# house rental time



## Patrick. (Jan 30, 2015)

hi.
Would like some info. on house rentals in NZ. If i was to see a house i liked for rent what are the actual processes id have to go through and length of time before i could move into the property?
Alot of houses i see online mention to fill in applications or apply for viewings. This seems time consuming especially when i get to NZ and i am starting straight into work. I don't want to be wasting money on staying in hotels. 
Any info. would be appreciated.


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

Patrick. said:


> hi.
> Would like some info. on house rentals in NZ. If i was to see a house i liked for rent what are the actual processes id have to go through and length of time before i could move into the property?
> Alot of houses i see online mention to fill in applications or apply for viewings. This seems time consuming especially when i get to NZ and i am starting straight into work. I don't want to be wasting money on staying in hotels.
> Any info. would be appreciated.


Itll be almost impossible to secure a rental if you aren't here in person unless you go for a fully furnished holiday home or Bach. Majority of houses are offered for rent by an agent with a minimum initial contract period 6 months or 12 months.
The agent will not take any interest in you whatsoever if you haven't pre-filled a rental application form with lots of personal details on there and a couple of forms of ID. These are usually available on the agents website.
Once you've done this the agent will normally get in touch to speak to you and arrange a viewing. If you aren't here this is where you'll fail as when the agent spots an international number theyll skip you as theyll know you arent in the country and there'll be plenty of other people interested who are here in person.

If you are here and get to view you make it known whether you want the property or not then it's up to the agent to decide who they offer it to as theyll have a number of applicants wanting the property. It's not just as simple as saying I'll have it. They pick you, not the other way round.
If offered and you accept the first thing they'll ask for is a letting fee which is one week rent plus GST. They'll then get on to check you out and your references. If all good then you'll agree a date to carry out a pre-move inspection and a move in date. There may be a delay here as the property will still likely be tenanted or still under a tenants responsibility so all this could take a couple of weeks or a month. The inspection is your chance to point out all issues or damage etc. When youve done this and both you and the agent happy you'll need to pay a bond which will be equal to 3 or 4 weeks rent plus the advance rent payment which may be 1 or 2 weeks rent.
The bond is lodged with the government and they keep hold of it in trust until you come to leave. If there's any damage and you are liable then the agent can use some or all of your bond to put things right.
The advance rent pays for your first week or first fortnight up front.
Rent is normally paid weekly or sometimes fortnightly. Salaries are generally paid fortnightly here.
On moving day then you should also start paying rent to maintain the period in advance.
So to sum up your likely to pay minimum 5 weeks rent up front (3 weeks bond, 1 week letting fee + gst and 1week in advance) or maximum 7 weeks rent up front (4 weeks bond, 1 week letting fee +GST and 2 weeks in advance). The law states you can't be asked for more than 4 weeks bond.

Can be a minefield. We've rented 4 properties now and not counting the first since that was a fully furnished holiday home and secured by a simple online booking the others have been a nightmare to secure. It's just so out of your hands and you'll never know if you'll get the offer until the phone rings.

The place you want to rent can also have an impact.
I've heard agents in Christchurch are offering properties at an indicative price then auctioning the rental off to whoever will pay the most.


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## Patrick. (Jan 30, 2015)

wow. that's alot to renting a house. It could really take a month? I was hoping within a week or 2 at most. Thought it wouldn't be that hard to get a place since there are alot of properties online on various websites. But is good to know it'll drag out a bit. 
Thanks for the response.


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

Patrick. said:


> wow. that's alot to renting a house. It could really take a month? I was hoping within a week or 2 at most. Thought it wouldn't be that hard to get a place since there are alot of properties online on various websites. But is good to know it'll drag out a bit.
> Thanks for the response.


Yeah for sure sometimes longer. Just as an example, we secured the house we are in now around 10th September but we couldn't move in till 11th November as it was still tenanted and their contract only ended at the beginning of November. The family then had to empty the house and clean it, do the exit inspection and sign it off before we could go in so our wait was around 8 or 9 weeks.
If the property is empty then you'll be able to move in pretty quick but there ain't many empty rentals out there.


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## simply me (Sep 17, 2013)

escapedtonz said:


> Itll be almost impossible to secure a rental if you aren't here in person unless you go for a fully furnished holiday home or Bach. Majority of houses are offered for rent by an agent with a minimum initial contract period 6 months or 12 months. The agent will not take any interest in you whatsoever if you haven't pre-filled a rental application form with lots of personal details on there and a couple of forms of ID. These are usually available on the agents website. Once you've done this the agent will normally get in touch to speak to you and arrange a viewing. If you aren't here this is where you'll fail as when the agent spots an international number theyll skip you as theyll know you arent in the country and there'll be plenty of other people interested who are here in person. If you are here and get to view you make it known whether you want the property or not then it's up to the agent to decide who they offer it to as theyll have a number of applicants wanting the property. It's not just as simple as saying I'll have it. They pick you, not the other way round. If offered and you accept the first thing they'll ask for is a letting fee which is one week rent plus GST. They'll then get on to check you out and your references. If all good then you'll agree a date to carry out a pre-move inspection and a move in date. There may be a delay here as the property will still likely be tenanted or still under a tenants responsibility so all this could take a couple of weeks or a month. The inspection is your chance to point out all issues or damage etc. When youve done this and both you and the agent happy you'll need to pay a bond which will be equal to 3 or 4 weeks rent plus the advance rent payment which may be 1 or 2 weeks rent. The bond is lodged with the government and they keep hold of it in trust until you come to leave. If there's any damage and you are liable then the agent can use some or all of your bond to put things right. The advance rent pays for your first week or first fortnight up front. Rent is normally paid weekly or sometimes fortnightly. Salaries are generally paid fortnightly here. On moving day then you should also start paying rent to maintain the period in advance. So to sum up your likely to pay minimum 5 weeks rent up front (3 weeks bond, 1 week letting fee + gst and 1week in advance) or maximum 7 weeks rent up front (4 weeks bond, 1 week letting fee +GST and 2 weeks in advance). The law states you can't be asked for more than 4 weeks bond. Can be a minefield. We've rented 4 properties now and not counting the first since that was a fully furnished holiday home and secured by a simple online booking the others have been a nightmare to secure. It's just so out of your hands and you'll never know if you'll get the offer until the phone rings. The place you want to rent can also have an impact. I've heard agents in Christchurch are offering properties at an indicative price then auctioning the rental off to whoever will pay the most.



Do the references have to be in NZ? Seeing that, well, we don't know anyone there.


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

simply me said:


> Do the references have to be in NZ? Seeing that, well, we don't know anyone there.


Nope they can be from overseas. If you've never rented they can be character ones from the vicar, the bank, people in authority you've known years etc.


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## Patrick. (Jan 30, 2015)

are references an absolute necessity. wold they actually refuse you a property if you don't have any?


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## escapedtonz (Apr 6, 2012)

Patrick. said:


> are references an absolute necessity. wold they actually refuse you a property if you don't have any?


Not "refuse". More likely they'd offer it to someone else. People with an edge will always get a property over you. Just like in a job.
As far as I know references are generally required. We were just lucky with our first rental as we'd already rented a holiday home for 8 weeks so did have references but it was a private tenancy directly between us and the owner/landlord so after a meeting at the house he was happy and didn't bother checking our references and obviously he became the referee for our next property and so on.


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## Patrick. (Jan 30, 2015)

yeah your right its just like applying for a job!!! i think i got the job easier  
Guess ill bring the references.


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## Kimbella (Jul 4, 2013)

Patrick. said:


> hi.
> Would like some info. on house rentals in NZ. If i was to see a house i liked for rent what are the actual processes id have to go through and length of time before i could move into the property?
> Alot of houses i see online mention to fill in applications or apply for viewings. This seems time consuming especially when i get to NZ and i am starting straight into work. I don't want to be wasting money on staying in hotels.
> Any info. would be appreciated.


You could also check out what's available on AirBnB, my husband and I have used them several times with great success, mostly in Aus, but a few times here in NZ as well. You may find an empty home to stay in, or a shared arrangement, but either way, it might be cheaper than a hotel, as well as more flexible in general.


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