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It’s no secret that the Healthy Homes Standards have been causing landlords a few headaches. We’ve been talking with our friends from Warm Fuzzies about HHS compliance and here's what they had to say:

Tenants have a right to quiet enjoyment at their house. This includes having people over, family visiting and friends staying with them occasionally. However, some guests may overstay their welcome, which begs the question: where is the line? When does a guest become a permanent occupant?

When renting out a property, it's very common to have multiple occupants. We're often asked whether all potential occupants should become named tenants on the agreement, or should an agreement be signed with one "head tenant" only.

Generally, a tenant and a landlord are both bound to the tenancy for the whole duration of the fixed term. But there are several reasons why a tenant might want to end their tenancy part way through a fixed-term lease. The article will go over your legal rights, obligations, and costs you can reasonably recoup.

The new tax changes have re-defined boarding properties that qualify for tax exemptions in order to claim interest payments as tax deductions.

For some landlords, meeting the new standards by the deadline of 1 July 2024 will require an expenditure to cover purchases and installation of necessary items, repair work, or both. Based on new changes, what costs can a landlord claim on tax?

One of the most controversial tax policies, phasing out interest deductibility for residential properties, is finally becoming law.

Residential property managers look after over 40% of rental properties in NZ. While many abide by appropriate industry standards, some lack professionalism, entry knowledge and reasonable practice requirements to assure property owners that their properties are not being mismanaged.

Property investors can claim deductions for several expenses while their property is rented or available for rent. Knowing what you can claim will help not only to maximise your return but to avoid issues with the IRD.

This is a very common situation. A landlord has a place that they want to fill for long-ish fixed-term but want to make sure the fixed-term tenancy doesn't become periodic upon expiry as they may want to use it themselves or as an Airbnb during a busy period. The question is always can this be done and how to go about it.

COVID-19, the lockdowns, amendments to the RTA, the implementation of the HHS, the phasing out of interest deductibility, the changes to the bright-line test, new CCCFA rules and updated Privacy guidelines.. 2021 was a LOT. So what should we expect from 2022?

The Government joined forces with the opposition to pass changes to the Resource Management Act in favour of housing densification.

There are many Government incentives available at the moment, which makes building new houses or buying new builds an increasingly attractive offer. These incentives are put in place to increase the national housing pool to support NZ growing population, and stimulate activity in the construction industry to assist economic recovery from the impacts of COVID-19. But is buying a new build a good investment for you?

The law around lending money to consumers in New Zealand changed on December 1 2021, and it's already having a significant effect on property owners.

As we move away from the alert level system, the COVID-19 Protection Framework is setting in. So what restrictions apply to different traffic light settings, and what do they mean to landlords and tenants?

The Government has announced changes to the Healthy Homes standards following the feedback from the rental industry.

The Office of the Privacy Commissioner has released new guidelines for the rental sector designed to protect potential tenants' rights and privacy and ensure that only necessary information is collected from them.

At the end of the tenancy, landlords and tenants need to complete a bond refund form whether it is to return the bond to tenants in full, or in part.

A new amendment was proposed to the COVID-19 Response (Management Measures) Legislation to include bans on rent increases.

Legislation has been drafted to restrict tenancy terminations during Alert Level 4.

The Government unveiled more information on plans that would bar landlords from deducting the interest costs of their mortgage from their tax bill.

Discussions about vaccination have been seen creeping into virtually every public and private sphere — personal relationships, work, and even the rental housing sector.

We've put together the most commonly asked questions we receive about managing tenancies during the Lockdown.

It's more than fair to assume some people will experience financial hardship, reduction in working hours and even job losses.