A landlord is a person who is renting out a property, whereas a tenant is a person who rents the property. Landlords and their tenants have legal responsibilities to follow.
A tenancy agreement is a contract between the landlord and the tenant. This contract needs to be carefully understood and signed by both parties, and no terms of the contract can be breached.
The Residential Tenancies Act details the legal relationship between landlords and their tenants. On top of this, the act also offers an approach for assisting with resolving any disputes between landlords and tenants which may occur.
If any breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act occur, then the displeased landlord or tenant can be taken to the Tenancy Tribunal.
What legal responsibilities do tenants have?
It is the responsibility of the tenant to pay for any utility bills when living on the property. This includes electricity, gas, phone and internet.
In addition, they also need to pay their rent on time each month, notify the landlord of any damages to the property quickly and keep the property in good condition.
What legal responsibilities do landlords have?
Landlords have a responsibility to rent out the property in good condition, meeting health and safety standards. A landlord needs to provide at least 90 days’ notice if they want to end the tenancy.
As well as this, if the landlord is to leave the country for more than twenty-one days then they must provide an agent’s contact details to their tenants so that they have a new point of contact if any issues arise.
Landlords do have a legal right to increase rent, but this can only be done once every 180 days and when this happens, they must provide tenants with at least 60 days notice of the rental rise in writing.
Here at Omni we’re committed to approaching property management in Auckland with fresh eyes while delivering a higher standard of service at competitive, no-surprise pricing. We understand the importance of nurturing your assets while maintaining a positive relationship with tenants to achieve the best possible returns for you. Get in touch with us today.
