Everything a New Zealand landlord needs, in one place. Plain-English guides to the law, the money and the day-to-day, each linked to the tool that does it for you.
See it in the live demoThere is no government-mandated tenancy application form in New Zealand. The landlord designs it. Here is what to ask for, what to leave out under the Privacy Act, and how to capture applications without the PDF back-and-forth.
How NZ landlords check tenant references: how many to ask for, why the landlord-before-last is the most reliable, the consent rule under the Privacy Act, the questions to ask, and how to spot a fake referee.
The screening process I use across four Auckland rental properties: income verification, credit check, reference calls, and the one question that tells you more than the rest combined. With Privacy Act 2020 obligations and fair selection rules under NZ law.
A tenancy agreement sets the foundation of your landlord-tenant relationship. Use the MBIE standard form, add enforceable conditions, and avoid common mistakes that leave you exposed.
NZ landlords can ask for at most two weeks' rent in advance and a bond of up to four weeks' rent, plus a pet bond of up to two weeks from 1 December 2025. Here are the caps, the lodgement rules, and what you cannot charge.
A step-by-step guide to bond lodgement in New Zealand from a landlord who has lodged and refunded bonds for over fourteen tenants, covering paper forms, online, and the MBIE Bond API.
Step-by-step guide to issuing a legal rent increase notice in NZ. Includes a free template, the 60-day rule, and common mistakes landlords make.
NZ landlords must keep rent records, hand them to the tenant on request, and give a receipt for cash rent. Inland Revenue separately wants seven years of financial records. One clean rent ledger meets both.
A spreadsheet works for tracking rent until you have multiple rooms at different rates, partial payments, or a tenant who falls behind. A software engineer and Auckland landlord on why he gave up on Excel and built a purpose-built rent ledger instead.
Market rent in NZ is what an informed tenant will pay today for your property in its location and condition. Here is how to assess it properly using actual MBIE bond data and listing comparisons, the 50/30/20 framework that determines the number, and why undercutting market rent slightly is almost always the right call.
I managed four Auckland properties and used a PM for two of them - then stopped. Here is what it actually costs: 2026 fee data, a worked example at $600/week, and the vacancy problem nobody in the industry wants to talk about.
The five Healthy Homes Standards cover heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, and draught stopping. I worked through all five on my own four Auckland CBD apartments, with the regulations and a tape measure, before the body corporate arranged a professional assessment. Here is what I checked, standard by standard, and where apartments differ from standalone houses.
All 5 Healthy Homes Standards explained for NZ landlords: Heating (18°C), Insulation (R2.9/R3.3), Ventilation (5% windows), Moisture and Drainage, and Draught Stopping. The compliance deadline of 1 July 2025 has passed - here is what you must have in place now.
Since 1 July 2025 every private rental in New Zealand must meet all five Healthy Homes standards. Here is what an assessment costs, whether you need a certificate, and how to prove compliance.
NZ landlords must install long-life photoelectric smoke alarms under the Healthy Homes Standards. Here is exactly what type, how many, where to put them, and the fines for getting it wrong.
A free room-by-room inspection checklist for NZ landlords, plus the notice rules: no more than once every four weeks, at least 48 hours written notice, no more than 14 days in advance, 8am to 7pm.
You can inspect your rental once every 4 weeks, with at least 48 hours written notice, no more than 14 days in advance, between 8am and 7pm (8am to 6pm for boarding houses). Here is exactly what the RTA allows and how to document each visit so it protects you.
A landlord can test a rental for methamphetamine, but must give at least 48 hours written notice and the result in writing within 7 days. Since 16 April 2026 the legal thresholds are 15 micrograms per 100cm2 (contaminated) and 30 micrograms per 100cm2 (uninhabitable).
Mould responsibility in NZ depends on the cause. Structural dampness is the landlord's problem. Tenant ventilation failures are the tenant's. Here is how to tell the difference, what the Healthy Homes Standards require, and what to do when there is a dispute.
Since 11 February 2021, NZ tenants can make minor changes to a rental and the landlord cannot unreasonably refuse. Here is what counts, the 21-day response rule, and the conditions you can attach.
Since 1 December 2025 NZ landlords can charge a pet bond of up to 2 weeks rent, on top of the normal bond. You can also set conditions, require written approval, and claim for pet damage. Here is how to manage pets without breaking the law.
From 1 December 2025 NZ landlords can charge a pet bond of up to 2 weeks rent, on top of the normal bond, lodged with Tenancy Services. Here is what you can charge, when you can decline a pet, what existing pets mean, and how to lodge the pet bond without the paperwork.
NZ landlords can only charge tenants for metered water usage - not rates. Here is what the Residential Tenancies Act actually says, and how to calculate it correctly.
The NZ rent-arrears process step by step: talk to the tenant first, issue a 14-day notice to remedy once rent is 5 working days overdue, and apply to the Tenancy Tribunal once rent is 21 days in arrears. Every step rests on a clean rent ledger.
A 14-day notice to remedy is the standard first step when a tenant breaches the tenancy, including rent arrears. Here is how to issue one correctly and what happens if the breach is not fixed.
Ending a tenancy in NZ depends on who ends it and why: a tenant gives 28 days on a periodic tenancy, a landlord gives 42 or 90 days depending on the ground. Get the notice period or the reason wrong and the Tribunal voids it. Here is each path, step by step.
NZ landlords cannot evict a tenant themselves. You need a Tenancy Tribunal possession order, and if the tenant still will not leave, a District Court Warrant of Possession executed by a court bailiff. No sheriff walk-in, no lockouts, no belongings on the curb. Here is the step-by-step process with authoritative sources.
How to contact the Tenancy Tribunal in NZ, file an application, plus a landlord's first-hand account of going through the process twice - rent arrears and meth-and-cat damage. Phone numbers, links, and what actually happens at a hearing.
A NZ bond refund lands in 3 to 5 working days when you and your tenant agree, or up to 6 weeks through the Tenancy Tribunal if you disagree on deductions. Here are the exact timelines, the form steps, the 14-day claim window, and how to protect your deductions.
Put your own property into the demo and watch RentManager track the rent, the bond and your Healthy Homes deadlines for you.
See it in the live demo