Renting
When we started our housing search in Auckland, I was terrified. There are so many horror stories! I’ve heard many people complain about all sorts of things: the cost, the quality, the availability, and the amenities. There is some truth to all of these complaints, but we didn’t find the process nearly as arduous as we were led to believe. In the end, we ended up in an amazing house just two short, flat blocks from the beach and a block away from our favorite park.
We looked at some places that had “bedrooms” that weren’t big enough for twin beds. We saw another that emitted such a stink that I didn’t want to touch any of it. We nearly rented one house that had a swimming pool in the kitchen, and we visited one that had a bidet and toilet about ten feet apart, which left us scratching our heads. Eventually, we ended up putting in applications for four houses, and we were accepted at all four. After hearing so many stories filled with housing heartache, I was surprised to find myself in the position of choice. I’ve come to believe that the unpleasant stories just get all of the publicity. Don’t get overwhelmed by all of the hype. With that being said,
Housing is expensive. Auckland’s house prices are incredibly high. This is a simple fact of life. According to an Oxford Economics report, Auckland is the second most overvalued housing market in the world, only behind Hong Kong. The average house in Auckland is valued around NZ$850,000. However, the large price tags to buy a house don’t necessarily translate into equally high rents. We’ve found that it is significantly less expensive to rent than to buy. I don’t quite understand the math, but some of the houses that we looked at prior to renting were charging less than a quarter of what the mortgage payment would be if we were to try to buy the same house as opposed to rent it. My best guess is that people are counting on the giant equity increases in the housing market to make up for the low rents in the long term.
Despite the mortgage/rent disparity, rental houses are expensive. The average cost for a 3-4 bedroom house in Auckland is upwards of NZ$850 per week, or about US$2500 per month. Of course, quality of the house and location will greatly affect your costs. The Tenancy Council has a wonderful tool that provides rent data by neighborhood in Auckland. Additionally, the Auckland Council recently banned letting fees, so many people believe rents are going to go up to cover this lost revenue generator. It’s too early to see the statistics on this, but it is something to keep in mind.
View before signing. It is absolutely imperative to view each house/apartment personally before signing. I can’t tell you how many houses looked gorgeous in the pictures but were disgusting in real life. I mean “I need a hazmat suit” disgusting. It rains a lot in New Zealand and many houses are damp and have mold problems. There were some houses that simply reeked of mildew, and you’ll only discover this when you step foot inside. Resist the temptation to rent a house before you arrive. Stay in an AirBnb for a month. That is much better than a year in a dump.
Viewings can be intense. When a house is ready for new tenants, property agents will post a typical advertisement on sites like TradeMe in addition to their own websites. I found TradeMe to be the most useful tool because it had almost all of the houses on the market in one centralized location. In addition to all of the housing stats, like size, bedrooms, location, and pictures, the agent will most likely post one or two viewing times. It is not uncommon to see a viewing time that is something like “Thursday from 1:30-2:00” or, like one house we visited, “Wednesday from 12:00-12:15.” Often the agent wants potential renters to register ahead of time and it is not uncommon for people to fill out an application prior to viewing the house.
There may be no one else at a viewing or there might be twenty different families walking through. As we visited house after house, we realized we were on the same house tour as several other families. It became a traveling caravan of people literally on the move.
If you like the house, take some time to talk with the rental agent. I wouldn’t say outright schmooze the agent, but take some time to introduce yourself, chat, ask questions and make an impression. Ultimately, that agent has A LOT of say in how each applicant is presented to the landlord, and, in some cases, is actually the one making the decision. We learned later that we won one house because we talked to the agent about our love of sailing, and she thought sailors would appreciate the view from the deck of this house the best.
Be prepared to move quickly. Once you’ve found a house you love, be prepared to move quickly as there will most likely be multiple people vying for the same property. There were several places we viewed, and in fact a couple that we put in applications for, that had multiple applications in before the end of the viewing. In order to put in an application, you should have on hand:
Proof of income or other funds. This could be an employment agreement or letter from a New Zealand bank.
References. You will need to list references for an agent to call. References letters are also useful. We had one from the real estate agent who was selling our house back in the States as well as one from our AirBnb host in Auckland. Letters from previous landlords (if you were a renter) would be the clear choice if you have that option.
Proof of identity. This could be a New Zealand license or passport with appropriate visa.
A family overview. I created a one page write up with a picture of our family that gave any future landlord a good idea of our interests and sanity.
Don’t be discouraged by “no pets.” We found “no pets” to be merely a suggestion. Take a look at my Dogs post to find out how we got our dog accepted into three “no pets” houses.
Confirm what comes with the house. Double and triple check which appliances and furniture come with any house or apartment. It is not uncommon, especially in lower rent houses, for the appliances to belong to the tenant, not the house. You many need to budget for a refrigerator, washer, etc.
It is also not uncommon for the owner of the house to leave behind large, bulking pieces of furniture, essentially turning your future living space into their free storage. We were unaware of this trend and nearly rented a wonderful house near the beach, but pulled our when we learned that a huge wall full of heavy, wooden bookshelves and several cabinets stayed with the house. The house was already small for us, and there was no way we could fit the furniture we wanted to with the owner’s very large pieces taking up valuable space.
There are two types of leases. The most common is a fixed term lease. Most landlords want a year in a fixed term lease. This is like a typical lease in the U.S. The second type is a periodic rent that lets either party cancel the lease. Typically the tenant has to give at least 21 days notice, and the landlord would have to give either 42 or 90 days notice. It is not unusual for a fixed term lease to automatically shift to a periodic lease at the end of the fixed period. When you fill out the application for a rental, it will ask you to specify what you are looking for.
Rents are paid weekly. This was hard to wrap my head around at first. Instead of paying a mortgage payment or rent payment by the first of the month, we pay the property management company each week. It’s just a cultural difference, but it doesn’t really affect anything other than the frequency of the auto-drafts the property management company does. Also, the dollar amounts you see posted in the ads? Those are weekly rates, not monthly.
Inspections happen four times a year. Every three months expect a notice that your property manager is coming out to look at the house. This is a good and a bad thing. I hate how intrusive it feels, but I kind of like the deadline to clean up the house and make sure everything looks good. We keep a neat house anyway, but an upcoming inspection means I stop procrastinating and tackle the deeper clean projects that I would otherwise blow off. Expect your property manager to check on the general state of the house, if there are any leaks or signs of mold or dampness, and to ask you of any known maintenance issues. It is equally about the landlord keeping an eye on their investment and an opportunity for you to bring items up that need to be fixed.
Good Resources
https://www.newzealandnow.govt.nz/living-in-nz/housing/renting-a-property
https://www.barfoot.co.nz/rent/tenant-help-and-tips/how-renting-works-in-nz
Auckland is an incredible city with plenty of opportunities in every neighborhood. Each neighborhood has a distinct vibe, and with a little searching and homework, you can find wonderful housing options. Happy house hunting!
