Tenants liable for careless damage – to a point

Associate Minister of Housing Kris Faafoi said the legislation makes practical changes to the RTA to help ensure tenancy laws better reflect responsibility for careless damage of rental properties.

“These changes will provide greater certainty to landlords, minimise cost and risk, and ensure tenants have the right information when deciding if they will rent a property.”

Under the new legislation, tenants will be liable for careless damage of up to four weeks of rent or their landlord's insurance excess, whichever is lower. Their liability for careless damage will be capped at four weeks of market rent.

On introducing the Bill for its third reading, Faafoi said these liability settings strike an appropriate balance between keeping landlords' costs neutral as much as possible and incentivising tenants to take care of rental properties.