How to Find Good Tenants in NZ: A Self-Managing Landlord's Guide

Finding a good tenant is the single most important decision you make as a self-managing landlord. A reliable tenant pays on time, looks after the property, and lets you get on with your life. A bad one costs you months of stress, money, and tribunal applications. I have been self-managing four apartments in Imperial Gardens CBD Auckland since 2019, and I have learned that finding the right person takes real effort upfront, but it pays back many times over.

This guide covers every step: where to advertise, how to write a listing that attracts serious applicants, what the law says you can and cannot ask, how to screen properly, and how to convert the right applicant into a confirmed tenant.

Where to list your rental in New Zealand

There are three main channels for residential rentals in NZ:

• TradeMe Property - the dominant platform by a long way. Most people searching for rentals in NZ start here. If you list only one place, list here. The audience is broad, searches are by suburb and price, and you can filter by bedrooms, pets and more. A basic listing is free; a feature listing costs more and gives you better placement.
• Homes.co.nz - growing in reach, particularly in Auckland and Wellington. Free to list. Good secondary coverage, especially for newer properties.
• Facebook Marketplace - useful for local reach, especially in smaller towns and suburbs where community groups are active. Free to post. You get a wider range of enquiries, which means more screening work, but also tenants who may not be using the main portals.

I typically list on TradeMe and Homes.co.nz simultaneously. For my CBD apartments, TradeMe generates most of the enquiries. I use Facebook Marketplace occasionally for a faster fill when I need the property tenanted quickly.

Writing a listing that attracts the right people

The goal of your listing is not to maximise the number of enquiries. It is to attract the people who will actually want to rent your property and look after it. A vague or generic ad attracts a vague and generic pool of applicants.

Photos come first

Listings with good photos get dramatically more engagement. You do not need a professional photographer, but you need clean, well-lit shots of every room. Tidy and declutter first. Open curtains and blinds. Take photos in daylight. Include the outdoor area, carpark, and any storage. A kitchen with dirty dishes in the sink will put off exactly the people you want to attract.

Writing the description

Cover the basics clearly: bedrooms, bathrooms, parking, heat pump or heating, whether pets are allowed, and whether it is furnished or unfurnished. Then go further. Describe the area, the nearby transport, cafes, schools. If the property was recently renovated, say so. If it gets good sun, mention which direction it faces.

Be specific about what you are looking for. "Ideal for a professional couple" or "suits a small family" sets expectations and attracts the right applicants without crossing into discrimination territory, which I will cover next.

Setting the rent

Price is the first filter most people apply. Look at comparable listings on TradeMe in the same suburb for the same number of bedrooms. Do not just look at asking rents - check how long similar properties have been sitting. A property that has been listed for three weeks is priced too high. Aim for the price where you expect to have enough serious applicants within the first week.

I have always preferred to price slightly below peak market for good tenants. A tenant who feels they are getting a fair deal is more likely to look after the property and stay longer. The letting fees and vacancy cost of high turnover far exceed any small weekly rent premium.

What you can and cannot include in your ad - anti-discrimination

This matters. The Human Rights Act 1993 prohibits landlords from refusing to rent to someone, or from advertising in a way that signals refusal, on the grounds of:

• Sex (including pregnancy and childbirth)
• Marital status
• Religious belief
• Ethical belief
• Colour, race, or ethnic or national origins
• Disability (including physical disability and mental illness)
• Age
• Political opinion
• Employment status
• Family status (including whether the person has dependants)
• Sexual orientation

In plain terms: you cannot say "no children", "no DSS", "couples only", "no Asians", "Christians preferred", or anything similar. You cannot ask about religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation on an application form. Discrimination in housing is treated seriously in NZ and complaints can go to the Human Rights Commission.

What you can do: describe the property honestly. "Cosy studio apartment" is accurate and not discriminatory. You can state reasonable conditions such as "no smoking" (inside the property) and "pets by negotiation" or "no pets" - though note that under the Residential Tenancies Act a no-pets clause now needs to have reasonable grounds stated.

Receiving and screening applications

Once your listing is live, applications will come in. Some landlords use email; others use a Google Form; some rely on a phone call. The problem with all of these approaches is that you end up with inconsistent information in different formats, making it hard to compare applicants fairly.

A structured tenancy application form is better. Ask for:

• Full legal name
• Current address and reason for moving
• Current employment - employer name, role, length of employment
• Income - sufficient to cover rent (a common guideline is rent under 30-35% of gross income)
• Number of people who will be living in the property
• Whether they have pets, and if so what kind
• Whether they smoke
• References - at least one previous landlord and one employer
• Written consent for you to contact referees and run a credit check

Do not ask for IRD numbers, full passport numbers, or anything that is not directly relevant to assessing the tenancy. The Privacy Act applies here: collect only what you need.

Credit checks

Two credit check services commonly used by NZ landlords are RentCheck and TINZ (Tenancy Information New Zealand). Both pull credit history and, in TINZ's case, a tenancy tribunal history. A credit check is not a pass/fail test - it gives you context. A person who had a credit default five years ago and has been clear since is a different situation from someone with recent unpaid debts or multiple tribunal orders.

Calling references

Reference calls are the most underrated part of the screening process. Most landlords send a quick email and accept whatever comes back. I call references. A previous landlord who takes 20 seconds to say "great tenant, always paid on time, left the place spotless" is different from one who hesitates, chooses words carefully, or mentions that things were "generally fine."

Questions I ask a previous landlord:

• How long did they rent from you?
• Did they pay rent on time, every time?
• Were there any issues with the property during the tenancy?
• Would you rent to them again?

That last question is the most important. A hesitation on "would you rent to them again" tells you more than any paperwork.

Shortlisting and showing the property

Review applications as they come in and create a shortlist of your top two or three. I do not open the property for group viewings. I schedule individual viewings with the people I am seriously considering. This lets me have a proper conversation with each applicant, ask questions, and get a sense of whether they will be a good fit.

At the viewing, look at how they interact with the space. Are they taking notes? Do they ask sensible questions about the heating or storage? Are they respectful of the property? These are small signals but they add up.

After viewings, you can ask for any additional information you need before making a decision. If you are choosing between two strong applicants, your gut on fit counts - you just need to make sure your decision is based on tenancy-relevant factors, not any of the protected grounds under the Human Rights Act.

Offering the tenancy

Once you have chosen a tenant, notify them and offer the tenancy in writing. Outline the rent, the bond required, the start date, and any conditions. Give them a reasonable time to confirm - 24 to 48 hours is fair.

While they are confirming, do not take the property off the market unless they have paid a holding deposit and signed. A verbal agreement is not binding until you both sign the tenancy agreement.

Bond is capped at four weeks rent for most residential tenancies (plus a potential pet bond of up to two weeks rent from 1 December 2025). You must lodge the bond with Tenancy Services within 23 working days of receiving it. Keep a receipt for the tenant.

How RentManager handles applications and tenant screening

The part of self-managing that most people find hardest is keeping track of multiple applicants at once. When I was doing this with email and a spreadsheet, applications would arrive in different formats, I would lose track of who I had called and who I had not, and comparing people was harder than it needed to be.

RentManager gives you a structured applicant pipeline: every enquiry comes in as a profile, you can move applicants through stages (enquired, applied, screening, offer made), log your reference call notes against each person, and when the right person is confirmed, convert them directly to a tenant record without re-entering any information. The tenancy agreement, bond lodgement, and rent schedule all flow from the same profile.

You can see the applicant screening surface in the live demo without signing up. It is the part of the tool I use most often when a property comes vacant.

Where to find the official rules

The Tenancy Services website at tenancy.govt.nz covers the obligations around selecting a tenant. The Human Rights Commission website at hrc.co.nz covers discrimination in housing. For related reading, see our guides on the NZ tenancy application form, checking tenant references, and tenant screening in NZ.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the best place to list a rental property in NZ?

TradeMe Property is the dominant platform and should be your first listing. Homes.co.nz is a good second channel. Facebook Marketplace works well for local reach.

Can I refuse a tenant with children in NZ?

No. Family status is a protected ground under the Human Rights Act 1993. You cannot refuse to rent to someone because they have children, or advertise that the property is not suitable for children.

How much bond can I ask for in NZ?

Bond is capped at four weeks rent for most residential tenancies. A separate pet bond of up to two weeks rent applies to pet-friendly tenancies from 1 December 2025. You must lodge the bond with Tenancy Services within 23 working days.

Should I do a credit check on every applicant?

Yes, if you are seriously considering someone. A credit check service like RentCheck or TINZ gives you credit history and, in the case of TINZ, tenancy tribunal history. Always get the applicant's written consent first.