How to End a Tenancy in NZ Post-RTA Amendment Act 2024

The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 (Royal Assent 17 December 2024) substantially restructured how residential tenancies end in New Zealand. From 30 January 2025, the 90-day no-cause termination of periodic tenancies is back, 42-day notices for landlord-occupier and sale are reinstated, the tenant’s notice period for periodic tenancies dropped to 21 days, and from 1 December 2025 the new pet bond regime started under sections 49AA–49AD. This guide walks through the correct termination pathway under the amended Residential Tenancies Act 1986 in 2026.

Step 1. Identify Who Is Ending the Tenancy

The notice period and form depend on who initiates termination — the tenant or the landlord — and the reason stated.

Step 2. Tenant Ending a Tenancy

Periodic tenancy — 21 days notice

Under Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s.47(1) (as amended 2024), a tenant ending a periodic tenancy must give at least 21 days’ written notice. Before the 2024 amendments, the period was 28 days. The reduction reflects the overall rebalancing of the Act.

The notice must:

• Be in writing;
• Specify the date the tenancy is to end (≥21 days from the date the notice is served);
• Be signed by the tenant.

Fixed-term tenancy — automatic conversion to periodic, or end on the date

Under Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s.60A (as amended 2024), a fixed-term tenancy automatically converts to periodic on the end date — unless either party gives written notice between 21 and 90 days before the end date that the tenancy is to end on that date.

Practical sequence for a tenant who wants to leave at the end of a fixed term:

1. Calendar the end date of the fixed-term tenancy.
2. At least 21 days (and not more than 90 days) before the end date, give the landlord written notice.
3. Vacate by the end date.

Family violence — 2 days notice

Under Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s.56A (RTA Amendment Act 2020), a tenant suffering family violence may end the tenancy with 2 days’ written notice supported by qualifying evidence (Protection Order, certain professional declarations).

The other co-tenants, if any, continue under the tenancy. The departing tenant has their share of the bond returned and is not liable for break-fee or further rent.

Reference: https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/ending-a-tenancy/family-violence-and-tenancy/

Step 3. Landlord Ending a Tenancy

Periodic tenancy — 90-day no-cause notice

Under Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s.50A (inserted by the 2024 Amendment Act, effective 30 January 2025), a landlord may give 90 days’ written notice to end a periodic tenancy without specifying a reason.

The 90-day no-cause notice was repealed in 2020 and reinstated in 2024. The 2020–2024 period required prescribed reasons; from 30 January 2025 the no-cause path is available again.

Periodic tenancy — 42-day notice (specified grounds)

Under Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s.51(2) (as amended 2024), a landlord may give 42 days’ written notice where:

• (d) The owner or owner’s family member requires the premises as a principal residence within 90 days, and will live there for at least 90 days; or
• (db) There is an unconditional sale agreement requiring vacant possession; or
• (dc) The premises are required for occupation by employees or contractors of the landlord.

Section 51 reference: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/DLM95514.html

If the landlord serves a 42-day notice citing sale or owner-occupation and then re-lets the property within 3 months without using the property for the stated reason, the tenant may apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for exemplary damages under Schedule 1A of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 for retaliatory or improper notice.

Periodic tenancy — breach by tenant

Under Residential Tenancies Act 1986, s.55, the landlord may serve a 14-day notice to remedy the breach (e.g. unpaid rent, damage). If unremedied, the landlord applies to the Tenancy Tribunal for termination on serious or repeated breach (s.55A).

For rent arrears specifically, the breach notice must specify the amount owed and the deadline. If the rent is paid before the 14-day notice expires, the breach is cured.

Fixed-term tenancy — notice 21–90 days before end date

Under s.60A (as amended 2024), a landlord wanting a fixed-term tenancy to end on the end date must give written notice between 21 and 90 days before the end date. Without such notice, the tenancy lapses to periodic on the end date and the landlord must then use the 90-day no-cause route or a 42-day specified-ground route.

Step 4. Use the Correct Form

Tenancy Services publishes downloadable templates for each type of notice at https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/ending-a-tenancy/giving-notice-to-end-tenancy/. The templates are not mandatory in form but the notice must include:

• The full name and address of the parties;
• The address of the premises;
• The date the tenancy is to end (calculated correctly from the notice period);
• The reason (if a specified-ground notice);
• The signature and date of service.

Step 5. Serve the Notice Correctly

Permitted methods of service under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986:

• In person to the other party;
• By registered mail to the address for service in the agreement;
• By email if the agreement permits electronic service (most modern agreements do);
• By delivering to the address for service.

The notice period runs from the date the notice is received (or deemed received in the case of registered mail). Best practice: serve by both registered mail and email and keep evidence of both.

Step 6. Final Inspection and Bond Refund

After the tenant vacates:

1. Conduct a final inspection comparing against the entry condition record.
2. Document the condition with photographs.
3. Both parties sign a Bond Refund Form for joint refund through Tenancy Services Bond Centre.
4. If the parties cannot agree on the split, either applies to the Tenancy Tribunal for adjudication. Tenancy Services holds the bond as stakeholder pending agreement or Tribunal order.

Bond refund portal: https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/rent-bond-and-bills/bond/

Step 7. Pet Bond Refund (from 1 December 2025)

If a pet bond was charged under sections 49AA–49AD (effective 1 December 2025), it is held by Tenancy Services separately from the standard bond. The pet bond refund follows the same joint-refund or Tribunal pathway. Carpet cleaning or pet-damage costs may be deducted from the pet bond if claimed by the landlord with appropriate evidence.

Common Mistakes

Conclusion

Ending a tenancy in New Zealand in 2026 follows a clearly mapped statutory pathway under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 as amended in 2024. Tenants ending a periodic tenancy give 21 days’ written notice; landlords use either the 90-day no-cause route under s.50A or the 42-day specified-ground route under s.51(2). Fixed-term tenancies end on the agreed date only with notice 21–90 days before the end date under s.60A; otherwise they lapse to periodic. The Tenancy Services portal at https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/ holds the templates, the bond, and (if disputed) the pathway to the Tenancy Tribunal.

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Sources

• Residential Tenancies Act 1986: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/DLM94278.html
• RTA s.51 (termination by notice): https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/DLM95514.html
• Tenancy Services — Giving notice: https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/ending-a-tenancy/giving-notice-to-end-tenancy/
• Tenancy Services — Tenancy law changes: https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/law-changes/
• HUD — Tenancy terminations changes: https://www.hud.govt.nz/news/changes-to-the-residential-tenancies-act-tenancy-terminations