[H & Rick]

Just finding out about rental properties an was wondering if this info was still correct, as we don't want to get taken advantage of when we get over there...:yes

Renting a property can be an expensive set up. The landlord usually asks you to pay a bond of up to 4 weeks rent (which can be refunded to you when you leave the property). The bond is kept with The Bond Centre, which is part of a government department called Ministry of Housing. Once your landlord has lodged your bond The Bond Centre will post you a receipt of your bond amount received and relevant information. When you leave the property the landlord and you must sign the bond form for you to obtain your money back. However, if you have missed rent payments or the property is left in a dirty state or requires repairs, the landlord may apply to The Tenancy Tribunal to have some or all of your Bond money issued to them to cover these costs.Rent is usually paid fortnightly in advance by automatic payment (set up with your bank account), and the landlord usually requests 2 weeks rent in advance before you shift into the property. Therefore if have agreed to rent a property for $200 per week you will be expected to pay the equivalent of 4 weeks rent for your bond ($800.00) plus two weeks rent in advance ($400.00). This means you are paying $1200.00 plus additional costs for any agent fees, connecting of power, telephone, etc. For this reason we strongly suggest that you choose carefully when deciding on a rental property when coming to live in New Zealand.

[IanW99]

The details you posted look good.

Few additional points:-

* Agent fees (if you use one) are normally one weeks rent + GST, so in your example would cost $225
* Telephone, Power and Gas connection would be approx $300.
* Depending on where you move to, you may find it very difficult to find a rental property for as cheap as $200 per week so would check out the area and budget accordingly.

Ian

[H & Rick]

Thanks Ian

Gives us an idea of the initial outlay.

[gonzo]

Also worth pointing out that if you have no payment history in NZ some power and telecommunications companies will also require a bond, which is repayable after a certain time or if you switch supplier. Just a few dollars more !!, from memory Telstra wanted $300 as a security payment when we first moved into a rental property.

[snailandthewhale]

we left our first rental quite quickly (!) and the Bond Centre were great, money refunded immeadiately, no probs.
I found out later that we could have "signed over" our initial bond to our second rental agency, instead of paying out 2 large sums in a short space of time and then applying to get the first lot back.

K

[H & Rick]

Thanks for the replies they are really useful.
snailandthewhale, let’s hope we are not in the same situation you were in, but that is really good to know.

[katiejay]

LJ Hooker are insisting on 100 points of evidence of identity for renting property in NZ. They give 50 for a passport and will accept some other documentation. I've emailed them to ask what UK documentation would be acceptable to them and how many points each is worth, and so far they've ignored my question. Is this the same with all real estate agents in NZ? If anyone has any recent experience, that would be helpful. Is it possible to rent without PR or work visa? We're going out on a visitor's visa and hope to get a job and work visa within a month/6 weeks of arrival, but would prefer to move into a house asap, rather than live in motels etc. If our PR comes through in time, I believe it's not such a problem as I think that counts for alot for utilities and landlords, but I'm being realistic and assuming it won't be ready for November when we fly out. :roll s

[willowshouse]

All agents are different - there is no norm.

Four weeks rent is a lot to pay for a bond .. I would stick my neck out and say it is often two weeks rent.

I have rented twice through an agent and once privately. I have paid the week's rent as a fee to the agency (plus GST) with each agent and the bond for all three has been two weeks rent.

It does not surprise me to hear that Hookers haven't replied .. the rental agents here are SHOCKING!!! Don't expect any customer service .. there is none.

TradeMe is a really good tool for finding a rental - and unless it's an agent (Ray White use TradeMe) then there will be no fee to pay.

Having PR shouldn't make any difference .. the rental agents here really aren't that thorough. I did give a photocopy of my passport to one agent .. but only the photo page. For utilities .. Mercury Energy didn't require a deposit .. Contact Energy did want one .. $100 .. Telecom didn't need one and neither did Sky. Costs for reconnection for Energy were $50 .. Telecom was $50 and Sky was $99.

If you want to be prepared then you could have ready .. bank statements, mortgage statements / old landlord's references .. there must be flexibility in the paperwork you can provide, there are too many immigrants here for there not to be flexibility.

Dawn

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

One thing we fell foul of when getting the bond back from or first rental that's worth being aware of:

Because both OH and I signed the rental agreement you need to ensure both sign the application for bond refund. We didn't realise this, and only OH signed. Waited ages for redund and finally called to query it. Thery explained I hadn't signed, sent a fax, payment back in 2 days.

Fine and easy to sort in the end, but nobody bothered to tell us we weren't going to get the bond back or that there was a problem that needed sorting.