Tenant’s Responsibilities:
Do
- Always pay rent on time
- Pay the bills (unless they are included in the rent)
- Use the premises for residential purposes
- Keep the place clean and tidy
- Replace worn out smoke alarm batteries
- Notify the landlord ASAP of damages or repairs needed
- Be respectful to the property, other tenants and neighbours
Don’t
- Intentionally or carelessly cause damage
- Sublet without the landlord’s permission
- Block any fire escape points or disable smoke alarms
- Let anything illegal happen on the property
- Interfere with other tenants or neighbours peace, comfort or privacy
- Exceed the maximum occupancy in the tenancy agreement (partners can stay over but not move in)
- Interfere with any locks
- Sign a bond refund form where the refund amount has been left blank
Landlord/Property Manager’s responsibilities:
Do
- Make sure the flat is clean before tenants move in
- Provide receipts (unless tenants pay using online banking)
- Make sure the flat is secure
- Give tenants the house insurance details if requested
- Provide and maintain the property in a reasonable state of repair
- Provide smoke alarms
- Meet all building, health, and safety standards under the laws that apply
- Provide a water supply
- Meet Healthy Homes Standards
- Compensate tenants if they have to pay for a serious or urgent repair and they couldn’t contact the landlord/ property manager prior.
- Make sure that other people (not on the contract) don’t interfere with the tenants’ reasonable peace, comfort, or privacy
- Lodge the bond within 23 working days
Don’t
- Interfere with supply of gas, electricity, water, telephone services, or other services, except where it’s necessary to avoid danger or for maintenance
- Interfere with any existing locks
- Increase rent during a fixed term tenancy (unless it is in the contract) or without the correct notice period. The minimum period between rent increases is twelve months.
- Ask for more rent until rent in advance has been used up
- Give tenants personal information to any external party without consent
- Breach the tenants’ right to quiet enjoyment of the property
- Decide to sell without giving proper notice
- Enter the property (inside) without the correct notice period
- Charge the tenant a letting fee or key money
How to be a good Flattie:
Do
- Pay your share of the rent and bills on time
- Establish basic rules – perhaps create and sign a flatting agreement
- Clean up your own mess and share the load of cleaning the flat. You can use the OUSA chore wheel on the Hub: ousasupporthub.org.nz/flatting
- Treat your flatmates the way you want to be treated
- Respect your mates’ space, quiet time and property
- Check in on flatmates whose behaviour has changed dramatically or that you are worried about. Chat to OUSA Student Support about how to best support other flatmates
- Communicate honestly about any issues that come up ASAP to ensure things don’t spiral out of control – flat meetings can be a good way to work through issues
- Be considerate when inviting guests over
- Have fun as a flat!
Don’t
- Leave all the house responsibilities to your flatmates
- Borrow without asking
- Gossip about others in your flat – you live in close proximity, and those walls are probably thinner than you think!
- Take other people’s food or leave food in the fridge to rot
- Give the silent treatment, be passive-aggressive, yell or be violent towards your flatties
- Trash the place or other flatmates’ property
- Have people stay over constantly and not inform your flatties
- Move out of the flat without informing the landlord or flatmates
- Move out and not replace your room or stop paying rent