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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Preliminary matters

16: Change of name or address

You could also call this:

“You must tell the other person in your tenancy if you change your name or how to contact you.”

If you change your name or address after you’ve told the other person in your tenancy about it, you need to let them know about the change within 10 working days. This includes changes to your phone number or email address.

If you’re the landlord or tenant and you don’t tell the other person about these changes, you’re breaking the law. If you’re the landlord and you don’t do this, you might have to pay a fine.

These rules don’t apply to a contact person whose details are in a boarding house tenancy agreement.

If you want to know more about what happens when a tenant moves out, you can look at section 15.

There’s also a list of fines for landlords who don’t follow these rules in Schedule 1B.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM95037.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Rights and equality > Privacy
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Part 2 Tenancy agreements
Preliminary matters

16Change of name or address

  1. Where the name and contact address, or address for service, of any person has been notified to the other party to the tenancy in accordance with this Act and that name or address subsequently changes (otherwise than in circumstances to which section 15 applies), the person shall, within 10 working days thereafter, cause notice of the new particulars to be given to the other party to the tenancy.

  2. In subsection (1), contact address includes the following:

  3. a person’s contact mobile telephone number:
    1. a person’s contact email address.

      1. A landlord or tenant who fails to comply with this section commits an unlawful act.

      2. Repealed

      3. A landlord who fails to comply with this section commits an infringement offence and is liable to a fine or an infringement fee specified in Schedule 1B.

      4. The obligation in subsection (1) does not apply to a contact person whose name and contact details are contained in a boarding house tenancy agreement.

      Notes
      • Section 16: replaced, on , by section 7(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 7).
      • Section 16(1A): inserted, on , by section 8 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).
      • Section 16(2): inserted, on , by section 10 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).
      • Section 16(2): repealed, on , by section 10(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
      • Section 16(2A): inserted, on , by section 10 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).
      • Section 16(3): inserted, on , by section 12 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).