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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Rights and obligations of parties

41: Tenant's responsibility for actions of others

You could also call this:

“The tenant is responsible for what other people do in the home, even if the tenant didn't do it themselves.”

You are responsible for what other people do or don’t do in your rented home. This means if someone you allow into your home does something that breaks the rules of your tenancy agreement, you will be held responsible for it. It’s as if you did it yourself.

If someone damages your rented home on purpose or by accident while you’re there, people will assume you let them in. However, you can prove you’re not responsible if you can show you did everything you could to stop them from coming in or to make them leave.

Remember, this doesn’t apply to your landlord or anyone working for your landlord. They are responsible for their own actions.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM95091.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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40: Tenant's responsibilities, or

“This explains what you need to do and what you can't do when you rent a house or flat.”

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42: Tenant's fixtures, etc, or

“Rules about what you can put in or change in the house you're renting”

Part 2 Tenancy agreements
Rights and obligations of parties

41Tenant's responsibility for actions of others

  1. The tenant shall be responsible for anything done or omitted to be done by any person (other than the landlord or any person acting on the landlord's behalf or with the landlord's authority) who is in 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. Where any person (other than the landlord or any person acting on the landlord's behalf or with the landlord's authority) intentionally or carelessly damages the premises while the tenant is in the premises, it shall be presumed that the tenant permitted that person to be in the premises unless the tenant proves that he or she took all reasonable steps to prevent that person from entering the premises or (as the case may require) to eject that person from the premises.

Compare
  • 1952 No 51 s 116E(6)
  • 1975 No 36 s 10
  • Residential Tenancies Act 1978–1981 s 52 (SA)