Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 NZ: What Changed for Landlords

The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 is the most significant change to New Zealand landlord-tenant law since the 2020 amendments that removed no-cause terminations. Enacted on 17 December 2024, the reforms rolled out in phases from January 2025 through December 2025. Here's what changed and when.

30 January 2025: The Big Termination Changes

The headline changes took effect on 30 January 2025:

90-day no-cause notice restored. Landlords can again end a periodic tenancy by giving 90 calendar days' written notice without stating a reason (Section 51(1)). This reverses the February 2021 ban on no-cause terminations. The retaliatory notice protections in Section 54 still apply — you can't use the 90-day notice as retaliation for a tenant exercising their rights.

42-day notice periods reduced. Before these changes, the notice periods for sale and owner-occupation grounds were longer. The 2024 Act set a uniform 42-day period for:

• Unconditional sale requiring vacant possession
• Owner or immediate family member moving in as principal residence
• Employee/contractor housing

The notice must state the specific ground.

Tenant periodic notice reduced to 21 days. Tenants ending a periodic tenancy now need to give just 21 calendar days' written notice, down from the previous 28 days. No reason required.

Fixed-term non-continuation without grounds. Landlords can end a fixed-term tenancy at expiry by serving a non-continuation notice within the 90-to-21-day window before the expiry date. No statutory ground is required — this was a significant change from the 2020 rules, which required specific reasons.

20 March 2025: Electronic Service and Smoking

Electronic addresses for Tribunal proceedings. The Tribunal can now accept and serve documents via electronic addresses. This doesn't change the rules for serving tenancy notices between landlord and tenant (which already allowed email to a designated address for service) but streamlines the Tribunal's own processes.

Indoor smoking prohibitions. Tenancy agreements can now include a clause prohibiting smoking inside the dwelling. Previously, this was a grey area.

1 July 2025: Healthy Homes Deadline

Healthy Homes Standards final compliance deadline. All private rentals must meet the Healthy Homes Standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, draught stopping, and moisture and drainage by 1 July 2025. Non-compliance can result in fines up to $7,200.

This isn't technically part of the 2024 Amendment Act, but it landed in the same compliance window and affects many of the same landlords.

1 December 2025: Pet Rules and Pet Bonds

Structured pet consent framework. Tenants can submit a formal request to keep a pet. Landlords must respond within a statutory timeframe and can only refuse on reasonable grounds. Unreasonably refusing a pet request is an infraction.

Pet bonds. Landlords can charge a pet bond of up to 2 weeks' rent where a pet is permitted, in addition to the standard bond (capped at 4 weeks' rent). Pet bonds are administered through Bond Hub like standard bonds.

Unauthorised pets. Keeping an unauthorised pet doesn't automatically end the tenancy. The landlord must issue a 14-day notice to remedy and follow the standard breach process.

What This Means for Notices Served Today

The controlling date is when you serve the notice, not when the tenancy agreement was signed. If you serve a notice on or after 30 January 2025, the new rules apply regardless of whether the tenancy started in 2020, 2018, or 2010.

For fixed-term tenancies specifically, the transitional rule is about the expiry date: terms expiring on or after 1 May 2025 follow the new framework (non-continuation without grounds); terms expiring before that date follow the previous rules.

What Didn't Change

Retaliatory notice protections (Section 54) — still in full force. A 90-day notice can still be challenged if issued after a tenant exercised their statutory rights.

Self-help eviction prohibition (Section 63) — still illegal to change locks, disconnect services, or remove belongings. Only the District Court can enforce a Possession Order.

Service deeming rules (Section 136) — the delivery method allowances (hand delivery same day, letterbox +2 working days, post +4 working days, email 5 PM cutoff) haven't changed.

Bond caps — standard bonds are still capped at 4 weeks' rent. The pet bond is additional but has its own 2-week cap.

Implementation Timeline at a Glance

Our Ending a Tenancy in New Zealand guide covers every notice route under the current rules, with date-calculation worksheets updated for the full 2024 Amendment Act framework.

See more New Zealand guides →