A law banning letting fees will take effect on Monday 12 December, which forces most of the larger property companies to review their charges and decide on a new charge for landlords to cover their cost of finding a tenant.

Harcouts will charge one week’s rent plus GST while Quinovic Group will charge a “tenancy fee” of $550 plus GST to landlords. We, Ruby Housing will continue on no-letting-fees policy as before.

Phil Twyford, Housing and Urban Development Minister, said the ban of letting fees would save tenants up to $47m a year and reduce the up-front costs of renting. However, there is a considerable adverse impact on tenants that landlords will potentially recover the charges by increasing rent.

Again, we still stick to “no letting fees” for our rental management. Maybe it’s time to talk to Ruby Housing about managing your properties, call (03-379 5033) or email (office@rubyhousing.co.nz) us at any time.

Reference: NZ Herald, “Letting fees replaced by ‘tenancy fees’ and ‘admin fees’ as property managers look to recoup costs”, Thursday, November 15, 2018