Landlord e-newsletter
No. 16: April 2011
In this edition of the e-newsletter we cover:
Services for Landlords and Tenants in Christchurch
Landlords and tenants in earthquake-hit Christchurch have access to a full range of services through the Department of Building and Housing. The emphasis remains on the need for landlords and tenants to work closely together and maintain their relationships as the state of emergency continues.
The Department is offering a priority mediation service by phone for Christchurch landlords and tenants experiencing disputes.
After a period of disruption due to damage to the Christchurch Court House, the Tenancy Tribunal is now operational. The Tenancy Tribunal has relocated temporarily to the Department of Building and Housing office at Level 2, 10 Nelson Street, Riccarton. Urgent matters are being scheduled for hearings as soon as possible.
The Department is updating its website with new information as it becomes available, and an info sheet is available on the Canterbury earthquake: Information for landlords and tenants area.
For more information contact the Department of Building and Housing tenancy advice line on 0800 TENANCY.
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Make your rental property fire safe
Installing smoke alarms protects lives and protects your asset.
For 80% of house fires attended last year, smoke alarms were not installed or not working. Most deaths occur when people are sleeping and can’t smell the smoke. A recent example was the tragic death of a two-year-old child who died in a house fire. The rented property did not have any smoke alarms.
Long–life photoelectric smoke alarms are recommended by the Fire Service and are best installed in every bedroom, living area and hallway in the house, on every level.
For more information on smoke alarms and where to install them go to the New Zealand Fire Service website
.
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Contact details and Address for Service
The Christchurch earthquake was a reminder about the importance of keeping up-to-date contact details and addresses for service for landlords and tenants. Email and text messaging has proven to be invaluable during this emergency. Remember, provided an email address has been supplied as an address for service, it can be used to serve notices.
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What to do with Abandoned Goods
It can be difficult to judge whether the things left behind by your tenant are rubbish or something of value. You might be tempted to discard it all – especially if there is a new tenant waiting to move in. Simple rules should be followed to protect both landlords and tenants in these situations. These rules apply to all residential tenancies, including boarding house tenancies.
You must make all reasonable efforts to contact the tenant and agree with them on a timeframe for them to collect the goods. If you are able to do this, then this may resolve the issue. You can discard any food or perishable goods immediately.
If you cannot contact the tenant, or they do not collect the goods within the agreed timeframe, you have two options:
- You can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for an order telling you how to deal with the goods; or
- After making a reasonable effort to assess the market value of the goods, you can determine whether the market value is higher or lower than the cost of storing, transporting and selling the goods.
- If the value of the goods is less than the cost of storing, transporting and selling them, you can immediately dispose of them as you see fit. You may not dispose of personal documents belonging to the tenant.
- If the value of the goods is more than the cost of storing, transporting and selling them, you must secure the goods for at least 35 days from the day you took possession of them. If the tenant claims the goods within 35 days, the tenant must pay your reasonable storage costs and, subject to payment, you must give the tenant their goods. If the tenant does not claim the goods within 35 days, you can continue to store them until the tenant claims them, or you can deliver any personal documents to the nearest police station and sell the other goods at a reasonable market price.
- If you sell goods belonging to your tenant, you may deduct any amount owed to you from the proceeds and must pay the remainder to the Department of Building and Housing.
For more information about what to do with abandoned goods, any money you receive from disposing of the goods and what to do if the tenant wants their goods returned, visit the abandoned goods section of Department of Building and Housing’s website, or call the Department on 0800 TENANCY (0800 836 262).
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Emailing notices and calculating notice periods
Either party can serve notices by email if the other party’s email address was supplied as part of their address for service in the tenancy agreement. If a dispute arises regarding whether notice was served properly, the sender will be responsible for proving that notice was sent and received.
When notice will be deemed to be served will depend on how you serve it:
- If you physically hand a notice to your tenant, it is considered to be served immediately.
- If you leave a notice in your tenant’s letter box or attached to the door of the property in a prominent position, it is considered to have been served two working days after the date on which it was delivered, in absence of evidence to the contrary.
- If the notice is properly addressed and posted, it is considered to have been served on the fourth working day after the date on which you posted it.
- If the notice is sent after 5pm by fax, it is considered to have been served on the next working day after it was transmitted.
Notice periods begin on the first day after the notice is given or deemed to be given. For example, if you email a 14 day notice to remedy a breach to your tenant on Tuesday and can prove the email was received the same day, then Wednesday would be the first day of the 14 day notice period.
Section 136 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 sets out requirements for serving different types of notice, such as notice to terminate tenancies, increase rent, or remedy a breach. Section 136A sets out how to calculate notice periods.
For more information about serving notices see the Ending a tenancy section of our website.
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Increasing the rent during a fixed term tenancy
Rent can only be increased during a fixed-term tenancy if the tenancy agreement contains a clause stating that the landlord may do so. If there is no such clause, the rent must stay the same for the entire fixed term tenancy.
Under section 24 of the Residential Tenancies Act, when increasing the rent under a fixed term or periodic tenancy, you must give the tenant at least 60 days written notice of the increase. The notice should state the increased rent amount, and the day upon which the increased rent becomes payable. The increase must not take effect within 180 days of the last rent increase or the commencement of the tenancy.
Fixed term tenancies automatically become periodic tenancies when they expire, unless either party has given notice that they do not want the tenancy to become periodic no sooner than 90 days and no later than 21 days before the end of the tenancy (the “effective period”).
If you agree with your tenant during the effective period to enter into a new fixed-term tenancy agreement, then all of the terms and conditions of the new agreement, including the rent, can be negotiated. You may wish to require a new rent rate at this time, and it will be up to the tenant whether they want to enter into the agreement with the new terms and conditions.
If you agree during the effective period to extend the current fixed-term tenancy agreement, then the terms and conditions, including the rent, will usually remain the same. However, if the tenancy agreement permits a rent increase to be given, then you can increase the rent in accordance with section 24 of the Act, set out above.
If you are increasing the rent, then it should only be increased to a reasonable market rent level. Market rent can be based on comparable tenancies in the area or similar areas. Up-to-date market rent information can be viewed on the Landlords: Getting started section of our website.
For more information about effective periods and what happens at the end of a fixed-term tenancy, view the Department of Building and Housing’s website.
You can read more information about increasing rent or download an information sheet on how to increase rent during a fixed term tenancy on our website.
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What can I do if the tenant is disturbing the neighbours or other tenants?
Your tenant has a responsibility to not unreasonably interfere with the peace, comfort and privacy of their neighbours, or your other tenants.
If your tenant harasses their neighbour or another tenant, you can serve the tenant with a 14-day notice outlining the breach and requiring that the behaviour stop. If the problem continues, or if the breach is serious, you can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal. The Tribunal can declare the behaviour an unlawful act and award exemplary damages of up to $2,000, and can end the tenancy.
For further information about dealing with tenancy disputes see the Problems and disputes frequently asked questions page on our website.
Our dispute resolution tool kit also contains practical tips and advice on how to prevent disputes or sort them out.
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Body Corporate rules affect your tenant
When you let a unit title property (such as an apartment) you should attach a copy of the body corporate rules to the tenancy agreement. The rules that affect the tenant are then taken to be terms of the tenancy agreement.
You must promptly give your tenant written notice of any variation to the body corporate rules. If the changes affect your tenant, and the tenancy is for a fixed term, the tenant can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal within 3 months of being notified of the change for a market rent assessment or to end the fixed-term tenancy early if it would be unreasonable to require the tenant to continue with the tenancy.
The kinds of rule changes that might materially affect a tenant are things that reduce the tenant’s access to common facilities, such as swimming pools, or other services – particularly if access to those facilities or services was a key reason the tenant wanted to rent the property.
For more information about renting a Unit Title property call 0800 TENANCY.
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Water responsibilities – what to record in the tenancy agreement
It is no longer necessary to record in the tenancy agreement that the tenant will pay for metered water. The Residential Tenancies Act now states that the tenant is responsible for outgoings that are exclusively attributable to that tenant. This includes electricity, gas, phone and metered water.
There are several different ways that water suppliers charge for water around the country.
Landlords are responsible for ensuring an adequate supply of water to their rental properties. If the premises do not have a reticulated water supply, the landlord must provide adequate means for the collection and storage of water – usually by a tank. Where the water supply is from a tank, the landlord should provide a full tank at the start of a tenancy. The tenancy agreement should record that the tenant will arrange and pay for any tank refills required as a result of their water use during the tenancy.
More information can be found on our website about who is responsible for the costs of consuming and supplying water.
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Resources for Boarding House Landlords
If your rental property and tenancy agreement fits the following criteria then it qualifies as a boarding house tenancy:
- the premises has one or more boarding rooms and facilities for communal use by the tenants, and is occupied, or intended to be occupied by at least six tenants at any one time; and
- the tenancy is intended to, or in fact does, last for at least 28 days; and
- the tenant is granted exclusive rights to occupy their particular room and to share use of the communal facilities.
This means you must comply with special provisions of the Residential Tenancies Act.
Find out more information about your responsibilities and download an example of a boarding house tenancy agreement.
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New ways to learn about changes to the law
The Department’s online quizzes about the changes in the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 have been so successful that PDF versions are now available. These are available upon request by emailing rtaquiz@dbh.govt.nz.
Find the quizzes and test your knowledge.
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Subscribing to our service
The Department offers landlords and property managers a wide range of free news and information services. You can receive the latest market rent updates, Weathertight Homes Resolution Service newsletters, information about licensed builders, building controls and much more.
To see the full range of subscription services and register for any you would like to receive please see the subscription section of our website.
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