NZ RTA Amendment Act 2024: Key Changes Summary

The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 (Royal Assent 17 December 2024) is the most consequential change to New Zealand residential tenancy law since the 2020 healthy-homes overhaul. It introduces five major reforms — three of which took effect on 30 January 2025 and two of which took effect on 1 December 2025. This article walks through each change with the underlying Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (RTA 1986) section reference and the practical impact on landlords and tenants.

The Five Key Changes

Tenancy Services overview: https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/law-changes/

Change 1 — 90-Day No-Cause Termination Reinstated

What happened before the 2024 reform

Under the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (effective 11 February 2021), no-cause termination of periodic tenancies was abolished. Landlords could only end a periodic tenancy on a closed list of grounds (e.g. property sale, owner moving in, demolition, repeated rent arrears, anti-social behaviour). The minimum notice was 90 days for most grounds, 63 days for sale, and 14 days for serious misconduct.

What the 2024 amendment did

The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 inserted a new s.50A into the RTA 1986 reinstating the right of a landlord to end a periodic tenancy without giving a reason, on 90 days’ written notice.

Practical impact

Periodic tenancies have returned to the pre-2021 framework: a landlord can end the tenancy by giving 90 days’ notice, regardless of cause. The grounds-based termination provisions (s.51) remain available alongside, with shorter notice for some grounds (see Change 2 below).

The 2024 reinstatement reflects a policy shift back towards landlord flexibility. Tenant-protection advocates note that the 90-day window remains substantial — providing tenants with meaningful time to find alternative housing — but the reinstated right to terminate without cause was a controversial element of the reform.

Change 2 — Reduced Notice for Sale, Owner-Occupier, and Family Member

Before

Under the 2020 framework, ending a tenancy on the ground of sale required 63 days’ notice, and ending on the ground of owner-occupier required 63 days.

After (from 30 January 2025)

Under the amended s.51:

• Sale of premises requiring vacant possession (s.51(2)(d)) — 42 days’ notice
• Owner or family member moving in (s.51(2)(db) and (dc)) — 42 days’ notice

Practical impact

The reduction from 63 to 42 days narrows the tenant’s transition period when the landlord has a specific termination ground. Combined with the reinstated s.50A 90-day no-cause notice, the landlord now has flexibility:

• Sale or owner-occupier: 42 days (with specific ground stated)
• No reason: 90 days (general s.50A notice)

Where the landlord can document a sale (e.g. signed agency listing agreement) or an owner-occupier intention (statutory declaration), the 42-day path is faster.

Change 3 — Tenant Notice to End Periodic Reduced to 21 Days

Before

Under the 2020 framework, a tenant ending a periodic tenancy had to give 28 days’ written notice.

After (from 30 January 2025)

Under amended s.47(1), a tenant ending a periodic tenancy must give at least 21 days’ written notice.

Practical impact

The 7-day reduction makes it slightly easier for tenants to move in response to job changes, family changes, or finding a better property. The shorter window mirrors private-sector flexibility and aligns with practical moving timelines.

Change 4 — Fixed-Term to Periodic Lapse — Notice Required

Before

Under the 2020 framework, a fixed-term tenancy automatically rolled over to a periodic tenancy at expiry unless either party gave 28–90 days’ notice that they did not wish to continue.

After (from 30 January 2025)

Under amended s.60A, the framework is largely the same but with refined notice windows:

• Either party may give notice between 21 and 90 days before the fixed-term expiry that they do not wish to continue.
• If neither party gives notice, the tenancy continues as a periodic tenancy after expiry (consistent with prior law).

Practical impact

The minor recalibration of windows aligns the fixed-term-to-periodic transition with the new 21-day tenant notice (Change 3). Landlords seeking to end the tenancy at fixed-term expiry must now ensure their notice falls within the 21–90 day window — too early or too late and the tenancy auto-rolls into periodic.

Change 5 — Pet Bond Regime (1 December 2025)

Before

Pets in residential tenancies were a contractual matter — the agreement could prohibit pets, allow them, or condition allowance on landlord consent. There was no statutory pet-specific bond.

After (from 1 December 2025)

The 2024 amendment introduced ss.49AA, 49AB, 49AC, 49AD establishing a structured pet regime:

s.49AA — Pet consent required

A tenant must obtain the landlord’s written consent to keep a pet on the premises. Consent does not need to be unconditional.

s.49AB — Pet bond

A landlord may require a pet bond of up to 2 weeks’ rent (in addition to the standard 4-week bond under s.18). The pet bond is held by Tenancy Services like the standard bond.

s.49AC — Landlord response within 21 days

Where a tenant requests permission to keep a pet, the landlord must respond within 21 days. The response must:

• State approval or refusal
• If refusal, state reasons that are reasonable
• Be in writing

If the landlord does not respond within 21 days, the consent is deemed granted.

s.49AD — Reasonable conditions

The landlord may attach reasonable conditions to consent, including:

• Carpet cleaning at the end of the tenancy
• Restrictions on the type or number of pets
• Exterior-only pets where appropriate
• Tenant’s liability for pet damage above fair wear and tear

Practical impact

The pet regime balances tenant access to pets with landlord protection through the additional 2-week bond. Maximum total bond at start of tenancy is now 6 weeks’ rent (4 weeks standard + 2 weeks pet bond) where pets are permitted.

Landlords must update their rental application processes to address pets explicitly, and tenancy agreements signed from 1 December 2025 should include clear pet-bond and pet-condition clauses.

Tenancy Services pet bond guidance: https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/healthy-homes/

What Did Not Change

Several provisions remain unchanged:

• Standard bond cap — 4 weeks’ rent (RTA 1986 s.18)
• Bond lodgement window — 23 working days (RTA 1986 s.19)
• Healthy Homes Standards — full compliance required from 1 July 2025 (Residential Tenancies (Healthy Homes Standards) Regulations 2019)
• Letting fees — prohibited (RTA 1986 s.17)
• Maximum rent in advance — 2 weeks (RTA 1986 s.23)
• Rent increase frequency — once per 12 months (RTA 1986 s.24A)
• Rent increase notice — 60 days (RTA 1986 s.24)
• Anti-discrimination protections — unchanged
• Tenancy Tribunal jurisdiction and procedures — unchanged

Compliance Checklist for Landlords

1. Update template tenancy agreements — include pet consent clauses, pet bond reference, and updated termination notice references.
2. Diary notice timings — sale/owner-occupier (42 days), no-cause (90 days), tenant notice (21 days received).
3. Healthy Homes — ensure full compliance (no transitional period from 1 July 2025).
4. Pet response process — design a workflow that responds to pet requests within 21 days.
5. Pet bond lodgement — lodge pet bonds with Tenancy Services within the 23-working-day window, separately or together with the standard bond.
6. Renewal notices — for fixed-term agreements, calendar the 21-90 day notice window.

Compliance Checklist for Tenants

1. Pet requests — submit in writing; expect response within 21 days; if no response, consent is deemed granted.
2. Pet bond — be aware of the additional 2-week bond requirement; budget accordingly.
3. Notice to leave — only 21 days now required for periodic.
4. No-cause termination — be aware that 90-day no-cause is back; plan financial buffer accordingly.
5. Healthy Homes — request the Healthy Homes Compliance Statement before signing; full compliance is required from 1 July 2025.

How the 2024 Amendments Compare to Australia and the UK

The 2024 NZ reform takes NZ in the opposite direction to recent Australian and UK reforms:

• Australia (NSW from 19 May 2025): Abolished no-grounds termination; landlords must specify a reason.
• United Kingdom (Renters’ Rights Act 2025): Abolishing no-fault Section 21 evictions; landlords must specify Schedule 2 grounds.
• New Zealand (from 30 January 2025): Reinstated no-cause termination with 90 days’ notice.

This divergence reflects the political reality that residential tenancy law swings with each government. Operators in cross-jurisdictional portfolios must track each jurisdiction’s rules independently.

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Legal information, not legal advice. MmowW Scrib🐮 is operated by a licensed Gyoseishoshi (行政書士) office in Japan. We are not New Zealand lawyers or licensed immigration advisers.

Sources

• Tenancy Services — Law changes: https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/law-changes/
• Tenancy Services hub: https://www.tenancy.govt.nz/
• Residential Tenancies Act 1986: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/DLM94278.html
• MBIE: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/