The rent you pay will be influenced by:

The area the house is in.

Areas where wealthy people live, with well-regarded schools, command high rent prices. Areas where poorer people live, and the schools are less well-regarded, command lower rents.

The condition the house is in.

If the kitchen fittings, bathroom fittings and carpets are a bit tired and worn looking you should pay a lower rent.

The size of the flat or house.

As you would expect, bigger costs more.

Jargon

Most New Zealand homes will be described as apartments , units , houses , or townhouses .

An apartment is likely to be a home with other homes above and/or below it in a block.

A unit or flat is likely to be a semi-detached house or a terraced / row house.

A house is likely to be a detached / standalone house.

A townhouse is likely to be a detached / stand-alone house or it might be attached to another house. Townhouses are usually reasonably modern and have smaller gardens than houses .

The prices we quote in the price guides are for unfurnished homes. The vast majority of homes for rent in New Zealand are unfurnished. (Unfurnished homes will be carpeted, have some form of heating and have curtains/drapes and a cooker.)

Rental Contracts

There are two common types of rental contract the fixed term tenancy and the periodic tenancy.

The Fixed Term Tenancy

When you sign a fixed term tenancy, you agree to rent the property for a fixed length of time say six months or a year. The advantage of a fixed tenancy is that the rent cannot be increased unless there is a clause in the lease you should make sure there isn t.

The Periodic Tenancy

A periodic tenancy has no fixed timescale. To end it you must give three weeks notice to the landlord as an extreme example, the tenancy could last for as little as three weeks if you give notice to quit on the same day as you move in. Or it could last for years. The landlord needs to give you six weeks notice to end your tenancy.

Your landlord needs to give you 60 days notice of a rent increase. Since you can leave after giving him 21 days notice, you have plenty of time to leave before the rent goes up. In practice, rent increases are rare for sitting tenants. Your rent will probably go up only if you are a tenant for more than a year.