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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Boarding house tenancies - Rights and obligations of landlords and tenants

66L: Tenant’s liability for damage caused by others

You could also call this:

“A tenant is responsible for damage caused by their guests in a boarding house, unless they can prove otherwise.”

If you are a tenant in a boarding house, you are responsible for what other people do or don’t do when they are in the boarding house with your permission. If these people do something that breaks the rules of your tenancy agreement, it’s treated as if you did it yourself.

If there’s any damage in your boarding room, people will think you caused it unless you can prove you didn’t. This is true even if you share the room with other tenants.

When someone goes into your boarding room, people will assume you allowed them to be there unless you can prove you didn’t. This rule also applies if you share the room with others.

These rules help to make sure that you, as a tenant, take responsibility for what happens in your room and with the people you let into the boarding house.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM3283913.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Crime and justice > Criminal law
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66K: Obligations of tenant, or

“Things you need to do and not do when you rent a room in a boarding house”

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66M: Tenant’s obligations at end of tenancy, or

“When you move out of a boarding house, you must leave, take your stuff, clean up, give back keys, and leave the landlord's things behind.”

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

66LTenant’s liability for damage caused by others

  1. The tenant of a boarding house is responsible for anything done or omitted to be done by any person who is on the premises with the tenant’s permission if the act or omission would have constituted a breach of the tenancy agreement had it been the act or omission of the tenant.

  2. Any damage done to a tenant’s boarding room is presumed to have been caused by the tenant, unless the tenant proves otherwise or is not the only tenant of that room.

  3. For the purposes of subsection (2), a person who enters the tenant’s boarding room is presumed to be on the premises with the tenant’s permission, unless the tenant proves otherwise or is not the only tenant of that room.

Notes
  • Section 66L: inserted, on , by section 49 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).