Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Key money, bonds, and rents

25: Market rent

You could also call this:

“You can ask for a fair rent if you think you're paying too much compared to similar homes in your area.”

You can ask the Tenancy Tribunal to lower your rent if you think it’s much higher than the market rent. You need to do this within 3 months of starting your tenancy or since the last time the rent changed. If you’re renting an apartment, you can also ask within 3 months of finding out about changes to the building rules that affect you.

The market rent is what a typical landlord would expect to get, and what a typical tenant would expect to pay, for a similar place in the same area. The Tribunal doesn’t consider your personal situation or your landlord’s when deciding this. They look at other rents in the area and any other important factors.

If the Tribunal agrees to lower your rent, they will set a date for when the new rent starts. This can be any time from when you asked for the change up to 30 days after they make their decision.

This text is automatically generated. It might be out of date or be missing some parts. Find out more about how we do this.

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM95059.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
Previous

24A: Expiry of temporary rent reduction, or

“When a temporary rent discount ends, the original rent comes back without counting as a rent increase.”

Next

26: Duration of order determining market rent, or

“How long the decision about fair rent lasts and when it can be looked at again”

Part 2 Tenancy agreements
Key money, bonds, and rents

25Market rent

  1. On an application made to it at any time by the tenant, the Tribunal may, in accordance with the succeeding provisions of this section, on being satisfied that the rent payable or to become payable for the tenancy exceeds the market rent by a substantial amount, make an order reducing the rent to an amount, to be specified in the order, that is in line with the market rent.

  2. Notwithstanding anything in subsection (1), no application may be made under that subsection in respect of the rent payable under a fixed-term tenancy later than 3 months after—

  3. the date of the commencement of the tenancy or (in the case of a tenancy that was subsisting immediately before commencement of this Act) the date of the commencement of this Act; or
    1. the date of the last review of rent,—
        1. whichever is the later.

      1. Despite subsection (2), a tenant who is a party to a fixed term tenancy of premises held in a stratum estate under the Unit Titles Act 2010 may apply under subsection (1) within 3 months after the tenant is notified of a change or otherwise becomes aware of a change in the body corporate operational rules made under that Act, if that change affects the tenant.

      2. For the purposes of this Act, the market rent for any tenancy shall be the rent that, without regard to the personal circumstances of the landlord or the tenant, a willing landlord might reasonably expect to receive and a willing tenant might reasonably expect to pay for the tenancy, taking into consideration the general level of rents (other than income-related rents within the meaning of section 2(1) of the Public and Community Housing Management Act 1992) for comparable tenancies of comparable premises in the locality or in similar localities and such other matters as the Tribunal considers relevant.

      3. An order made under this section shall take effect on and from a date to be specified in the order, which may be the date of the order or any earlier or later date, but being no earlier than the date of the application for the order and no later than 30 days after the date of the order.

      Compare
      • 1955 No 50 ss 20, 21
      • 1961 No 66 s 7
      • 1973 No 26 ss 6, 8
      • Residential Tenancies Act 1978–1981 s 36(1)–(3) (SA)
      Notes
      • Section 25(2A): inserted, on , by section 21 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
      • Section 25(3): amended, on , by section 33 of the Kāinga Ora–Homes and Communities Act 2019 (2019 No 50).
      • Section 25(3): amended, on , by section 25 of the Social Housing Reform (Housing Restructuring and Tenancy Matters Amendment) Act 2013 (2013 No 97).
      • Section 25(3): amended, on , by section 7(1) of the Housing Restructuring (Income-Related Rents) Amendment Act 2000 (2000 No 22).