Boarding house owner obligations

Neil asks:
(updated on Monday, September 11th 2017)

What items must the landlord of a boarding house provide to the minimum six residents? Toilet tissue, light bulbs, smoke alarm batteries, dish washing liquid? What does the resident provide? I know about the main things, like furniture, but what about the little things?

Our Experts Answer:

The responsibilities of a landlord of a boarding house are spelled out in sections 66H, 66I and 66J of the Residential Tenancies Act.

Of the “little things” that you mention, the most important are smoke alarms. A boarding house landlord must ensure that these are installed and working at all times. If you are installing smoke alarms you must install those with a 10-year battery life.

Another major requirement is that the tenant’s room must be in a reasonable state of cleanliness and a reasonable state of repair. I suggest that a room without light bulbs is not in a reasonable state of repair.

For the other “little things” a bit of common sense and reason will answer your question… if you were in the tenant’s shoes, what would you expect to be provided?

Most Read

AIA - Go Home Loans 4.00
Unity First Home Buyer special 4.15
SBS FirstHome Combo 4.29
ICBC 4.49
Kainga Ora 4.59
SBS Bank Special 4.69
Unity Special 4.80
China Construction Bank 4.85
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 4.89
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 4.99
ASB Bank 4.99
China Construction Bank 4.95
Kainga Ora 4.95
ICBC 4.99
SBS Bank Special 5.29
Unity Special 5.29
Westpac Special 5.29
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 5.29
ANZ Special 5.35
ASB Bank 5.35
BNZ - Std 5.35
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.35
SBS Bank Special 5.49
ICBC 5.65
Kainga Ora 5.69
ASB Bank 5.75
BNZ - Std 5.75
AIA - Go Home Loans 5.75
Westpac Special 5.75
Kiwibank Special 5.89
Co-operative Bank - First Home Special 5.89
TSB Special 5.99
China Construction Bank 5.99
SBS FirstHome Combo 3.29
AIA - Back My Build 3.34
SBS Construction lending for FHB 3.79
CFML 321 Loans 4.20
ICBC 5.39
Co-operative Bank - Owner Occ 5.69
Co-operative Bank - Standard 5.69
Kainga Ora 5.79
Pepper Money Prime 5.99
Unity Standard 6.04
Unity Special 6.04