Author Archive | Hollie Joss

Did you know that a rental warrant of fitness has been talked about since 2007? Jeanette Fitzsimons, the then Energy Efficiency and Conservation spokesperson, said in response to the lack of take-up of rental property insulation, “if, after several years opportunity, some are still unwilling, we will have to consider a regulatory approach.” It was […]

As a property investor, learn if a capital gains tax is likely and how it may impact upon your property portfolio. Read this to find out! One of the policies the Labour Party campaigned on was the implementation of a capital gains tax. Yet before they were elected, they announced that all changes to tax […]

Tenants –v- Homeowners – The war against damp mouldy homes. In Auckland we live in a humid and damp environment, many new comers to our city do not realise this and the importance of ventilation.  Yes landlords can put in an HRV system but tenants can also open their windows.  Yes landlords can put in […]

At Hollie Joss Property Management we have seen over the past 4-6 weeks an increase in the amount of time it has taken to rent out our properties. Over the past few years many properties have been listed for rent and have been snapped up on the first or second open home.  However in recent […]

Blocked Drain What should you do when your tenant reports a blocked drain? Here is a photo a tenant recently sent me, the bath water was not draining away fast enough after being used so he decided to pull the entire plug out.  The best thing to do in this case is clean all the […]

Insulation Regulations July 2016 As you may be aware the government introduced new legislation on the 1st July 2016 making it a legal requirement for all tenancies that commence after the 1st July 2016 to have an insulation statement as part of the tenancy agreement advising the tenants if there is insulation in the property […]

Smoke Alarm Regulations By 1st July 2016 all residential rental properties covered by the Residential Tenancies Act 2986 must meet the following regulatory requirements. There must be a minimum of one working smoke alarm within 3 meters of each bedroom door and in a self-contained caravan, sleep out or similar there must be a minimum […]

Who pays water rates during a tenancy Section 39 of The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 states that “The landlord is responsible for all outgoings in respect of the premises that are incurred whether or not the premises are occupied and are incurred for common facilities.   So who pays for what part of the water […]

Who pays for pest control the tenant or owner.   This is a question that comes up quite often.  A landlord needs to make sure the property is pest free at the beginning of any new tenancy and a tenant is required to keep the property in a good clean condition so as not to […]

Who is responsible for mould and condensation in a rental property?   Tenants should try to keep their house in a condition that doesn’t encourage mould and damp. This includes keeping the house well aired, and removing mould as soon as it appears.   When you meet your tenant at the property to move them […]