Laws and bylaws
Landlords need to comply with various legal obligations. Find out about the laws and bylaws that apply to renting a property.
The Residential Tenancies Act 1986
The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act) requires landlords to provide and maintain rental properties in a reasonable condition. What is considered ‘reasonable’ depends on the age and character of the property and how long it’s likely to remain habitable and available to be lived in.
The Act also requires landlords to provide properties in a reasonable state of cleanliness.
The Act does not directly regulate the standard of rental properties. However, it reinforces that landlords ‘comply with all requirements in respect of buildings, health, and safety under any enactment so far as they apply to the premises’.
In practice, this means landlords need to be broadly aware of health-related and safety-related requirements in the following laws:
- Building Act 2004 and the Building Code
- Health Act 1956
- Housing Improvement Regulations 1947
- Bylaws made under the Local Government Act 2002 (these are set by individual councils)
- Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019.
Residential Tenancies Act — New Zealand Legislation(external link)
Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 includes various changes to tenancy law.
The changes come into effect across 4 key dates:
- first phase on 17 December 2024
- second phase on 30 January 2025
- third phase on 20 March 2025
- fourth phase a date set by Order in Council later in 2025.
Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020
The Residential Tenancies Act was updated on 11 August 2020 when the Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill 2020 became law.
Some of the changes included:
- the provision allowing landlords to terminate a tenancy without cause by providing 90 days’ notice was removed
- the limitation on rent increases to once every 12 months took effect
- tenants able to request permission to make a change to the property and landlords must not decline if the change is minor
- tenants experiencing family violence are able to withdraw from a tenancy without financial penalty
- for some situations, termination of the tenancy can only be ordered by the Tenancy Tribunal.
Some of the law changes from 2020 no longer apply due to the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024.
Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019
On 27 August 2019, the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 took effect. This legislation includes the following amendments:
- tenant liability for careless destruction or damage in rental properties
- unlawful residential premises
- contamination of premises (methamphetamine).
Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019
The Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019 introduced specific and minimum standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage, and draught stopping in rental properties. These standards make it easier for tenants to keep their homes warm and dry, and themselves healthier.
Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Amendment Regulations 2022
The Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Amendment Regulations 2022 came into effect on 12 May 2022. These regulations cover changes to the heating, insulation, ventilation and moisture ingress and drainage standards.
Housing Improvement Regulations 1947
The Housing Improvement Regulations set the minimum standards that housing must meet. The local council is responsible for making sure these standards are followed.
All properties must meet these requirements unless they already complied with equivalent Building Code standards when it was built.
Housing improvement regulations 1947 — New Zealand Legislation(external link)
Room size, function and safety
Every property must have:
- A kitchen area with a sink and running water, plus facilities for preparing and cooking food. This typically means having both an oven for baking, and a stovetop for cooking.
- A bathroom with a shower or bath and running water.
- A toilet (either inside or outside the house) that is exclusively for the people who live there.
- Laundry facilities if the property is intended for two or more people.
- Room sizes vary depending on the property’s layout.
For properties built after 1978, refer to the Building Act and Code for additional requirements.
Light, ventilation, drainage and dampness
- Bathrooms and toilet rooms must have a window or other adequate means of ventilation.
- Every habitable room must have windows or other way of letting in light and ventilation
- There must be enough space and ventilation underneath any timber floors to prevent dampness and decay.
- There must be drainage to remove storm water, surface water and ground water. Every house must have gutters, downpipes and drains to remove roof water.
Overcrowding
Landlords must prevent overcrowded by making sure:
- There are enough facilities for the number of people living in the house (meters, bathrooms and toilets).
- Bedrooms are at least six square metres. If there is more than one person sleeping in the room it will need to be bigger.
- They don’t exceed the number of people (excluding those under one year of age) that can occupy bedrooms.
- Landlords should not advertise a property as having a certain number of bedrooms if the rooms do not meet the regulations.
For further information about overcrowding contact your local council.
Sewerage and sanitation
Every toilet and sink must connect to an adequate sewerage system or other means of disposal. If a landlord provides a wastage system, the landlord must maintain it (for example, empty the septic tank).
The Building Act 2004
The Building Act sets the standards for the construction of new buildings and promotes compliance with the Building Code. It also covers the alteration and demolition of existing buildings.
The purpose of the Act is to make sure:
- buildings are safe and healthy
- people can escape if there’s a fire
- buildings promote sustainable development.
About the Building Act 2004 — Building Performance website (external link)
The Building Code
The Building Code sets out performance requirements for work on all types of buildings. It covers things like:
- structural stability
- fire safety
- access
- moisture control
- durability
- services and facilities.
Local councils are normally responsible for making sure buildings meet the Building Code.
Building code compliance — Building Performance(external link)
Responsibility for dangerous and insanitary buildings
Local councils must have policies on dangerous and insanitary buildings. These policies allow the council to take action against these building owners. It does not matter when they were built.
Dangerous buildings are likely to cause injury, death, or damage to other properties.
An insanitary building:
- is offensive or likely to be harmful to health
- does not have enough protection against moisture
- doesn’t have an adequate supply of drinkable water, or
- doesn’t have adequate sanitary facilities (a toilet or shower).
Tenants can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal if a landlord isn’t providing a safe and healthy home.
On 27 August 2019, new legislation took effect which protects tenants living in unlawful residential premises.
Residential Tenancies Amendment Bill (No 2)
Property Management FAQs — Worksafe (Mahi Haumaru Aotearoa)(external link)
Last updated: 01 Hōngongoi 2025
