Landlord Will Not Fix It: What a NZ Tenant Can Actually Do

You reported it. Nothing happened. You reported it again. Still nothing. This is what the law actually gives you, in the order you should use it.

First, make the report provable

Before escalating, make sure there is a dated record. Under section 40(1)(d) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 you must notify the landlord as soon as possible after discovering damage or the need for repairs, and at the Tribunal the date you did that matters more than almost anything else.

If everything so far has been by phone, send a short written message now summarising it: what is wrong, when you first told them, and when. Attach photos. That single message converts a disputed memory into evidence.

What the landlord actually owes you

The core duty is section 45(1)(b): the landlord must provide and maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair, having regard to the age and character of the property. Alongside it sit the healthy homes standards (s45(1)(bb)), smoke alarms (s45(1)(ba)) and general building, health and safety requirements (s45(1)(c)).

Note the honest limits. There is no fixed statutory deadline. A 1920s villa is not held to new-build standards. "Reasonable" is judged on the fault: no hot water in winter is not a sticking wardrobe door.

The escalation ladder

1. A 14-day notice to remedy

This is a formal written notice giving the landlord 14 days to fix the breach. It should identify the property, state the breach (for example failure to maintain in a reasonable state of repair under s45(1)(b)), say what you want done, and be dated. Keep a copy and proof of delivery.

Many landlords act at this point simply because the notice signals you know the process.

2. Free mediation through Tenancy Services

If the 14 days pass, apply for mediation via Tenancy Services. It is free, much faster than a hearing, and a mediated agreement can be made binding. Most repair disputes end here.

3. The Tenancy Tribunal

The application fee is $28. The Tribunal can order the work done, award compensation, order a rent reduction for the period the property was substandard, and in serious cases end the tenancy.

Bring: your dated reports, photos with dates, the notice to remedy, any replies, and a short timeline. Adjudicators rarely have expert evidence about the fault itself; what they have is the timeline, and whoever documented theirs tends to win.

Doing it yourself and claiming it back

Section 45(1)(d) requires the landlord to compensate you for reasonable repair expenses, but only where all three are true:

1. the disrepair did not arise from you breaching the tenancy; and
2. it is likely to cause injury to persons or property, or is otherwise serious and urgent; and
3. you gave the landlord notice, or made a reasonable attempt to.

An emergency plumber at 11pm when nobody answered the phone: very likely covered. Replacing a tired dishwasher because you were fed up waiting: not covered. Keep the invoice and the record of your attempts to make contact.

Important: this is a claim for reimbursement. It is not authority to deduct the cost from your rent.

The one thing not to do

Do not withhold rent. It is the most common instinct and the most damaging. Rent arrears are a breach in their own right, they expose you to a 14-day notice and potentially termination, and they hand the landlord an argument at a hearing you would otherwise have won. Pay the rent. Escalate separately.

If you are the landlord reading this

Everything above is what happens when a report goes unanswered, and almost none of it is about the repair. The controllable steps are small:

• Acknowledge the same day, even if the fix is a fortnight out. Most adverse findings turn on silence, not delay.
• Be reachable. The third limb of s45(1)(d) is the one you influence: if a tenant can always reach a logged channel, "made a reasonable attempt to notify" resolves your way and you keep control of who does the work and at what price.
• Keep the dates. A dated log with the tradie assignment and completion note beats a screenshot of a text thread.

How RentManager changes this

Most of these disputes exist because the report and the response live in different phones. In RentManager the tenant raises the request from their portal with photos and it is timestamped on arrival, which is exactly what s40(1)(d) turns on. The landlord sees it in one queue, approves the spend and assigns a tradie, and each transition is dated. A year later, "when did you tell me" has an answer.

Related: who pays for rental repairs, what counts as urgent, and entry notice for repairs. Everything else is in the Landlord Hub.

Common questions

Can I stop paying rent until repairs are done in NZ?

No. Withholding rent is a breach of the tenancy in its own right, and it exposes you to a notice for rent arrears even when your complaint about the repair is entirely justified. It also weakens an otherwise strong Tribunal application. Keep paying and escalate through the proper route.

How do I write a 14-day notice to remedy?

It must be in writing, identify the property and the tenancy, state what the breach is (for example failing to maintain the premises in a reasonable state of repair under section 45(1)(b)), state what you want done, and give the landlord 14 days to do it. Keep a copy and proof of how you sent it.

How much does it cost to take a landlord to the Tenancy Tribunal?

The application fee is $28. Mediation through Tenancy Services is free and resolves most repair disputes without a hearing, so it is normally worth trying first.

Can I get the repair done and take it off the rent?

Not off the rent. Under section 45(1)(d) the landlord must compensate you for reasonable repair expenses where the disrepair was not caused by your breach, it is likely to cause injury to people or property or is otherwise serious and urgent, and you gave notice or reasonably tried to. That is a claim for reimbursement, not a licence to deduct.

General information about the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, current as at August 2026. Not legal advice; Tenancy Services can help with your situation.