Tenants have the right to the ‘quiet enjoyment’ of the house they rent. This means the landlord can’t harass the tenant or interfere with their reasonable peace, comfort and privacy.

Tenants also need to respect the peace, comfort and privacy of their neighbours or other tenants. The landlord should take any reasonable steps to make sure none of their tenants interfere with each other’s quiet enjoyment.

Landlords need to give the correct notice to access the property.

If quiet enjoyment is breached

If you think your landlord is breaching your quiet enjoyment, you can issue them with a notice to remedy. In the notice, you give the landlord a reasonable amount of time to resolve the problem.

If they don’t comply within the timeframe, you can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal. If you want to ask the Tribunal to end the tenancy, you need to give the other person at least 14 days to fix the problem.

Notices to remedy templates
Boarding houses rules for quiet enjoyment

Preventing problems with quiet enjoyment

If you’re a landlord:

• make sure all necessary maintenance, repairs and cleaning are done before the tenant moves in
• remember it’s your tenant’s home – respect their peace and privacy
• know how and when you can enter the tenant’s house
• give proper notice before doing repairs and maintenance
• talk to the tenant before starting repairs or maintenance that involve noise or fumes.

If you’re a tenant:

• try not to make too much noise
• don’t disturb other tenants or neighbours
• remember that the landlord has the same right as anyone else to knock on the door and speak to you (unless this happens so often it becomes harassment)
• allow access for necessary repairs, if the landlord gives the correct notice
• allow reasonable access for viewings by potential tenants or buyers.