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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Boarding house tenancies - Rights and obligations of landlords and tenants

66I: Landlord’s ongoing obligations

You could also call this:

“Landlords must keep boarding houses clean, safe, and in good repair, following rules to protect tenants.”

If you own a boarding house, you have many important jobs to do. You must keep the place clean and fix things when they break. The house needs to be safe and secure for the people living there.

You have to make sure there are working smoke alarms and follow rules about keeping the house healthy and free from harmful substances. You also need to follow all the building and safety rules that apply to your boarding house.

You must give the people living there locks for their rooms and make sure they can always get to their rooms, toilets, and bathrooms. They should be able to use other parts of the house at reasonable times too.

You need to put up copies of the house rules and fire escape plans where everyone can see them. It’s your job to make sure people follow the rules and to be fair when dealing with rule-breaking.

If you find out that any part of the boarding house is contaminated, you can’t let new people move in until it’s cleaned up properly. If someone is already living there, you can only let them stay if you’re in the process of cleaning up the contamination.

You must give tenants information about the healthy homes standards if they ask for it. You have 21 days to do this after they ask.

If you don’t do these things, you might be breaking the law and could get in trouble or have to pay a fine.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3283910.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Health and wellbeing > Food and water safety
Previous

66H: Landlord’s obligations at start of tenancy, or

“Landlords must give tenants important information and a clean room when they move into a boarding house.”

Next

66IA: Protection from liability for landlord who complies with contaminant regulations, or

“A landlord who follows the rules about dangerous substances in a boarding house cannot be blamed if the place is unsafe because of those substances.”

Part 2A Boarding house tenancies
Rights and obligations of landlords and tenants

66ILandlord’s ongoing obligations

  1. The landlord of a boarding house must, at all times,—

  2. ensure that the facilities of the premises are in a reasonable state of cleanliness; and
    1. ensure that the premises are in a reasonable state of repair, having regard to the age and character of the premises and the period during which the premises are likely to remain habitable and available for residential purposes; and
      1. comply with all requirements in respect of smoke alarms imposed on the landlord by regulations made under section 138A; and
        1. comply with the healthy homes standards; and
          1. comply with all requirements in respect of contaminants imposed on the landlord by regulations made under section 138C(3)(c); and
            1. comply with all requirements in respect of buildings, health, and safety under any enactment so far as they apply to the premises; and
              1. ensure that there are sufficient locks or similar devices to ensure that the premises are reasonably secure; and
                1. ensure that the tenant has access at all times to his or her room and to toilet and bathroom facilities in the premises; and
                  1. ensure that the tenant has access at all reasonable hours to the other facilities in the premises; and
                    1. ensure that copies of the house rules and fire evacuation procedures are on display in the premises at all times; and
                      1. take all reasonable steps to ensure that the house rules are observed, and to enforce them in a fair and consistent manner.

                        1. Subsection (1B) applies to a landlord of a boarding house tenancy if—

                        2. the landlord knows that tests carried out in accordance with a relevant prescribed method have established that any part of the boarding room or facilities of the boarding house is contaminated; and
                          1. the boarding room or facilities (as relevant) have not been decontaminated in accordance with a relevant prescribed decontamination process.

                            1. If this subsection applies—

                            2. and the boarding room has not yet been provided to the tenant, the landlord must not provide the boarding room to the tenant until the boarding room or facilities (as relevant) have been decontaminated in accordance with a relevant prescribed decontamination process:
                              1. and the tenant has already been provided with the boarding room, the landlord may continue to provide the boarding room to the tenant (under that tenancy or any extension or renewal of that tenancy) only if the boarding room or facilities (as relevant) are being decontaminated in accordance with a relevant prescribed decontamination process and any rules prescribed under section 138C(3)(f).

                                1. Subsections (1A) and (1B) do not limit subsection (1) or section 66H(2), but see also, in relation to the landlord’s liability for contaminant presence, section 66IA.

                                2. Subsections (1) to (1B) apply even if the tenant has notice, at the time when the tenancy agreement is entered into, of the state of the premises.

                                3. The obligations in subsection (1) are in addition to the obligation in section 66G(2).

                                4. Failure by the landlord to comply with any of paragraphs (a) to (c) of subsection (1) is declared to be an unlawful act.

                                5. A contravention by the landlord of subsection (1B) is declared to be an unlawful act.

                                6. If the tenant requests the landlord to provide information described in section 123A(1)(e) (relating to the healthy homes standards) to the tenant, the landlord must, within 21 days after the date of receiving the request, provide the information to the tenant.

                                7. A landlord who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (6)—

                                8. commits an unlawful act; and
                                  1. commits an infringement offence and is liable to a fine or an infringement fee specified in Schedule 1B.

                                    Compare
                                      Notes
                                      • Section 66I: inserted, on , by section 49 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
                                      • Section 66I(1)(ba): inserted, on , by section 18(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).
                                      • Section 66I(1)(bb): replaced, on , by section 8(1) of the Healthy Homes Guarantee Act 2017 (2017 No 46).
                                      • Section 66I(1)(bc): inserted, on , by section 41(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 37).
                                      • Section 66I(1A): inserted, on , by section 41(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 37).
                                      • Section 66I(1B): inserted, on , by section 41(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 37).
                                      • Section 66I(1C): inserted, on , by section 41(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 37).
                                      • Section 66I(2): amended, on , by section 41(3) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 37).
                                      • Section 66I(5): inserted, on , by section 41(4) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2019 (2019 No 37).
                                      • Section 66I(6): inserted, on , by section 47 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).
                                      • Section 66I(7): inserted, on , by section 47 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).