Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 is New Zealand legislation that amends the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. It reintroduces 90-day no-cause termination notices for periodic tenancies, shortens several notice periods, and enables landlords to charge a pet bond, with most changes taking effect across 2025.
The Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2024 amends the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, the principal statute governing residential tenancies in New Zealand. It is administered through Tenancy Services, with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development responsible for the underlying policy. The amendments rebalance several landlord and tenant provisions introduced by earlier reforms.
Key changes include the reintroduction of 90-day termination notices that do not require a stated reason for periodic tenancies, a shorter 42-day notice for specified landlord circumstances (such as a sale requiring vacant possession or an owner moving in), changes to notice periods for fixed-term and periodic tenancies, and — from late 2025 — the ability for landlords to require a pet bond of up to a prescribed amount alongside expanded rules on consenting to pets. Most operative provisions commence across 2025.
Records a New Zealand landlord should keep aligned to the amended Act: the current tenancy agreement, any pet consent and pet bond records lodged with Tenancy Services, termination notices citing the correct provision and notice period, evidence supporting any 42-day ground claimed, and the service evidence proving when and how a notice was given. Keeping the notice tied to the document that proves the ground is what makes a later Tenancy Tribunal question answerable.
Primary source
Ministry of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) →Last reviewed 21 May 2026. Rates, thresholds, and deadlines change — always verify against the primary source before making decisions.
Related terms
Running rentals in New Zealand?
Proppi reads your tenancy agreements, Healthy Homes evidence, and Inland Revenue-relevant records — and surfaces every notice date, deadline, and bright-line property rule event with a page citation.