Extensive cigarette damage to the carpets of a rental property, which had a ban on smoking in the tenancy agreement, qualifies as accidental damage by the tenants, the High Court has ruled.

There was a strong pre-Christmas lift in consent issuance with the national total hitting a 13 year high while Auckland consents reached a 15 year high.

Taking a pet-friendly approach to rental property can deliver significant benefits to landlords - if done properly, according to one property management company.

Ownership of rental properties could finally be losing its appeal for mum and dad investors, according to the head of a prominent peer-to-peer lender.

Property values around most of the country continued to increase in 2017 but the rate of growth has slowed to a crawl and sales have plummeted.

Most rental properties don’t allow pets but change could be in the air following government confirmation of a new, more lenient pet policy for Housing NZ tenants.

New listings slumped to the lowest level on record in December while the total amount of housing stock on the market is growing.

Rent rises and a surge of interest in new builds are likely to be on the cards in 2018, industry commentators are predicting.

Turbulence and upheaval characterised 2017 and housing relating issues were one of the issues of the year – but much of the news was not good for investors.

Advisers are being urged to avoid the tick-box mentality when it comes to identifying clients who might qualify for a specialist loan.

Concerns over engineering and construction capacity have led the government to make changes to their unreinforced masonry securing initiative.

There’s evidence of the housing market’s Spring rebound in the Reserve Bank’s latest mortgage lending data – but it’s not property investors who have significantly upped their borrowing.

The government is rushing into its housing policy agenda at full throttle with several notable announcements coming in the week before Christmas.

The Reserve Bank’s easing of the LVRs has prompted New Zealand’s biggest bank to follow suit and loosen up its lending requirements.

New Zealand’s record breaking migration flow – which has been contributing to high housing demand - looks to have plateaued, albeit at historically high levels.

Legislation banning foreign buyers from purchasing existing homes is being rushed through Parliament, after passing its first reading last night.