Tenancy A-Z

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Goods

Goods include goods, baggage and chattels of any description including animals, plants, money, documents and anything of value.

The landlord cannot seize or dispose of the tenant’s goods as security or in payment for rent owing, or for any other reason arising from the tenancy, except:

pursuant to an order of the Tenancy Tribunal, or
if disposing of abandoned goods left by the tenant in accordance with the provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act.

See abandonment of goods for more information.

Where goods are taken, the landlord or tenant can recover these from the other or may apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for them to be returned, or to be compensated for their loss.

Guarantor

The Tenancy Tribunal can hear disputes between a landlord and the guarantor of a tenant.
For a guarantee to be valid, it must be in writing stating who the guarantor is and what they are guaranteeing the party for.

A guarantee under the Residential Tenancies Act is when a guarantor:

guarantees the performance of the tenant’s obligations; or
indemnifies the landlord against any loss that he or she may incur in respect of the tenancy; or
assumes liability for the performance of the obligations of the tenant.

Housing

The Department of Building and Housing neither provides accommodation to tenants nor manages or inspects properties for landlords. To apply for State-owned accommodation, contact Housing New Zealand .

Infestations

The landlord must provide the premises (including facilities) in a reasonable state of cleanliness to the tenant. In doing this, they should take into account all requirements in respect of building, health and safety so far as they apply to the property. This includes providing the property free of vermin and infestation. Where this is not done, the tenant should notify the landlord and may issue a notice for the landlord to remedy the breach.

Where the tenant does something to attract the vermin or infestation into or onto the property, or causes an infestation, the tenant is liable to remedy the problem. The landlord may ask the tenant to fix the problem and may issue a notice for the tenant to remedy the breach.

Where the infestation was not present at the beginning of the tenancy and neither the landlord nor tenant has done anything to cause it, responsibility for the eradication of the infestation is uncertain. Often in this situation landlords and tenants will agree to divide the cost of eradication between them.

Jurisdiction

The Tenancy Tribunal has, subject to the Limitation Act 1950, jurisdiction to determine in accordance with this Act any dispute that exists between a landlord and a tenant, or between a landlord and the guarantor of a tenant; and relates to any tenancy to which this Act applies or to which this Act did apply at any material time.

The Tenancy Tribunal can hear claims that have a value of up to $50,000.

The Residential Tenancies Act was extended in October 2010 to cover boarding house tenancies.

The Tribunal does not determine disputes regarding health and disability services, in the landlord’s capacity as a provider of health or disability services, which should be
dealt with by the Health and Disability Commissioner