Your right to the quiet enjoyment of the property
Quiet enjoyment is being able to enjoy living in your home without being disturbed by your landlord, other tenants, or neighbours.
Find out more about what ‘quiet enjoyment’ means in tenancy law
The property should be in a reasonable condition
Your landlord must ensure that the rental property is in reasonable condition and that it meets health and safety standards, such as the Healthy Homes Standards.
Your landlord should do all repairs and maintenance that are a result of burglaries, natural events (such as storms, floods and earthquakes), or fair wear and tear.
Rent and bond
You should expect that your landlord will not increase the rent more than every 12 months, except in certain situations such as if they have significantly improved the property, or they have had unforeseen expenses relating to the property.
The bond can be up to four weeks rent, and your landlord must lodge it with Tenancy Services within 23 days of you paying it to them.
At the end of the tenancy, if there has been no damage to the property, other than normal wear and tear, you should expect to get your bond paid back in full.
If there has been some damage that was not normal wear and tear, your landlord can retain some or all of the bond.
Find out more about normal wear and tear
Notice from your landlord
You must receive the correct amount of notice from your landlord for:
- property inspections
- rent increases, and
- the end of the tenancy.
Find out how much notice your landlord must give you for a property inspection
Find out how much notice your landlord must give you for a rent increase
Find out how much notice your landlord must give you to end a periodic tenancy
Changes to your tenancy agreement and unenforceable clauses
Your landlord can only make changes to your tenancy agreement with your agreement.
Your landlord cannot include unenforceable clauses in your tenancy agreement. These are clauses that conflict with the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).
An example of an unenforceable clause is if they say that you must get the carpets professionally cleaned before you leave it.
Find out more about unenforceable clauses including more examples
If you think your landlord is in breach of your rights
If your landlord does not respect your rights as a tenant, and you cannot resolve it informally, you can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to resolve it.
Find out how to resolve a dispute with your landlord
The above information only applies to renting situations covered by the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA).