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rental accommodation
Benefits of Renting
The majority of migrants choose to rent a house (long or
short term) when they first arrive in New Zealand. The benefits
of initially renting a house far out-weigh any long term
financial benefits of owning a home when first shifting to New
Zealand. People who have obtained permanent residency to New
Zealand usually arrive with little understanding of the good (and
not so good) areas to reside in, or which part of the country
will offer the best employment or education opportunities
suitable to them. For these reasons short or medium term rental
allows a new migrant the freedom to move to different parts of a
suburb, town, city or even the country without being committed to
a mortgage or owning a home that is no longer suitable to their
family requirements.
 New residents should be prepared to spend quality time looking
for a house to rent in New Zealand as prices and quality can vary
dramatically in many parts of a city. You can pretty much rent
any type of property your heart and wallet desire in New Zealand,
from stylish inner city apartments, little bedsits, spacious old
homes with large outdoor living areas or a lifestyle block on the
outskirts of town.
However finding furnished rental accommodation is far more
difficult and expensive. For this reason most people migrating to
New Zealand choose to bring a lot of their own furniture with
them, and sometimes when you are in a new country it is nice to
have your own bed and familiar belongings with you.
Rental Costs
The majority of rental properties in New Zealand are unfurnished
with items in them such as an oven, laundry facility, curtains
and carpet. If an advertisement for a rental property states it
has white ware this normally refers to such items as a fridge,
freezer, washing machine and a dryer.
The below is a list of the approximate average rental price (for
previous 6 months) for a standard unfurnished 3 bedroom house in
NZ dollars.
| location |
per week |
| Auckland Central |
$600.00 |
| Auckland North |
$450.00 |
| Auckland South |
$360.00 |
| Auckland West |
$375.00 |
|
| Wellington Hutt Valley |
$375.00 |
| Wellington Central |
$500.00 |
| Wellington Porirua City |
$340.00 |
|
| Nelson Central |
$360.00 |
|
| West Coast Westport |
$250.00 |
|
| Christchurch Riccarton |
$340.00 |
| Christchurch Central |
$440.00 |
| Christchurch Papanui |
$330.00 |
|
| Dunedin Mosgiel |
$250.00 |
| Dunedin St Clair |
$260.00 |
|
| Queenstown |
$470.00 |
|
| Invercargill |
$225.00 |
 Migrants also need to be aware of
additional costs that are incurred when renting a property. It is
your responsibility to organise and pay for the electricity,
telephone and any gas or water charges.
Many clients thinking of migrating to New Zealand want to know
where to look for New Zealand rental accommodation. Most rental
properties are advertised in newspapers in the To Let column or
at Letting Centres and with real estate agents. Many Letting
Centres charge you a one off fee to access their database of
rentals available but if you rent a property through a real
estate agent they will charge you a fee, which is usually the
equivalent of one weeks rent + GST. For example if you rent a
property that is $200 per week rental, then the real estate agent
may charge you a one off fee of $200 + GST (12.5%).
 Renting a property can be an expensive set up. The landlord
usually asks you to pay a bond of up to 4 weeks rent (which can
be refunded to you when you leave the property). The bond is kept
with The Bond Centre, which is part of a government department
called Ministry of Housing. Once your landlord has lodged your
bond The Bond Centre will post you a receipt of your bond amount
received and relevant information. When you leave the property
the landlord and you must sign the bond form for you to obtain
your money back. However, if you have missed rent payments or the
property is left in a dirty state or requires repairs, the
landlord may apply to The Tenancy Tribunal to have some or all of
your Bond money issued to them to cover these costs.
Rent is usually paid fortnightly in advance by automatic payment
(set up with your bank account), and the landlord usually
requests 2 weeks rent in advance before you shift into the
property. Therefore if have agreed to rent a property for $200
per week you will be expected to pay the equivalent of 4 weeks
rent for your bond ($800.00) plus two weeks rent in advance
($400.00). This means you are paying $1200.00 plus additional
costs for any agent fees, connecting of power, telephone, etc.
For this reason we strongly suggest that you choose carefully
when deciding on a rental property when coming to live in New
Zealand.
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