Key Changes to Residential Tenancies in 2025
The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA) regulates the rights and responsibilities of residential landlords and tenants in New Zealand. The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024, which passed on 17 December 2024, introduces several important updates to the RTA, including:
- Rolling back many of the changes to termination and notice provisions that were made in 2020 by the previous government;
- Changes intended to streamline and modernise the RTA and the Tenancy Tribunal; and
- Introducing new provisions dealing with pet-related rights and responsibilities.
We’ve that we expected to see last year. Now that the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act has passed, we go into more detail below about what’s changing and when.
Changes taking effect on 30 January 2025
Ending periodic tenancies
Currently, landlords may only end a periodic tenancy on one of the specific grounds set out in the RTA. From 30 January 2025, landlords will be able to end a periodic tenancy on 90 days’ notice without specific reason (often referred to as a ‘no cause’ termination).
Notice periods for terminations for the following reasons have been reduced to 42 days:
- The owner or their family member needs the property to live in as their main residence for at least 90 days, starting within 90 days of the termination date.
- The property is required for the landlord’s employee or contractor, (provided that the tenancy agreement states the property is usually used or has been obtained for this purpose).
- The property has been sold with a requirement to give vacant possession.
Tenants can end their periodic tenancy with 21 days’ notice at any time, reduced from 28 days.
These changes only apply to termination notices issued from 30 January 2025 onwards. If notice has already been given by a tenant or landlord prior to this date, the notice cannot be replaced with a different notice under these new provisions.
Fixed-term tenancies converting to periodic tenancies
Fixed-term tenancies will automatically convert to periodic tenancies unless:
- Either party gives notice of termination between 90 and 21 days before the end of the fixed term; or
- Both parties agree to an alternative, such as renewing the fixed term or ending the tenancy.
Although the relevant provisions come into force on 30 January 2025, there is a 90-day transition period for existing fixed-term tenancies, meaning these changes only apply to fixed-term tenancies expiring on or after 1 May 2025.
Retaliatory terminations
Tenants’ rights to challenge retaliatory terminations have been expanded and clarified. From 30 January 2025, tenants can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for an order declaring a termination notice issued by their landlord was retaliatory and unlawful because the landlord gave notice in response to the tenant enforcing their rights, or in response to legal actions taken against the landlord by another person or body in respect of the tenancy (for example, if Tenancy Services or the local council investigate issues with the premises).
Tenants must apply to the Tenancy Tribunal within 12 months of receiving the notice. If they apply within 28 working days of the notice, they can also request that it be cancelled.
Further changes in the pipeline
Changes to the bond lodgement process have already been put in place, which replaced the paper-based lodgement forms with an online system.
The following changes will come into effect from March 2025:
- The Tenancy Tribunal will be able to make decisions based on applications and documents provided to it, instead of requiring the parties to attend a hearing (unless the matter involves termination of a tenancy, or a landlord’s right to enter the premises or a boarding room). The Tenancy Tribunal will consider the parties’ views when deciding whether the proceeding should be dealt with on the papers or if there should be a hearing.
- A new provision will be added to the RTA expressly allowing tenancy agreements to ban tenants from smoking indoors. A similar prohibition applying to any other part of the premises can be included if it is consistent with tenants’ rights under the RTA, such as the right to quiet enjoyment.
- Tenants may withdraw from a tenancy if their child or another dependent has experienced family violence – this is in addition to the existing right for a tenant to withdraw from the tenancy if they experience family violence themselves.
- Notices and documents can be sent electronically (for example, by email or instant messaging).
- The jurisdictional limit for consolidated applications to the Tenancy Tribunal involving multiple properties owned by one landlord will be $100,000 per tenancy, instead of $100,000 for the entire application.
In addition, changes allowing tenants to request consent to keep a pet and for landlords to require a ‘pet bond’ will come into force on a date to be set by Order in Council. An exact date is yet to be set, but is expected to take effect from late 2025. In brief, these changes will mean:
- Tenants can seek written consent to keep a pet (or pets), and the landlord can only refuse consent on reasonable grounds.
- As a condition of consent to keep a pet, landlords can require tenants to pay a pet bond up to a maximum value of two weeks’ rent. Other reasonable conditions may also be imposed such as professional carpet cleaning at the end of the tenancy.
- Tenants will be liable for destruction or damage (beyond fair wear and tear) caused as a result of keeping a pet.
Disability assist dogs are excluded from the pet-related tenancy rules. Landlord permission is not required, and pet bonds cannot be charged for disability assist dogs.
The pet-related changes will only apply to tenancies starting on the date the provisions take effect and won’t impact any existing arrangements about pets that have already been agreed between landlords and tenants. Further guidance on the new provisions is expected to become available closer to the time the pet-related tenancy rules come into force.
Key takeaways
For residential landlords and tenants, key changes to note are:
- Notice periods will change and ‘no cause’ terminations will be reintroduced from 30 January 2025.
- Tenants will have a longer timeframe to challenge retaliatory terminations, and on a wider range of grounds.
- Bonds must be lodged online, and other changes will be made to modernise communication methods and make the Tenancy Tribunal operate more efficiently.
- New pet-related rules will come into force at a later date.
If you have any questions about residential tenancies or need assistance with an investment property, get in touch with a member of our property law team.
Special thanks to Senior Solicitor Tariqa Satherley and Julian Harker for preparing this article.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and not intended as a substitute for specific professional advice on any matter and should not be relied upon for that purpose.
