The process of entering into an agreement for a residential tenancy (or "lease") is governed by the RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1986. The Act requires all tenancy agreements to be in writing and sets out the minimum information that should be included in the agreement (see below).
In general, the Act covers all residential tenancies except very short and very long fixed-term tenancies. ("Fixed-term" tenancies end on a date that is agreed on at the start of the tenancy, while "periodic" tenancies have no predetermined end date and are terminated by notice from either the landlord or tenant.)
For more information on this area, see How to: The rights and obligations of residential landlords and tenants and How to end a residential tenancy.
The RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1986 does not apply to:
The Act also does not apply to fixed-term residential tenancies that are for five years or more if the parties agree that the Act doesn’t apply.
The Act also does not apply to fixed-term residential tenancies that are:
for five years or more if the parties agree that the Act doesn’t apply
Unless your tenancy comes within one of these exceptions, your rights and obligations under the Act will apply, even if your agreement says that the Act doesn’t apply.
If you have a fixed-term tenancy that comes within one of the exceptions, your rights and obligations will be determined by the specific agreement between you and by the PROPERTY LAW ACT 1952.
Under the RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1986, all residential tenancy agreements must be in writing. However, if it is not in writing the agreement is still enforceable and the rights and obligations of both landlord and tenant under the Act still apply.
The agreement must include the following minimum information:
The agreement can provide for other matters, but any term of the agreement that contravenes the Act will be invalid. This does not, however, prevent a landlord from voluntarily waiving any rights and powers given by the Act nor from voluntarily taking on greater obligations than the Act imposes. By contrast, any waiver by a tenant of his or her rights or powers under the Act has no effect.
Tenancy Services (a division of the Department of Building and Housing) provides a standard form tenancy agreement that has been approved by the Tenancy Tribunal: see www.dbh.govt.nz (under Tenancy Forms).
A landlord cannot require a tenant to pay more than two weeks’ rent in advance. Further, the landlord cannot require rent to be paid until the period for which the tenant has already paid rent has ended.
A landlord cannot require a tenant to pay more than four weeks’ rent in advance by way of bond. On receiving the bond money the landlord must provide the tenant with a written signed receipt, and must pass this money on to the Tenancy Services Centre within 23 working days.
You can download a copy of the form used for lodging a bond with the Tenancy Services Centre (Bond Lodgement form) from www.dbh.govt.nz (under Tenancy Forms). Other bond forms are also available for downloading from there, such as Bond Refund and Bond Transfer forms.
The rights and obligations of landlords and tenants are determined by the provisions of the RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1986 and by the particular tenancy agreement. The Act contains substantial protections for tenants. See How to: The rights and obligations of residential landlords and tenants
.The Tenancy Tribunal deals with all disputes arising out of residential tenancy agreements, including disputes about rent and bond: see How to apply to the Tenancy Tribunal.