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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Termination of tenancies and recovery of possession

55A: Termination for anti-social behaviour

You could also call this:

“Landlords can end a tenancy if a tenant or their guest behaves badly three times in three months.”

If you have a periodic tenancy, your landlord can ask the Tribunal to end your tenancy if you or someone you allow in your home behaves in an anti-social way. Anti-social behaviour means harassing others or doing things that reasonably cause more than minor alarm, distress, or nuisance to others.

Your landlord needs to show that anti-social behaviour happened three times within 90 days. Each time, they must give you a written notice. This notice must clearly describe what happened, who did it (if they know), when and where it happened, and how many notices you’ve received so far. The notice must also tell you that you can challenge it at the Tribunal.

The Tribunal must end your tenancy if your landlord proves these things and applies within 28 days of giving you the third notice. However, the Tribunal won’t end your tenancy if it would be unfair because of the circumstances, or if your landlord is trying to stop you from using your rights as a tenant.

When deciding, the Tribunal can’t consider how ending the tenancy might affect you. If someone else causes the problem while you’re home, it’s assumed you allowed them to be there unless you can prove you tried to stop them.

If you challenge a notice at the Tribunal, your landlord has to prove the anti-social behaviour happened and that the notice was correct. The Tribunal can look at sections 77(1) and 78(1)(a) for more information about challenging notices.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS451920.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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55AA: Termination by notice for physical assault by tenant, or

“When a person renting a home hurts the landlord or their family, the landlord can ask them to leave”

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55B: Termination where it would be unreasonable to require landlord to continue with tenancy, or

“Landlords can end a rental agreement if continuing it would cause them more trouble than it's worth.”

Part 2 Tenancy agreements
Termination of tenancies and recovery of possession

55ATermination for anti-social behaviour

  1. A landlord under a periodic tenancy may apply to the Tribunal for an order terminating the tenancy on the ground of anti-social behaviour.

  2. The Tribunal must (subject to subsection (3)) make the order if satisfied that—

  3. on 3 separate occasions within a 90-day period the tenant, or a person in the premises with the tenant’s permission (other than the landlord or a person acting on the landlord’s behalf or with the landlord’s authority), engaged in anti-social behaviour in connection with the tenancy; and
    1. on each occasion the landlord gave the tenant written notice—
      1. describing clearly which specific behaviour was considered to be anti-social and (if known to the landlord) who engaged in it; and
        1. advising the tenant of the date, approximate time, and location of the behaviour; and
          1. stating how many other notices (if any) the landlord has given the tenant under this paragraph in connection with the same tenancy and the same 90-day period; and
            1. advising the tenant of the tenant’s right to make an application to the Tribunal challenging the notice (see sections 77(1) and 78(1)(a) regarding the Tribunal); and
            2. the landlord’s application to the Tribunal was made within 28 days after the landlord gave the third notice.

              1. However, the Tribunal must not make the order if satisfied that—

              2. doing so would be unfair because of the circumstances in which the behaviour occurred or the notices were given; or
                1. in making the application, the landlord was motivated wholly or partly by the exercise or proposed exercise by the tenant of any right, power, authority, or remedy conferred on the tenant by the tenancy agreement or by this or any other Act or any complaint by the tenant against the landlord relating to the tenancy (unless the Tribunal is satisfied that the purported exercise or the complaint was or would be vexatious or frivolous to such an extent that the landlord was justified in making the application).

                  1. In deciding whether to make an order under subsection (2), the Tribunal must not take into account the impact that terminating the tenancy would have on the tenant.

                  2. In subsection (2)(a), if a tenant is in the premises at the same time as another person (other than the landlord or a person acting on the landlord’s behalf or with the landlord’s authority), the tenant is presumed to have permitted the person to be in the premises unless the tenant proves that they took all reasonable steps to prevent the person from entering the premises or to eject the person from the premises.

                  3. If a tenant makes an application to the Tribunal challenging a notice given under subsection (2)(b), it is for the landlord to prove that anti-social behaviour was engaged in as described in subsection (2)(a) and that the notice met the requirements of subsection (2)(b).

                  4. In this section, anti-social behaviour means—

                  5. harassment; or
                    1. any other act or omission (whether intentional or not), if the act or omission reasonably causes alarm, distress, or nuisance that is more than minor.

                      Notes
                      • Section 55A: inserted, on , by section 38 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).