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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Key money, bonds, and rents

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

You could also call this:

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

You cannot invite or encourage someone who wants to rent your property, or anyone else, to offer more rent than what you’ve stated in your advertisement or offer. This rule applies to the amount of rent you’ve listed as required by section 22F(1).

However, if someone who wants to rent your property, or anyone else, offers to pay more rent than what you’ve stated, they are allowed to do this. You just can’t ask them to do it or encourage them to do it.

If you, as a landlord, break this rule by inviting or encouraging higher rent offers, you are doing something against the law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS454323.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Crime and justice > Criminal law
Previous

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

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

Next

23: Rent in advance, or

“Landlords can only ask for up to two weeks' rent ahead of time and can't make you pay before your current rent is used up.”

Part 2 Tenancy agreements
Key money, bonds, and rents

22GLandlord must not invite or encourage bids for rent

  1. A landlord must not invite or encourage a prospective tenant or any other person to offer to pay an amount of rent for residential premises that exceeds the amount of rent stated as part of the advertisement or offer of the premises in accordance with section 22F(1).

  2. Subsection (1) does not prohibit a prospective tenant or other person from offering to pay an amount that exceeds the stated amount of rent.

  3. A landlord who contravenes subsection (1) commits an unlawful act.

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