been added for termination of tenancy by notice, for example landlords will be required to set out the reason(s) when giving less than 90 days’ notice of termination.
- abandoned goods – new rules have been added for landlords dealing with abandoned goods.
The Department will use the results of the quizzes to help inform future advice, information and education programmes. Please feel free to email info@dbh.govt.nz with any feedback you may have.
You can take a quiz now by going to: Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 Quizzes - Department of Building and Housing
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More online resources to help you with the Residential Tenancies Act
The Department’s website, downloadable information sheets, toolkits, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and popular booklet ‘Renting and You’ have been updated to reflect the amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act.
You can access our downloadable forms and publications here.
You can access our FAQs here.
You can access our Dispute Resolution tool kit here.
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Additional Address for Service information in bond forms
Bond lodgement forms enable you to clearly record additional address for service details for you and your tenant, such as PO Box numbers and email addresses.
The Residential Tenancies Act requires the address for service to be a street address where notices and other documents relating to the tenancy will be accepted by your tenant or on their behalf even after the tenancy has ended. In addition to a street address, a PO Box, fax number, or email address can also be provided to be used as an Address for Service.
The Bond Lodgement form also explain that by providing a PO Box, fax number, or email address, you are authorising the Department of Building and Housing to use these to contact you.
You can find out more information about which bond form to use here.
You can download the updated bond lodgement form here.
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Fixed term tenancies entered after 1 October 2010
Any fixed term tenancy entered into since amendments to the Residential Tenancies Act came into force on 1 October 2010 automatically becomes a periodic tenancy on expiry of the fixed term, unless either party gives notice to the contrary. This notice is a new requirement for parties in fixed term tenancies and needs to be given no sooner than 90 days, and no later than 21 days before the end of the tenancy.
If there is a right to renew or extend the tenancy in the tenancy agreement, and the tenant wishes to renew or extend, then the tenant must write to the landlord advising them at least 21 days before the fixed term tenancy is due to end.
A fixed term tenancy cannot be ended before the term is complete without the agreement of both parties or a Tenancy Tribunal order.
For fixed term tenancies entered into before 1 October 2010, the old law applies and the tenancy ends on the expiry date unless the parties negotiate to enter a new agreement.
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Tenancy management over Christmas
The holiday season brings opportunities to manage your tenancy more effectively. Here are some tips for landlords to consider as Christmas approaches:
If you are going to be absent from New Zealand for more than 21 consecutive days at any time of year you must appoint a New Zealand based agent. You must notify your tenants of the agents’ details and notify the Bond Centre if a bond is held. It is unlawful for a landlord not to appoint an agent if they are out of New Zealand for longer than 21 consecutive days.
If you are filing a Tenancy Tribunal application close to Christmas or over the holiday season, indicate on the application if you are going to be away on holiday. Your application could be dismissed if it is set for a day you’re not available and we don’t know in advance.
The online Tenancy Tribunal application process continues to be available 24 hours a day over the Christmas period.
You can make a Tenancy Tribunal Application on line here.
You can call our Contact Centre bond line 0800 737 666 or tenancy line 0800 83 6262 from 8am–4:30pm on 29, 30 and 31 December. Our normal business hours resume on 5 January 2011.
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Helping tenants budget in tough times over summer holidays
Some landlords are taking advantage of the nationwide freephone budgeting service by referring their tenants to it before Christmas arrives.
By dialling 0508 BUDGETLINE (0508 283 438) you can talk to an experienced, certificated budget adviser who can offer personal, confidential budget advice and give information about how a local budget service might help you.
This freephone service is provided by the New Zealand Federation of Family Budgeting Services and operates from 8.00am-4.30pm Monday to Friday.
You can also visit the Federation’s website www.familybudgeting.org.nz
for more information about their budgeting services.
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Getting the best out of mediation
To get the best out of any mediation there are three important things you can do:
- understand the process,
- prepare for each stage of the process
- be ‘present’ in the conversations taking place in the mediation.
These were the main messages the Department of Building and Housing discussed with property managers in a workshop with landlords and property managers held at the recent REINZ Annual Property Manager’s Conference in Wellington.
One of the main benefits of mediation is that it’s your opportunity to be a decision-maker and reach an outcome that works for both parties. A mediator helps you discuss the problem, identify the issues, and come up with a workable solution. Mediators know a lot about tenancy issues, but they don’t decide anything for you.
The Department of Building and Housing provides a comprehensive mediation service with three streams. These are SWIFT telephone mediation, scheduled telephone mediation and face-to-face mediation. You can find out more information about the three different streams and what happens at mediation here.
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Landlord of the Year
Nancy Caiger of Hamilton has won Landlord of the Year 2010. This is the third year the NZ Property Investors’ Federation and Department of Building and Housing have sponsored the award. Nancy is also President of the Waikato Property Investors Association.
The award recognises excellence amongst landlords. Each finalist had positive relationships with their tenants and sound management practices, with the result being a successful rental portfolio.
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