Have You Ever Wondered How Often Rent Can Be Raised?

And now, the rules:

• Landlords can increase rent if the tenancy agreement allows this.
• Landlords must take into account the type of tenancy, a notice period, and market rents.
• The landlord can increase the bond at the same time as the rent.
• Landlords can only increase rent after the first 180 days of the tenancy
• For a fixed-term tenancy, landlords can only increase rent if there is a provision to do so in the fixed-term tenancy agreement.
• A landlord must give a tenant no less than 60 days’ written notice of a rent increase.
• The notice must be served in writing, say how much the rent is increasing by and the day the increased rent is due.
• Returning to normal rent after a landlord has reduced it for a while is not a rent increase.
• The law doesn’t limit the amount of a rent increase, but does say how it must be done, and what can be done if the tenant doesn’t agree with the new rent amount. If a landlord is charging significantly more than for other similar properties, the Tenancy Tribunal could make an order for it to be reduced (The tenant would need to provide evidence that their rent is substantially higher than rent for other houses in the area similar to the one they’re renting)
• A landlord and tenant can agree to an increase of the rent (outside of the usual 180-day period) if the landlord has improved the property, which increases its value and benefits the tenant

For the best landlord-tenant interactions, use Rental Experts to keep the relationship smooth.

Everything landlords need to know begins here: www.rentalexperts.co.nz/landlords-services

For tenants, everything you need to know is on this page: www.rentalexperts.co.nz/tenants