Landlord and Tenant Rights on Rent Increases in NZ

A rent increase in New Zealand isn't a negotiation. It's a statutory process with specific rights on both sides — and the consequences of getting it wrong fall squarely on the landlord.

Here's what each party can and can't do under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (rules as at October 2026).

What Landlords Have the Right to Do

Set any rent amount. There's no percentage cap. You can propose whatever figure you choose, provided it doesn't substantially exceed market rent for comparable properties in the same area. The MBIE Market Rent tool gives you the local median and quartile ranges to benchmark against.

Increase once every 12 months. Section 24(1)(d) and (e) give you the right to raise rent annually, measured from the tenancy start date (first increase) or the previous increase's effective date (subsequent increases). You can serve the 60-day notice before the anniversary, as long as the effective date falls on or after it.

Choose any approved delivery method. Hand delivery, email (if electronic service is permitted under the tenancy agreement), letterbox/door attachment, or NZ Post. Each method has different deemed-receipt rules under Section 136, but the choice is yours.

Request a bond top-up. When rent increases, you can request additional bond up to the 4-weeks'-rent maximum under Section 18.

What Landlords Cannot Do

Increase during a fixed term without a review clause. Section 24(1)(g) prohibits rent increases during a fixed-term tenancy unless the written agreement expressly permits them. A verbal agreement or a generic "we'll review it" doesn't count — the clause must be written in the tenancy agreement, typically using one of the Schedule 1 provisions.

Serve notice less than 60 days before the effective date. The notice period is 60 calendar days, and it starts the day after deemed receipt (which includes any working-day service buffer). Serve short and the entire notice is void.

Collect rent above a Tribunal market rent order. If the Tenancy Tribunal has issued an order under Section 25 setting the rent at a particular amount, you cannot charge more than that figure for the period specified. Under Section 27, any excess is irrecoverable — you must refund it.

Use coercive or misleading language. The notice must be factual. Threatening termination or implying penalties for non-payment of the increased rent before the effective date is unlawful.

Can a Tenant Refuse a Rent Increase?

Not exactly. A tenant can't unilaterally "refuse" a valid rent increase — if the notice complies with Section 24, the new rent becomes payable on the effective date, and not paying it creates arrears.

What a tenant can do:

Challenge the notice's validity. If the notice is procedurally defective — wrong notice period, served within 12 months of the last increase, missing mandatory content, or attempted during a fixed term without a review clause — it's void. The tenant simply continues paying the existing rent. No Tribunal application is needed to "refuse" an invalid notice; it has no legal force.

Challenge the amount as exceeding market rent. Under Section 25, a tenant can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for a determination that the new rent substantially exceeds market rent. The filing fee is $29 (from 1 July 2026). If the Tribunal agrees, it can set a lower rent. The tenant must keep paying the noticed amount in the interim unless a stay order is granted.

Negotiate informally. Nothing in the RTA prevents a tenant from asking the landlord to reconsider the amount. Many landlords agree to a smaller increase to avoid tribunal applications or tenant turnover, which typically costs 2–4 weeks of vacancy plus re-letting expenses.

Where the Boundaries Sit

Neither party can bypass the statutory framework. A rent increase must satisfy the 60-day written-notice requirement and the other Section 24 conditions. Tenants can't simply ignore a valid notice. Property managers can't override statutory frequency limits in a management contract.

The system is deliberately mechanical: verify, calculate, serve, log. Both parties know the rules; disputes arise almost entirely when one side doesn't follow them.

The NZ Rent Increases guide maps both landlord obligations and tenant challenge rights step by step, with a compliance checklist that covers every Section 24 requirement.

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