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.
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 per week for a standard
unfurnished 3 bedroom house in NZ dollars.
| Auckland Central
$490.00 |
West Coast
Buller $142.00 |
| Auckland North
$370.00 |
Christchurch
Riccarton $280.00 |
| Auckland South
$285.00 |
Christchurch
Central $350.00 |
| Auckland West
$320.00 |
Christchurch
Papanui $300.00 |
| Wellington Lower
Hutt $350.00 |
Dunedin Mosgiel
$220.00 |
| Wellington Upper
Hutt $245.00 |
Dunedin St Clair
$245.00 |
| Wellington Mt
Victoria $435.00 |
Queenstown
$380.00 |
| Nelson Central
$270.00 |
Invercargill
$195.00 |
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.
Accommodation
websites in New Zealand
