The new provisions remove the ability for a landlord to end a periodic tenancy without giving a fair and justified reason to the tenant.

What is a fair and justified reason?

Landlords are able to end these tenancies for a range of fair and justified reasons, including a tenant’s repeated antisocial behaviour (which is a new addition to the RTA). This means that tenants will always know why their tenancy is ending and be able to challenge this in the Tenancy Tribunal if they consider the reason unjustified.

Landlords can issue termination notices without going to the Tenancy Tribunal in the following ways.

Landlords can terminate periodic tenancies by giving 63 days’ notice where:

• The owner, or a family member, requires the property to live in. They must move in within 90 days of the termination date and must live in the property for at least 90 days.

• The property is needed for an employee (and this was clearly specified in the tenancy agreement).

• The property is needed for an employee (and this was clearly specified in the tenancy agreement), where the landlord is the Ministry of Education and the employer is a Board of Trustees.

Landlords can terminate periodic tenancies by giving 90 days’ notice where:

• The landlord intends to put the property on the market within 90 days of the tenant leaving the property.

• The owner is required, under an unconditional sale agreement, to give the purchaser vacant possession.

• The landlord is not the owner of the property, and the landlord’s interest in the property ends e.g. the landlord leases the property and sub-leases to the tenant, and the landlord’s lease ends.

• The property was acquired to facilitate the use of nearby land for a business activity and the property needs to be vacated to facilitate that activity (and this was clearly specified in the tenancy agreement)

• The landlord wants to change the use of the premises. The landlord must intend to use the premises for the new use for at least 90 days.

• The landlord intends to carry out extensive alterations or redevelopment at the property and it would be unpractical for the tenant to live there during that process. The landlord must intend to take material steps6 towards beginning renovations with 90 days of the tenancy terminating.

• The premises are to be demolished. The landlord must intend to take material steps towards beginning demolition within 90 days of the tenancy terminating. 6 Taking a material step means applying for regulatory consent, seeking engineering or other professional advice, or taking any other significant step. 8

• The tenancy is a social housing tenancy and certain circumstances apply (see separate question).

Landlords can also terminate fixed or periodic tenancies by giving at least 14 days’ notice where the tenant has committed a physical assault on either the landlord/owner, or the landlord/owner’s family member or the landlord’s agent. The landlord must accompany the notice with evidence the Police have charged the tenant in relation to the physical assault. The tenant then has 14 days in which to lodge a challenge to the termination notice with the Tribunal. If the tenant does challenge the notice, the notice is suspended and the tenant can remain in the premises until the Tribunal hears the matter. This provision will be brought into force once regulations are made. There are also existing termination grounds in the RTA, for example, if the landlord is also the employer of the tenant, and the tenancy is part of the employment package. These termination grounds continue to be available with their own specific rules.

If none of the above grounds apply, landlords cannot terminate a tenancy without going to the Tenancy Tribunal.

A landlord can also apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to end a tenancy where:

• the tenant has been repeatedly late with their rent (at least five working days’ late with rent, three times in 90 days) and the required notices have been served on the tenant

• the tenant has engaged in anti-social behaviour on at least three occasions in 90 days and the required notice have been served on the tenant

• A landlord is going to suffer greater hardship than the tenant if the tenancy continues. If the landlord has successfully applied to the Tenancy Tribunal to end the tenancy, the Tribunal will decide what the notice period is.

How can tenants end a periodic tenancy and how much notice do they have to give?

A tenant can end a periodic tenancy by giving 28 days’ notice. The tenant does not have to provide a reason.