Repairs

The landlord needs to look after the place and keep it reasonable. That means keeping the plumbing, electrical wiring and anything to do with the structure of the house safe and working properly.

It is in the landlord’s best interests to keep a building well maintained, so you should let them know about any repairs or maintenance that need to be done as soon as possible.

If the landlord has had reasonable time to do the repairs, but hasn’t, you should contact the Department of Building and Housing. We can advise you about the next step to take. This may involve giving the landlord a letter giving reasonable time for the work to be done.

If the work is not done, the next step would be a Tenancy Tribunal application. A tenant could ask for an order that the landlord do the work, for compensation to get the work done, or for the tenancy to be ended. (The 10 working days' notice – breach of landlord responsibilities (from tenant) template letter is for a tenant to send to a landlord who hasn’t met their responsibilities. It notifies the landlord that they have 10 working days to fix the situation.)

Urgent repairs

If a repair is serious and urgent, and likely to cause injury to people or property, and if you have tried unsuccessfully to contact the landlord, you are entitled to have the repair work done and to ask the landlord to reimburse you for it.