Landlord won’t do repairs in New Zealand, how to force the issue

Last updated 20 June 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

A leak that never gets fixed, a heat pump that has not worked all winter, a broken oven, mould creeping across a bedroom ceiling. Most tenants put up with far more than they have to, because they do not realise how clear the law is, or they try the wrong remedy and end up in trouble themselves. A landlord in New Zealand has a legal duty to keep the place in reasonable repair, and there is a defined process to force the issue that ends, if it has to, with the Tenancy Tribunal ordering the work done and your rent reduced until it is.

This guide explains exactly what your landlord must maintain, how to escalate when they will not, when you can get an urgent repair done and send them the bill, and the one mistake, withholding rent, that turns a strong case into a weak one. It is general information, not legal advice.

What your landlord must keep in repair

Under section 45 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, a landlord must provide the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness, keep them in a reasonable state of repair, and comply with all building, health and safety requirements, as well as the healthy homes standards. This duty runs for the whole tenancy, not just at the start, and the landlord cannot contract out of it. A clause in your tenancy agreement that tries to make you responsible for the landlord’s repairs has no effect.

What you are responsible for is narrower. You have to use the place in a reasonable way, tell the landlord promptly when something needs fixing, and pay for damage you or your guests cause beyond fair wear and tear, within the limits covered in our guide on getting your bond back. But the structure, the fixtures, the appliances the landlord supplied, the plumbing and wiring, the weathertightness and the healthy homes requirements are all the landlord’s to maintain.

Urgent versus non-urgent repairs

The path you take depends on how serious the problem is.

Urgent repairs are ones that cannot reasonably wait, because they affect health, safety or security, or risk further damage. A burst pipe, no hot water, a blocked drain or overflowing sewage, a gas leak, an electrical fault, a broken lock on an outside door, or a failed heater in the depths of winter are the kinds of things that count. These have their own fast process, below.

Non-urgent repairs are everything else, the things that should be fixed within a reasonable time but are not an emergency, such as a worn-out oven element, a dripping tap, a sticking window or a fence in disrepair. These go through the notice to remedy process.

Either way the landlord has to act within a reasonable time of being told, and what is reasonable depends on how serious the problem is. A failed heat pump in July is not something a landlord can sit on for two months.

Step one, put it in writing

Before anything else, report the problem to the landlord or property manager in writing, by email or text, even if you have already phoned. Describe the problem clearly, ask for it to be fixed, and date it. Take photos or video, especially of things like mould, leaks or damage, so the state of the problem is recorded.

This matters for two reasons. It starts the clock on the landlord’s reasonable time to act, and it is the evidence you will rely on if it ends up at the Tribunal. A landlord can claim they never knew about a problem you only ever mentioned in passing. They cannot claim that about an email. Keep every reply, and every non-reply, because silence is also evidence.

The 14-day notice to remedy

If you have reported a non-urgent repair and the landlord has not dealt with it in a reasonable time, the next step is a formal 14-day notice to remedy. This is a specific tool that puts the landlord on notice that they are in breach and gives them 14 days to fix it.

Tenancy Services publishes a 14-day notice to remedy template for exactly this. You fill in the breach, which is the landlord’s failure to keep the premises in reasonable repair, and what needs to be done, date it, and give it to the landlord. If they fix the problem within the 14 days, that is the end of it. If they do not, you have done the step that lets you apply to the Tenancy Tribunal, and you have created a clean record that you gave them a fair chance to put it right.

Urgent repairs and billing the landlord

For urgent repairs you do not have to wait out a 14-day notice. The law lets you get an urgent repair done and recover the reasonable cost from the landlord, provided you have made reasonable efforts to tell them first.

The sequence is this. Contact the landlord or property manager straight away and give them a fair chance to arrange the repair themselves. If you genuinely cannot reach them, or they will not act and the problem cannot wait, you can arrange for a suitably qualified person, such as a registered plumber or electrician, to do the necessary work. Keep the invoice and your record of trying to contact the landlord, and the landlord is then liable to reimburse you the reasonable cost. The key words are reasonable cost and reasonable efforts. This is for getting a burst pipe stopped or hot water restored, not for a discretionary upgrade, and you should not spend more than the situation needs.

If the landlord then refuses to pay you back, that reimbursement is itself something the Tribunal can order.

Do not withhold rent

This is the mistake that sinks otherwise strong cases, so it gets its own section. However badly the landlord is behaving, do not stop paying rent, and do not dock the rent yourself to make up for the problem. There is no right to withhold rent in New Zealand tenancy law, and if you do, you put yourself in breach. The landlord can then give you a 14-day notice for the arrears and move to end the tenancy, and your repair complaint gets tangled up in your own rent default.

Keep paying the rent in full and on time, and pursue the repair through the proper channels. If the home has been less than you are paying for, the remedy is a rent reduction ordered by the Tribunal, backdated where appropriate, not a reduction you decide on yourself. Doing it the right way keeps the fault firmly on the landlord’s side of the ledger.

The Tenancy Tribunal, work orders and compensation

If the notice to remedy does not work, the Tenancy Tribunal is where it is resolved, and its powers are exactly what a stuck tenant needs. Most matters go through free mediation with Tenancy Services first, which often settles things, and what is not settled goes to a hearing. It is informal and you do not need a lawyer.

The Tribunal can make a work order requiring the landlord to carry out the repairs by a set date. It can order a rent reduction for the period the home was not up to standard, so you effectively get money back for what you were overpaying. It can award compensation for loss you suffered, such as damaged belongings from a leak or the cost of running extra heating because the heat pump was broken. And where the landlord’s failure is an unlawful act, such as breaching the healthy homes standards, it can order exemplary damages as a penalty on top.

Bring your written repair requests, the photos, the 14-day notice, your rent records and any quotes or invoices. The tenant who documented everything almost always does better than the one relying on memory.

Healthy homes, the standards your home must meet

Some of the most common repair fights are really healthy homes issues, and since 1 July 2025 every private rental in New Zealand has had to comply with the healthy homes standards. There is no longer any phase-in. If your rental does not meet them, the landlord is in breach now.

The standards cover five things.

• Heating. A fixed heater that can heat the main living room to 18 degrees, large enough for the room.
• Insulation. Ceiling and underfloor insulation meeting the required standard.
• Ventilation. Openable windows in living rooms and bedrooms, and extractor fans in kitchens and bathrooms.
• Moisture and drainage. Efficient drainage and guttering, and a ground moisture barrier under suspended floors where needed.
• Draught stopping. No unreasonable gaps and holes that cause draughts, and any unused open fireplaces blocked off.

A landlord must also include a healthy homes compliance statement in the tenancy agreement. If your home falls short of any of these, the same process applies. Put it in writing, use a 14-day notice, and apply to the Tribunal, where healthy homes non-compliance is treated as an unlawful act that carries a penalty of up to $7,200 on top of any work order.

The takeaway

You do not have to live with a rental that the landlord will not maintain, and you do not have to be confrontational to get it fixed. Report it in writing, give a 14-day notice if you are ignored, get urgent work done and bill the landlord when it genuinely cannot wait, and take it to the Tribunal if it comes to that, where you can get the work ordered, your rent reduced and compensation paid. The only thing not to do is stop paying rent. Keep that one rule, keep your paper trail, and the law does the rest.

Related guides

• Your rights as a tenant in New Zealand
• Being evicted in New Zealand, notice periods and how to fight it
• How to get your bond back in New Zealand

Frequently asked questions

What can I do if my landlord will not do repairs in New Zealand

Report it in writing, then if it is ignored give a 14-day notice to remedy. If the landlord still does nothing, apply to the Tenancy Tribunal, which can order the repairs done with a work order, reduce your rent until they are, and award compensation. For urgent repairs you can arrange the work and recover the reasonable cost. Do not withhold rent.

Can I stop paying rent until repairs are done

No. There is no right to withhold rent in New Zealand, and doing so puts you in breach and at risk of a termination for arrears. Keep paying the rent in full and pursue the repair through a 14-day notice and the Tribunal, which can order a backdated rent reduction if the home was not up to standard.

Can I get urgent repairs done and charge the landlord

Yes, for genuinely urgent repairs such as a burst pipe, no hot water, a gas or electrical fault or an insecure door. Make reasonable efforts to contact the landlord first, and if you cannot reach them or they will not act, arrange a qualified person to do the necessary work and keep the invoice. The landlord is liable to reimburse the reasonable cost.

How long does a landlord have to fix a repair

Within a reasonable time of being told, which depends on how serious the problem is. An urgent repair affecting health, safety or security must be dealt with quickly, while a minor non-urgent repair has more leeway. A 14-day notice to remedy sets a firm deadline once a reasonable time has already passed.

Does my rental have to have a heater and insulation

Yes. Since 1 July 2025 all private rentals must meet the healthy homes standards, which include a fixed heater able to warm the main living room to 18 degrees, ceiling and underfloor insulation, ventilation, moisture control and draught stopping. A rental that does not comply is in breach, and the landlord can face a penalty of up to $7,200 on top of being ordered to fix it.

My landlord gave me notice after I asked for repairs, is that allowed

It may be a retaliatory eviction, which is unlawful. If a termination notice was given because you exercised a right such as asking for repairs, you have 28 working days to apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to have it declared retaliatory and of no effect. See our guide on being evicted in New Zealand.

Who pays for damage I caused

You are responsible for damage you or your guests cause beyond fair wear and tear, but for careless or accidental damage your liability is capped at the lesser of four weeks’ rent or the landlord’s insurance excess. Ordinary wear and tear, and the maintenance of things the landlord supplied, remain the landlord’s responsibility. See our guide on getting your bond back for the detail.

Have you forced a landlord to do repairs in New Zealand, or won a rent reduction at the Tribunal? Tell us how it went in the comments below.