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Your Home

Rent, buy or move?

Compare renting with buying, check a rent rise and work out the dates for ending a tenancy. Plain answers, free to use.

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CalculatorRent or buy plannerWatch your money in both futures, year by year, and see if buying pulls ahead.Run my numbers →CalculatorRent increase and tenancy noticesCheck a rent rise, or find the earliest date a tenancy can end.Check my notice →CalculatorTake-home payTurn a salary or hourly rate into what lands in your bank, after tax.Work out my pay →ToolCost of living dashboardThe national numbers, then what rising prices cost your household.See my household →ToolPrice watchEveryday prices by category, and soon the cheaper of PAK'nSAVE and Woolworths each week.See the prices →GuideGuide: rent or buyWhat the next 10 years look like in each future, with clear assumptions.Read the guide →GuideGuide: rent increase noticeHow the rules work for landlords and tenants, and the dates that matter.Read the guide →

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Good to know

Short facts from official sources. Each one links to where it came from.
1 / 10Rent rises need 60 days written notice

A landlord must give at least 60 days written notice of a rent increase. Boarding house tenants must get 28 days.

Source: Tenancy Services
2 / 10Rent can rise once every 12 months

Rent cannot go up within 12 months of the tenancy starting or the last increase. The law sets no cap on the amount.

Source: Tenancy Services
3 / 10Bond is capped at four weeks rent

A general bond can be no more than four weeks rent. At $500 a week, that is $2,000.

Source: Tenancy Services
4 / 10Your bond is held by Tenancy Services

Your landlord must lodge your bond with Tenancy Services. You should get it all back if you pay rent, leave the place well kept and owe nothing.

Source: Tenancy Services
5 / 10Landlords can give 90 days notice

A landlord can end a periodic tenancy with 90 days written notice without giving a reason, as long as it is not retaliation.

Source: Tenancy Services
6 / 1042 days if the owner needs the home

Notice can be 42 days if the owner or their family needs the home as a main residence, or it has sold with vacant possession.

Source: Tenancy Services
7 / 10Tenants give 21 days notice

A tenant ending a periodic tenancy gives at least 21 days written notice, unless the landlord agrees to less in writing.

Source: Tenancy Services
8 / 10Healthy homes covers five areas

Rentals must meet standards for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture and drainage, and draught stopping.

Source: Tenancy Services
9 / 10First home KiwiSaver needs three years

You can withdraw KiwiSaver savings for a first home after three years in the scheme, but $1,000 must stay in the account.

Source: Inland Revenue
10 / 10The First Home Grant has closed

Kāinga Ora no longer takes new First Home Grant applications. The First Home Loan continues.

Source: Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
How we make these. Every tool follows published guidance from the official source named on its page. They give estimates and general information, not financial or legal advice.