Tenancy agreement
Your tenancy agreement is a legal document. It tells you what you should expect from us and what we expect from you.
To help you get to know your agreement, we’ve created a video to walk you through the sign-up process.
Te aratohu whakaaetanga retihanga
Ki te taha o te ataata nā mātou hoki i hanga tētahi Aratohu ki te mārama ki tō whakaaetanga retihanga [PDF, 1.4 MB]
He whakarāpopoto o te Residential Tenancies Act
Kei reira te Residential Tenancies Act hei whakahaumaru i ngā kairēti, i ngā kairetiwhare hoki, ā, e hāngai atu ana ki tēnā, ki tēnā e whai wāhi ana ki te rēti i tētahi kāinga.
Ka āwhina tō whakaaetanga retihanga i a mātou ki te whakarite e whakatutuki ana mātou i ngā here o te Residential Tenancies Act, ā, i ētahi wā ka whakamāramatia ngā kaupapa pērā i te wāhi e pai ana te whakatū i tō waka, ā, mēnā rānei e pai ana tō whai mōkai.
Me waitohu e kōrua ko tō Kaitoko Kāinga, ko tētahi atu mema rōpū nō Kāinga Ora, te Whakaaetanga retihanga i mua i tō hūnuku mai. Ka whakaritea hoki e mātou kei a koe tētahi tārua hei pupuri.
Ā mātou kawenga
Mēnā ka uru atu mātou ki tētahi whakaaetanga retihanga ki a koe, mā mātou:
- e whakarite he haumaru, he whita tō kāinga, ā, he pai tōna āhuatanga
- e whakatutuki tō kāinga i ngā tikanga hanga me ngā paerewa mō te hauora me te haumaru
- e whakarite kia whakamahia ngā whakatikahanga waiwai hei te wā tino tata ka taea
- e hoatu te whakamōhiotanga e 24 hāora i mua i te whakamahi i ngā mahi tautiaki kua whakamaheretia
- e hoatu te whakamōhiotanga e 48 hāora i mua i tētahi toronga ā-tau.
E haepapa ana a Kāinga Ora mō te tautiaki i tō papanoho engari kāore mātou i te haepapa mō te tūkinotanga, mō te ahi, mō te tāhae rānei i ō taputapu, i ō rawa rānei. E aki ana mātou kia whakarite koe i te rīanga taonga whare hei tiaki i tēnei.
Mēnā ki ō whakaaro kāore mātou i te whakatutuki i ā mātou kawenga, whakapā mai ki a mātou kia taea te mahi ngātahi hei whakatika.
Ngā kawenga kairēti
Mā te waitohu i tō whakaaetanga retihanga, kei a koe te tika ki te noho i te rangimārie, i te āhuru, i te tūmataiti o tō kāinga, horekau te kaitorohi mai a Kāinga Ora, a ētahi atu kairēti, kiritata rānei.
Hei kaireti a Kāinga Ora, e tono ana mātou kia pēnei koe:
- ka utu i tō rēti i te wā tika
- ka manaaki i tō kāinga, i tō whenua mā te whakarite kia tika tonu
- ka whakamōhio mai ki a mātou hei te wā tino tata ka taea ina hiahiatia te tautiaki
- ka tū haepapa mō te whanonga o ērā atu tāngata e noho ana i tō kāinga, e toro atu ana rānei. Ka herea pea koe mō te tūkinotanga ka pūtakea e rātou
- ka whakaute i te rangimārie, i te āhuru, i te tūmataiti hoki a ō kiritata
E hiahia ana mātou ki te āwhina i a koe kia noho haumaru ahi i tō kāinga. Ka taea hoki e koe te āwhina i a mātou mā:
- te whakamōhio mai ki a mātou hei te wā tino tata ka taea mēnā ka mutu te mahi a tētahi o ō pūoho auahi. Waea mai ki a mātou mēnā e pīpī ana tō pūoho, kāore he take - he mea nui kia kaua ngā pūoho auahi e tīkina iho, e tangohia rānei ngā pāteri, ā, ka taea e mātou te āwhina i a koe ki te whakatika.
- te whakamahere i te ara ki te paheko atu i tētahi ahi, me te whakarite:
- ka noho wātea tonu ngā ara paheko (kāore ngā mea e puritia ana ki ngā kaupae, ki ngā kauhanganui hoki)
- e wātea ana ngā kūaha puta auahi i ngā ārai
- ka noho kati ngā kūaha whakahaere-auahi me te aukati-ahi, mēnā kei a koe ētahi.
Mēnā ka ngaro ō kī, kua rakaina atu koe i tō kāinga, e wātea ana koe ki te whakarite i tētahi ringarehe kī māu anō, engari he pai hoki te waea mai ki a mātou ki te hiahia āwhina koe.
Te tuku urupare
E hiahia ana mātou ki te āhei kia pai te noho i tō kāinga, nō reira tēnā whakamōhiotia mai mēnā kāore tētahi āhuatanga i te tika. He mea nui tō urupare ki a mātou nā te mea he mea āwhina ki a mātou ki te ako he aha me whakapai ake.
Arā ētahi ara māu hei whakapā mai, ā, ka whakapau kaha mātou kia whakahoki kōrero ki a koe i roto tonu i te rua rā mahi.
If part of your tenancy agreement isn’t being met, but you may be able to get it sorted, we’ll ask you to fix the problem within 14 days.
If you hasn't been fixed after that, we will ask the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment for mediation. We’ll always aim to solve any problems by working with you, but if we can’t find a solution we sometimes need to go to the Tenancy Tribunal.
Sometimes things don’t quite go to plan, so let us know if you're having difficulty paying your rent. We’ll help you however we can, and may be able to offer things like:
- easier ways to pay any money you owe
- suggestions to help you with budgeting your money.
Mediation
When two people don’t agree how to solve a problem, it often helps to discuss it with someone who isn’t personally involved. That’s what a mediator does – they’re trained to remain neutral and find a solution that works for everyone. For more information about mediation, contact the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Tenancy Services(external link) on 0800 TENANCY (0800 83 62 62).
The Tenancy Tribunal
Like a mediator, the The Tenancy Tribunal hears both sides of a problem to help find a fair solution. Its decisions are legally binding, and can be used to formalise what is agreed at mediation or make a final decision if mediation doesn’t work out.
Kāinga Ora will always try to work with you first, and only make applications to the Tenancy Tribunal when things can’t be resolved another way. Applications could be made where someone:
- owe more than 21 days' rent
- has caused or threatened to cause substantial damage to their home or garden
- has assaulted or threatened to assault a Kāinga Ora staff member or neighbour
- has had 14 days' notice to do something under the tenancy agreement but hasn't done it
- has broken one or more of the terms of their tenancy agreement with us and the problem cannot be resolved
- has used or allowed their home to be used for illegal activities.
For more information about the Tenancy Tribunal, contact the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Tenancy Services(external link) on 0800 TENANCY (0800 83 62 62).
Independent advice for tenants
We want to help you however we can, so give us a call if you have any problems with Kāinga Ora. If you’re not happy after working with us directly, you have the right to apply for mediation or a Tenancy Tribunal hearing. It costs $20 to apply, and you can find forms and information at all Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment offices.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment(external link) also provides free advice for tenants.
Page updated: 4 May 2026