Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Rights and obligations of parties

43B: Assignment of tenancy by tenant

You could also call this:

"Assigning your rental to someone else with the landlord's permission"

Illustration for Residential Tenancies Act 1986

You can assign your tenancy to someone else at any time, but you need the landlord's prior written consent. You also have to follow any reasonable conditions the landlord attaches to that consent. If you assign the tenancy without the landlord's consent, you commit an unlawful act. You cannot assign the tenancy in certain circumstances, which are described in section 43A(2). If you want to assign the tenancy, you can make a written request to the landlord, and they must respond within a reasonable time. The landlord must not unreasonably withhold their consent or attach unreasonable conditions to it. If the landlord does not respond to your request, or withholds their consent unreasonably, they commit an unlawful act. The landlord's consent is not considered unreasonable if they offer to accept a surrender of the tenancy on reasonable terms instead. However, if the landlord withholds their consent because of discrimination, which is an unlawful act under section 12, their consent is considered unreasonable.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS451316.

This page was last updated on 24 December 2025 — View changes

43A: Effect of provision prohibiting assignment by tenant, or

"What happens if your tenancy agreement says you can't assign your tenancy to someone else?"

43C: Effect of assignment by tenant, or

Part 2Tenancy agreements
Rights and obligations of parties

43BAssignment of tenancy by tenant

A tenant may, at any time during the tenancy, assign the tenancy—
with the prior written consent of the landlord; and
in accordance with any reasonable conditions attached to that consent by the landlord.

Subsection (1) does not apply in the circumstances described in section 43A(2).
A tenant commits an unlawful act if the tenant assigns the tenancy—
without the prior written consent of the landlord; or
if the tenancy is a tenancy described in section 22F(2)(b) or (c), in contravention of a provision described in section 43A(2).

If a tenant makes a written request for the landlord’s consent to an assignment and the request identifies, and includes contact details for, the proposed assignee, the landlord must respond in writing to the request within a reasonable period of time.
A landlord who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with subsection (4) commits an unlawful act.
The landlord must not—
withhold consent unreasonably; or
attach any unreasonable conditions to the consent.

A landlord’s consent must not be taken to have been withheld unreasonably if, instead of consenting to an assignment, the landlord offers to accept a surrender of the tenancy on reasonable terms.
A landlord’s consent must be taken to have been withheld unreasonably if the withholding of the consent is an unlawful act under section 12 (discrimination to be unlawful act).

Notes

Section 43B: inserted, on 11 February 2021, by section 24 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).
Section 43B(3)(b): amended, on 30 January 2025, by section 23 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 (2024 No 52).