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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Key money, bonds, and rents

22F: Landlord must state amount of rent when advertising residential premises

You could also call this:

“Landlords must tell you how much the rent is when they advertise a place for you to live in.”

When you want to rent a place to live, the person who owns it (the landlord) has to tell you how much it will cost. They must show the price in any advertisement or offer they make about the property. This rule helps you know exactly what you’ll need to pay before you decide to rent.

There are two types of rentals where the landlord doesn’t have to show the price. These are: when the rental comes with a job (called a service tenancy), and for some types of social housing (which is housing run by the government or community groups for people who need help).

If a landlord doesn’t follow this rule and doesn’t show the price when they advertise, they’re breaking the law. They could get in trouble and might have to pay a fine. The amount they might have to pay is written in another part of the law called 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=LMS451171.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
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22E: MSD may disclose address information for bond refund purposes, or

“The government can share your address to give back your rental bond money if they can't find you.”

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22G: Landlord must not invite or encourage bids for rent, or

“Landlords can't ask people to offer more money for a place to live than what they've said it costs.”

Part 2 Tenancy agreements
Key money, bonds, and rents

22FLandlord must state amount of rent when advertising residential premises

  1. A landlord must not advertise or otherwise offer a tenancy of residential premises unless the amount of rent is stated in the advertisement or offer.

  2. Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to—

  3. a service tenancy; or
    1. a tenancy described in section 53B(1)(a) (which relates to social housing tenancies).

      1. A landlord who contravenes subsection (1)—

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

          Notes
          • Section 22F: inserted, on , by section 17 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).