Did you know that, each year, the Department of Building and Housing receives approximately 49,000 applications to the Tenancy Tribunal?

One of the most important ways of avoiding problems is by keeping in regular contact with your landlord and sorting out any problems as soon as they happen.

It’s also important that you understand and follow your legal rights and responsibilities as a tenant under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 and its amendments.

The Act says you must:

1. Pay the rent – Even if you’re unhappy about something to do with the place, you still have to pay the rent. It is important that you always pay the rent on time.
2. Keep the place reasonably clean– It doesn’t need to look perfect, but it does need to be reasonable.
3. Tell the landlord if something needs to be fixed – If something breaks down or goes wrong, tell the landlord straight away. It is the landlord’s responsibility to repair and maintain the place. It is your responsibility to tell the landlord about any problems. It’s a good idea to put it in writing for the landlord as well, and keep a copy.
4. Be a good neighbour – Don’t disturb other tenants or neighbours­.

It's your home!

The landlord owns the place, but while you rent it, it is your home. This means the landlord has to respect your peace and privacy (this is called quiet enjoyment).

The landlord can come inside, but only at certain times:

1. To inspect the place – but no more than once every four weeks and they must give you 48 hours' notice that they are going to do an inspection. (or in the case of a boarding house tenancy, 24 hours’ notice)
2. To fix something – they can come inside to do the repairs after giving you 24 hours' notice.
3. In case of emergency – If the landlord wants to come inside for some other reasons than they need your permission, otherwise they may be breaking the law. If it happens to you, talk to the Department of Building and Housing.

Preventing infestations and mould

Tenants are required to maintain their premises in a clean and tidy state while living there. Once you move in, it’s your responsibility to keep your place in that condition.

Before you move into the property, you and the landlord should inspect the property together and note any damage in a property inspection report.

You should do this by working your way through the entire property, room by room and carefully observing the condition it is in. You should use the inspection to look for any signs of infestation, mould or damp, and raise any concerns you have with the landlord.

When you complete the tenancy agreement, you can write in any conditions that you both agree on (as long they comply with the Residential Tenancies Act 1986). Your tenancy agreement may contain more information about your responsibilities.

Your view of what “clean and tidy” means could be different from the landlord’s. You need to be aware that particular behaviours may create excessive mould, damp or insect activity. Keeping the property reasonably clean and tidy includes simple tasks like removing mould when it first appears and wiping condensation off windows. Issues to do with cleanliness and tidiness tend to change with the seasons. For example, around spring and early summer you may have problems with insects or infestations. Around autumn and winter, you may experience problems with damp and mould. Winter is also a common time for rat or mice infestations to occur.

Your landlord should take responsibility for fumigations if necessary and any rodent or insect issues. Some landlords arrange an annual fumigation (at their cost) as part of the terms of the tenancy agreement.

If you have infestation problems, you should consider whether there are cleanliness issues you need to address that are causing the problem. If the cause does not appear to be related to how you keep the property clean and tidy, you could discuss the problem with your landlord as soon as possible to see if they are prepared to arrange and pay for fumigation.

Infestations that can be attributed to a lack of cleanliness by you could be argued to be your responsibility as a tenant as part of your obligation to keep the premises reasonably clean and tidy. In these cases, a landlord could seek an order from the Tenancy Tribunal for the fumigation work to be done and for the tenant to be charged for this.