How to Give a Rent Increase Notice in NZ (90-Day Rule Explained)

Since the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024, the rules around rent increases in New Zealand have changed significantly. The notice period went from 60 days to 90 days, and landlords are now limited to one rent increase every 12 months per tenancy. Get either of these wrong and your notice is invalid - the tenant does not have to pay the increase, and you cannot reissue a valid notice until you start the clock again.

This guide covers how to do it correctly, what the law actually requires, and what happens if you make a mistake.

The Current Rules (as of 2024)

Under the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024:

• 90 days notice is required before any rent increase takes effect. Previously this was 60 days. There is no grace period for the change - the 90-day rule applies to all new rent increase notices regardless of when the tenancy started.
• One increase per 12 months per tenancy. You cannot give a rent increase notice if the tenant's rent was increased within the last 12 months. If you try, the notice is void.
• There is no cap on the percentage increase. You can increase rent by any amount. The market will set the practical limit.

These rules apply to all residential tenancies under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, including periodic tenancies, fixed-term tenancies, and boarding house tenancies (though boarding house rules differ slightly - this guide covers standard residential tenancies).

How to Give a Valid Notice

A rent increase notice must be in writing. A text message does not count. A verbal discussion does not count. You need something the tenant can keep and reference.

The notice must include:

• The address of the property
• The current weekly rent
• The new weekly rent
• The date the new rent takes effect
• That the effective date is at least 90 days from the date of the notice

There is no official form from Tenancy Services specifically for rent increases, though they provide a template on their website. You can write your own. The key is that it must be clear and in writing.

Calculating the 90-Day Date Correctly

This is where landlords most commonly make mistakes. The 90-day period runs from the date the tenant receives the notice, not from the date you write it. If you post it and it takes two days to arrive, your 90 days starts on the day it arrives.

Practical approach: hand deliver or email the notice (with read receipt if possible), and count 90 calendar days from that date. The new rent takes effect on day 91 or later. I always give a few extra days of buffer - there is no benefit to cutting it exactly and real downside if you miscalculate by a day.

Example: If you deliver notice on 15 April, the earliest the increase can take effect is 14 July (90 days later). If your rent is due on the first of the month, the first rent payment at the new rate would be 1 August.

The 12-Month Restriction

You cannot give a new rent increase notice if the tenant's rent was increased within the last 12 months. The 12-month clock runs from the date the last increase took effect, not from when the notice was given.

So if you increased rent on 1 March, you cannot give another increase notice until 1 March the following year at the earliest. And the new increase would not take effect until 90 days after you give that notice - meaning practically, the earliest a second increase could take effect is about 15 months after the first one.

If you give a notice during the 12-month restriction period, the notice is void. The tenant has no obligation to pay the increase, and you have to start again once the 12-month window opens.

How to Deliver the Notice

Under the RTA, you can deliver documents to a tenant by:

• Handing it to them personally
• Leaving it at their usual or last known place of residence
• Sending it by post to their address (deemed delivered 7 working days after posting, if posted in NZ)
• Sending by email if the tenant has agreed in writing to receive notices by email (most modern tenancy agreements include this)

For a rent increase, email is the most reliable option if it is available: it is date-stamped and creates a record automatically. If you use post, add the 7-working-day delivery assumption to your 90-day count.

What If I Make a Mistake?

If you give notice with less than 90 days, or during the 12-month restriction window, the notice is invalid. The tenant does not have to pay the increase - and if you deposit their rent cheque based on the higher amount, you may need to refund the difference.

You can issue a corrected notice once the restriction is resolved - but the 90-day clock starts again from the new notice date. There is no shortcut.

If a tenant disputes a rent increase and takes it to the Tenancy Tribunal, the Tribunal will ask to see the notice and verify the dates. A notice that fails the 90-day or 12-month test will be struck down. The Tribunal's record of cases involving invalid rent increase notices is long.

Fixed-Term Tenancies

Rent increases during a fixed-term tenancy are more complicated. During a fixed term, rent can only be increased if:

• The tenancy agreement includes a specific rent review clause that states the amount of any increase or the method for calculating it, or
• Both parties agree in writing to the increase

You cannot simply issue a 90-day notice during a fixed term and expect it to be valid unless the agreement provides for it. A general rent increase clause ("rent may be increased by the landlord from time to time") is not sufficient - the clause must specify the amount or calculation method.

If your fixed-term tenancy does not have a qualifying rent review clause, you need to wait until the tenancy converts to periodic (at the end of the fixed term) before giving a valid 90-day notice.

Documenting the Increase

Keep a copy of every rent increase notice you issue, along with evidence of delivery. This is not just good practice - if a dispute reaches the Tribunal, you will need to produce it.

Your rent ledger should also reflect the change from the effective date. If you are tracking rent manually, update the expected amount from that date forward. Partial payments in the period around the changeover date will be applied to the old rate first.

The record-keeping burden is one of the reasons landlords use property management software for this: the notice date, effective date, and new rent amount are all stored in one place, and the system automatically calculates arrears against the correct rate from the correct date.

What Tenants Can Do

Tenants who receive what they believe is an invalid rent increase notice can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for a declaration that the notice is void. They do not have to pay the increase in the meantime - though this can create tension if the landlord believes the notice is valid.

Tenants can also apply to the Tribunal if they believe a rent increase is excessive relative to the market. The Tribunal has the power to reduce a rent increase if it is substantially higher than market rent for similar properties - though in practice this is rarely used and requires evidence of comparable rentals.

Practical Checklist

1. Check when the tenant's rent was last increased. If it was less than 12 months ago, you cannot give notice yet.
2. Write the notice in writing, including property address, current rent, new rent, and effective date.
3. Confirm the effective date is at least 90 days from the delivery date (not the writing date).
4. Deliver it in a documented way - email with confirmation, or hand delivery with a note of the date.
5. Keep a copy with delivery evidence.
6. Update your rent ledger from the effective date.

It is not complicated once you have done it a few times. The main failure modes are: giving notice too early (before the 12-month window opens), cutting the 90 days too close, or failing to document delivery. All three are avoidable with a simple checklist.

If you manage multiple properties and track rent increases manually across them, a spreadsheet becomes error-prone quickly - it is easy to forget when the last increase was on each property, especially when you have different tenancies with different start dates. Property management software handles the date calculations and stores the notice history. It is one of the things that actually justifies the cost of software over spreadsheets for landlords with more than two properties.