Tenancy A-Z
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B
Boarding Houses
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 also covers boarding houses.
A boarding house is a residential premises that contains one or more boarding rooms, with facilities for communal use by the tenants and is occupied, or intended to be occupied by at least six tenants at any one time.
A boarding house tenancy is a residential tenancy in a boarding house that is intended to, or that does in fact, last 28 days or more. The boarding house tenant is granted exclusive rights to occupy particular sleeping quarters and has the right to the shared use of the facilities of the boarding house.
Bonds
A bond is money that a landlord can ask tenants to pay when they move into a property. Landlords do not have to take a bond. However, if they choose to, they can ask for up to the equivalent of 4 weeks rent as bond.
The bond is held to cover any unpaid rent, damage to the property (if that damage can be shown to be the tenant’s fault) or any other claim. If the property has been properly looked after and the rent is paid in full, the tenants should get their bond money refunded after they move out.
Landlords must lodge bonds, or any part of a bond, with the Department of Building and Housing within 23 working days of receiving it from the tenant. The landlord and tenant should complete a bond lodgement form and send this with a cheque for the payment received for the bond to the Department of Building and Housing at PO Box 50-445, Porirua. The cheque should be made out to the 'Department of Building and Housing'.
Where forms are correctly filled in, bond lodgements and transfers are normally processed within 5 working days and bond refunds within 3 working days of receipt by the Department of Building and Housing.
Landlords who wish to claim a bond more than 2 months after a tenancy has ended must either obtain the tenant’s consent or an order of the Tenancy Tribunal.
If bond money is unclaimed within 6 years of the end of a tenancy it belongs to the Crown.
In the case of a boarding house tenancy, a boarding house landlord is not required to lodge the bond with the Department of Building and Housing if the bond is the equivalent to one week’s rent or less.
For information about a bond lodged with us or detailed information about how to process a bond, phone the bond advice line on 0800 737 666.
See Forms and Info for bond forms and information sheets.
Breach of the tenancy agreement
Where the tenant or landlord has breached the tenancy agreement, or provisions relating to the payment of rent, or the Act, and the breach is capable of remedy, the affected tenant or landlord may give to the other a notice to remedy allowing a reasonable timeframe for them to remedy the breach. For breaches that are not serious and urgent, this is normally a minimum of 14 days in addition to time allowed for serving the notice.
For breaches that are not capable of remedy, or that are serious (e.g. the tenant being at least 21 days in arrears, or the tenant assaulting the landlord) or when a notice to remedy has been served and has not been complied with, an application can be made to the Tenancy Tribunal for an order to address the breach and may include an order terminating the tenancy.
The Tenancy Tribunal can award compensation or order work to be done up to a value of $50,000
See Forms and Info for template letters advising 14 days’ notice to remedy a breach.