PHOTO: Related video: Landlords’ concerns about new tenancy laws based on ‘misinformation’ – tenant group. The AM Show; Image – Getty
One of the biggest changes to tenancy laws this week has both tenants and landlords scratching their heads – what exactly constitutes a “minor change”?
From Thursday, if a tenant asks their landlord if they can make a “minor change” to the property, the latter cannot unreasonably say no.
The law outlines seven requirements a change must meet to be considered minor:
- they have to pose no more than a low-risk of damage to the property
- must be easily reversible
- must not pose a health and safety risk (including during installation and removal)
- must not compromise the building’s structural integrity or weathertightness
- must not need regulatory consent
- must not negatively affect third parties
- and can’t be in breach of bylaws, covenants or body corporate rules.
Aside from that, it’s up to tenants and landlords to figure it out for themselves – or if they can’t agree, go head-to-head at the Tenancy Tribunal.
“There’s certainly a lot of uncertainty for landlords around how it’s going to be interpreted in the tribunal,” Kristin Sutherland, president of the Auckland Property Investors’ Association, told The AM Show on Thursday.
“At the moment it feels like all the balls are in the air and we’re waiting for them to fall and see where they lie,” added Penny Arthur, spokesperson for the Tenants Protection Association (Christchurch).
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