Buying guide
How to find private rentals in NZ?
Cut out the middleman and rent right from your landlord
Last updated: 13 June 2024
Finding private rentals in NZ can be tricky - these days it seems like the vast majority of landlords hire property managers to look after their properties. To make it easier we’ve put together a short guide.
Find private landlord rentals in NZ
Finding private owner rentals in NZ is easy if you know where to look. The best place to get started is Trade Me Property:
Input details around location and type of property.
Pop the keyword private listing in the search bar.
Hit enter or search.
Private rentals in New Zealand may get snapped up quickly so it’s worth saving your search to make life easier. To do this just hit the ‘Save this search’ button to the right of the search bar. You’ll get emails at a frequency of your choice providing updates on new private rentals in NZ.
At the time of writing there were several quality rentals available from private landlords, including a five bedroom, brand new townhouse in Albany, Auckland, a sundrenched villa in Brooklyn Wellington and a tidy two bedroom home in Marshland.
Why rent from a private landlord?
As a tenant of most rental properties you won't ever have contact with the landlord. Instead you’ll deal with a property manager who acts on the landlord's behalf for all matters relating to the property - whether you need something fixed, you’ve got a question or you’re providing notice.
Private landlords have chosen to manage their property themselves, without a property manager and you’ll be dealing directly with them. Quite a lot of retirees manage their own properties because they have more time on their hands.
A Consumer NZ survey found that 54% of tenants were satisfied with the service they received from private landlords, compared with 35% who were happy with property managers. Tenants also tend to report better value for money and property condition when renting directly via a private landlord. This makes sense - the landlord has a vested interest in keeping you happy since they own the home and receive the rental income.
And why not choose a private rental?
You should keep in mind that restricting your search to properties managed by private landlords will limit your available choices. Depending on where you live, it may make it difficult or impossible to find the right property for you.
What’s more, private landlords may not have the knowledge of NZ rental law that most property managers do. For that reason it’s a good idea to be aware of your rights (and be prepared to ensure they’re respected) before signing any tenancy agreement.
If you get locked out of your home at 2am or the pipes burst under the floor it may also take longer to get ahold of your landlord and get the problem fixed, since many property management companies have 24 hour helplines for tenant emergencies.
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