Landlording

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Friday, February 01, 2019

Peter Lewis: Insurer's duck-and-dive move can spell disaster for landlords and tenants

The basic principles of property insurance are relatively simple. Let us say that there are 100 houses in a town, and looking back over many years we find each year one of those houses burns down and then must be rebuilt at the owner’s cost. So each owner faces a one-in-a-hundred chance of incurring that expense. Of course, at 1% those odds are reasonably good, but if you are unlucky ... read more

Tuesday, December 18, 2018

Bonds: the new forms, data process and mistakes to avoid

Early this month, Tenancy Services released new versions of its bond forms. We have a quick chat with Allan Galloway, MBIE National Manager of Dispute Resolution about the new forms, how they improve on the bond process, common bond related mistakes and how to avoid them. Q: Tenancy Services recently revised its various bond forms. Are the new forms intended to improve th... read more

Tuesday, December 04, 2018

What is your policy?

During our everyday lives, we all need to interact with many businesses, some large and some small. As such, we will have invariably come across statements such as “Our policy is . . .” and “In order to comply with our policy, you must . . .” From the point of view of the organisation you are dealing with, this is good business practice. By pre-establishing a set of specific po... read more

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Have your say about these new tenancy forms

Tenancy Services is reaching out to APIA landlords for feedback on 4 Bond forms currently being re-designed. The exercise is to improve on the current forms by creating logical workflows that are easy to fill out but also collect the necessary information to progress each bond matter. The four forms are: Bond lodgement Bond refund Bond transfe... read more

Thursday, October 11, 2018

The thing about "no-cause" termination ...

Currently, hot news in the property world right now are the proposals to ‘reform’ the Residential Tenancies Act. A number of changes to this Act are under consideration, and of these changes, the "no cause" clause is likely to be the most problematic for landlords. The publicity around this proposal is – possibly deliberately – biased. There is actually no such thing as a “no cau... read more

Friday, August 24, 2018

Suze Ferry: Common reasons why rental insurance claims get rejected

Rental properties need a different insurance policy compared to owner-occupied homes. There are additional risks you’ll want covered and there are certain requirements your insurer will want you to meet too. Contrary to popular belief, insurers don’t want to decline claims! The policy wording/schedule is a contract, between you and your insurer; the contract defines what is and... read more

Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Suzanne Colson: Short-term tenants and insurance

If you plan on renting out a room or your house to short-term tenants, there are some things you need to consider. One of the most important is how it will affect your insurance cover. Non-Disclosure Failing to tell your insurance company about the change in occupancy could result in non-disclosure; which in turn could result in non-payment of a claim. Make sure you let your insurer k... read more

Thursday, July 26, 2018

A broken heater lead to a $2250 fine

By now, APIA landlords should be well aware of the 1947 Housing Improvement Regulations (HIR) and how it relates to s45 of the Residential Tenancies Act. The Tribunal, historically, has certainly not shied away from enforcing elements of the HIR especially as it relates to dampness. Increasingly, however, we are seeing it being relied on in decisions pertaining to deficient heating... read more

Friday, July 13, 2018

John Priest: Being a successful landlord, my way

Firstly, be careful who you accept as a tenant. Sorry property managers, but I insist on managing my own properties and I consider the most important aspect of this to be tenant selection. I want to meet prospective tenants and see if I have a good feeling about them. Whatever your instinct tells you it must be backed up with research. Once when I had had a shortage of... read more

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

15 tips to save money on repair and maintenance in between tenancies

Most landlords have a natural aversion to the idea of vacancy. No wonder. The property is sitting idle while rent has stopped coming in - what's to like?! Still, you mustn't be too downbeat. These downtimes are excellent opportunities for you to carry out vital repair and maintenance work and get your property to tip-top shape for the next tenant. Here are some clever and budget-... read more