Entering a NZ Rental for Repairs: 24 Hours, Not 48

Ask a New Zealand landlord how much notice they need to enter a rental and most will say 48 hours. That is correct for a routine inspection and wrong for almost everything else, including the thing they do most often: getting a tradie in.

Every entry ground, with its notice period

These are the grounds in section 48 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Reason for entry	Notice	Hours	Section
Emergency	None	Any time	s48(2)(a)
Necessary repairs or maintenance	24 hours, with the reason	8am to 7pm	s48(2)(d)
Healthy homes compliance work	24 hours, with the reason	8am to 7pm	s48(2)(cb)
Smoke alarm compliance work	24 hours, with the reason	8am to 7pm	s48(2)(ca)
Routine inspection	48 hours to 14 days, max once per 4 weeks	8am to 7pm	s48(2)(b)
Contaminant testing	48 hours to 14 days, naming the contaminants	8am to 7pm	s48(2)(ba)
Decontamination work	24 hours, with the reason	8am to 7pm	s48(2)(cc)
Checking work the tenant was required to do	48 hours to 14 days, after the period allowed	8am to 7pm	s48(2)(c)
Confirming suspected abandonment (rent 14+ days in arrears)	24 hours	Any time specified	s48(2A)-(2B)
Showing prospective tenants or buyers	Tenant's prior consent	Reasonable time	s48(3)
Under a Tribunal order	As ordered	As ordered	s48(2)(e)

With the tenant's consent freely given at or immediately before the entry, you can enter at any time without notice (s48(1)(a)). Consent given weeks ago in a text message is not consent given "at, or immediately before, the time of entry", so do not rely on it.

What the notice has to say

For repairs, healthy homes and smoke alarm entry the Act requires notice of the intended entry and the reason for it. A bare "we're coming Thursday" does not meet that.

A compliant notice names:

• the date and a time or window inside 8am to 7pm
• what is being done, specifically enough that the tenant understands the purpose
• who is attending, which the Act does not require but which prevents most complaints

Give notice in writing even where the Act does not demand a particular form. If entry is later challenged, an unrecorded phone call is worth very little.

Counting the 24 hours

Twenty-four hours means twenty-four hours, not "the day before". Notice at 4pm Wednesday supports entry from 4pm Thursday, not 9am Thursday. Where notice is served by post or another delivery method, allow the extra time the Act's service provisions require rather than counting from when you sent it.

If it goes wrong

Entering without a lawful ground, or outside the hours, is an unlawful act the tenant can take to the Tenancy Tribunal, which can award damages. Repeated entry can also amount to interference with the tenant's quiet enjoyment.

Refusal runs the other way. A tenant cannot unreasonably refuse lawful entry for repairs. The route is a 14-day notice to remedy, then mediation through Tenancy Services, then a Tribunal application. Do not let yourself in against a refusal without an order, however unreasonable the refusal is.

Tenancy Services summarises the rules on its landlord access page.

Getting it right without thinking about it

The reason landlords use 48 hours for everything is that remembering seven different periods is unrealistic. RentManager picks the period from the reason: choose repairs and you get 24 hours, choose inspection and you get 48 with the four-week rule applied, and the sent notice is filed against the tenancy so you can produce it later.

Tenants see the scheduled visit in their portal, which removes the "nobody told me" dispute entirely, and the assigned tradie gets the address and access details without a chain of forwarded texts.

Related: who pays for rental repairs, what counts as an urgent repair, and the Landlord Hub. If you need a trade, the tradie directory lists them by region.

Common questions

Is it 24 or 48 hours' notice to enter a rental in NZ?

It depends on why you are entering. Repairs and maintenance, healthy homes work and smoke alarm work all require 24 hours. Routine inspections require between 48 hours and 14 days, and cannot happen more than once every four weeks. An emergency requires no notice.

Can a landlord let a tradesperson in without the tenant home?

Yes, provided valid entry notice was given for repairs or maintenance and the entry happens between 8am and 7pm. The tenant does not have to be present. Good practice is to say in the notice who will attend, because an unannounced stranger with a key generates complaints even when the entry is lawful.

What if the tenant refuses access for a repair?

A tenant cannot unreasonably refuse lawful entry. If they do, the landlord can issue a 14-day notice to remedy the breach and, if that fails, apply to the Tenancy Tribunal, which can make an order permitting entry under s48(2)(e). Forcing entry without an order risks a claim for unlawful entry.

General information about the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, current as at August 2026. Not legal advice.