Finding the right place for you

House or apartment? Alone or with others? Here or there? Cheap or expensive?

It is not always easy to find a flat or house, especially one that meets your needs. Here are some pointers on where to start.

Where to look

Internet

The first place to look is flatting or renting websites on the internet. Search by using ‘flatting’ or ‘renting’ as keywords in an internet search engine. Most sites give you search options to help find a rental home based on various criteria (price range, suburb, number of rooms etc). They often include photos of available rental homes. The internet can be a quick and cost-effective way to find a place.

Newspapers

Look in the 'To Let' column in the classifieds section of your local newspaper. In most areas, the best days to look are Wednesdays and Saturdays. The earlier in the day you start following up on the advertisements, the better your chances of getting the flat you want. You could try placing an ad in the paper stating you are looking for a flat and giving a contact phone number (you will have to pay for the ad, though).

Ask around

If you are looking for a place in an established flat, you may be able to find one by asking people you know. They may be about to vacate the flat, leaving a gap you could fill, or they may know someone who is looking for flatmates. They may even know of houses or flats where a whole group is about to leave, in which case you may be able to contact the landlord before the place is advertised.

Local notices

You could put an eye-catching advertisement or notice in the window of your local dairy, the community noticeboard at your local supermarket, or on noticeboards at the nearest polytechnic or university. Say that you are looking for a flat or a place in a flat and leave your contact details. Landlords might advertise this way too.

Real estate agents and property management companies

Some real estate agents and property management companies have rental houses and flats available. Only property managers who are Real Estate Institute of New Zealand members can charge a letting fee. This is often one week’s rent plus gst.

Flat-listing offices

Some firms list houses and flats for rent, and charge a fee for checking their lists and providing the contact details of landlords for the places you are interested in. This fee is usually less than those charged by real estate agents, but it is charged regardless of whether you actually find a place through them. If you are referred to a real estate agent by the flat-listing office, you may also have to pay the real estate agent’s fee.

Do your sums

Work out what you can afford to pay before you commit to anything. As an example, if your rent is $200 per week, then you may need to pay:

4 week’s rent as bond	$800
2 week’s rent in advance	$400
1 week’s rent for agent’s commission plus GST	$450
So the total you will need is	$1650

Know you budget … and stick to it!

Sharing accommodation?

If you are sharing accommodation with others, you need to be aware of what you are taking on. Often someone moves into a flat and makes a casual arrangement with the person who is moving out to refund the bond. New flatmates can suddenly find themselves being held liable for the previous person’s unpaid rent or may be asked to repair damages. They may also find they have no bond money at all if the landlord claims the previous person’s bond.

It is recommended that you have a flat-sharing agreement with your flatmates. This sets out the key things like when rent is paid, if pets are allowed, and how bills are shared. Here’s an example.

The Department of Building and Housing cannot give advice about flatmate disputes. Citizens Advice Bureaux and student accommodation advisers can offer advice on flatmate relationships.

Tenant or flatmate?

If you are a flatmate rather than a tenant, you may have different rights.

Tenant

If you have an agreement, verbal or written, with a landlord, you’re a tenant. Tenants are responsible to the landlord for the whole of the rent and any damage done, not just their own share.

As a tenant, you have the right to live in the flat and cannot be asked to leave by your flatmates. Only the landlord can give you notice to leave.

If everyone living in the flat signs the tenancy agreement, you’ll all have tenancy rights - and obligations. Anyone who moves into a flat and signs a tenancy agreement along with any other people is taking on shared responsibility for the whole tenancy. This is called 'being jointly and severally liable'. It means that, if one of the tenants causes damage to the property or gets behind in paying rent, all of the other tenants can be held responsible. They may have to pay the debt if the offending tenant does not.

Flatmate

If one (or more) person signs the lease and then allows you to share the flat, you are likely to be a flatmate.

If you are a flatmate, you should sort out with the tenant the details about notice requirements and other responsibilities. It’s useful to write them down and sign it. If you pay rent to a tenant, buy a rent book and get a receipt for every rent payment you make.