I’ve Just Received an End of Tenancy Notice, Now What?
Receiving notice from your tenant doesn’t have to mean stress and lost income. Understanding the process—from how much notice to give a landlord to securing quality tenants quickly—protects your investment.
With the right approach, you can minimise vacancy and find even better tenants than before. If you’re a landlord who’s just been given notice, you’re in luck! Below, we dive into your next steps.
Understanding Tenancy Notice Requirements in New Zealand
How Much Notice to Give a Landlord?
In New Zealand, written notice is required from tenants to terminate their tenancy. The general guidelines are:
- Periodic Tenancies: At least 21 days’ notice.
- Fixed-Term Tenancies: Notice must be given no later than 21 days and no earlier than 90 days before the end of the fixed term (otherwise it becomes periodic).
Valid notice must be in writing—such as an email, letter, or through Tenancy Services' online form. Verbal notice does not count. Landlords have different notice periods, typically 90 or 42 days depending on circumstances.
Your Immediate Action Plan:
Taking immediate action when a tenant is giving notice to end a tenancy sets you up for a smooth transition and minimal vacancy time.
Assessment & Planning
Understanding how much notice tenants have to give landlords is crucial for your planning timeline. With the immediate steps handled and your notice period confirmed, you can review your tenancy agreement and identify any necessary repairs or upgrades.
Consider improvements that could justify a rent increase or attract higher-quality tenants. Work backwards from the end date to schedule cleaning, repairs, and marketing—early planning minimises vacancy and speeds up the transition to your next tenant.
Preparing for the End of Tenancy
Arrange the outgoing inspection, giving your tenant at least 48 hours’ notice and using your ingoing condition report to compare the property’s current state. Document everything with photos and videos, address any urgent maintenance issues, and arrange professional end-of-tenancy cleaning to prepare your property for its next tenant.
The Exit Process
To finalise the exit process, complete these last steps:
- Conduct the final inspection comparing against the ingoing report.
- Take the final meter readings.
- Process the bond return through Tenancy Services (or lodge a claim if needed).
- Collect all keys, remotes, and access cards.
- Document any damage that’s beyond fair wear and tear.
Preparing for Your New Tenants
Thorough Tenant Selection
Rushing to fill vacancies after receiving notice often leads to costly problems down the track. Quality tenant selection is essential, and Reforma's screening process includes background checks, tribunal searches, credit assessments, and rental references.
Our zero-tolerance approach to rent arrears achieves a 0.7% arrears rate, compared to the industry average of 2.5%.
Effective Marketing
With your tenant giving notice to end a tenancy, fast and effective marketing minimises vacancy time, with quality photography and video walkthroughs attracting better tenants faster.
With Reforma, we advertise your property across multiple platforms and offer professional photography and 360° video walkthroughs as part of our comprehensive package.
Viewing and Application Process
Streamlined viewing management helps you rent your property faster. With automated booking systems, landlords can allow prospective tenants to schedule viewings without the lengthy back-and-forth, while regular feedback keeps you informed of interest.
Efficient application processing and thorough screening will help secure quality tenants quickly, reducing the time your property sits vacant and preventing a loss in income.
Minimising Vacancy Periods
With how much notice tenants have to give landlords, there’s a tight timeline to prepare your property and secure new tenants—every day your property is empty means more lost income.
Start marketing before the current tenancy ends—you can advertise and conduct viewings while your property is still occupied, so long as you give proper notice to tenants. Prepare the property immediately after exit, addressing repairs and cleaning without delay and price it competitively based on current market rates, rather than what you’d like to achieve.
Professional short-term rental management can minimise vacancy through dedicated resources, multi-platform marketing, and efficient processes that keep properties off the market for minimal time.
Increasing Rent
The end of tenancy is a great time to reassess your rental price. Some key considerations include:
- Legal requirements: You can only increase rent every 12 months and must provide proper written notice.
- Market alignment: Use a Comparative Market Assessment (CMA) to determine current market rates in your area.
- Strategic timing: New tenancies allow you to set competitive rates without negotiating increases with existing tenants.
- Balance: If you price too high, you’ll extend your vacancy period; price competitively, and you’ll secure quality tenants fast.
An annual CMA with evidence from current listings and suburb bond data will ensure your rental price maximises returns while remaining competitive in the market.
How Professional Property Management Helps
When does a tenant have to give notice? How can I effectively market my property? With a property management agency, you don't need to worry. Here’s how we handle it: