Looking After Tenants

Auckland Vehicle Rentals has a special discount offer for Keen On Rentals Tenants needing to hire a van or a truck for moving.  Click here to download our discount offer. 

In most cases we carry out routine inspections at your property every 3 months.  We will give you plenty of notice when an inspection is due – usually we will email you at least a week before.  Property inspections are essential to ensure everything is in good working order at your place, and to identify any issues so they can be addressed quickly.  Copies of the inspection report are sent to the property owner.  Insurance policies for rental properties require routine inspections to be done, and we will need to provide copies of them if there is an insurance claim for any reason. Click here to access our handy guide on how to prepare for a property inspection

Tenants are required to take good care of the rental property and the fixtures, furniture and fittings that are provided by the landlord.  Here’s how to keep your property in great condition, and ensure everything is kept in good working order.

• Heatpumps: Many properties have heat pumps installed to ensure they’re compliant with the Healthy Homes standards for heating in rental properties.  To keep them working well, they need regular checks and cleaning.  Click here for more details on heatpump maintenance.  Click here for a short video on how to clean the filters.
• Cooktops and ovens: Click here for a handy list of cooktop “do’s and don’ts”.  Induction and ceramic hobs need special care when cleaning to keep their surfaces working well.  Click here for cleaning instructions.  Oven not working?  Often the timer needs to be set before the oven will work.  Turning the oven off at the wall, or a power cut in your property will interfere with the timer settings.  Click here for a quick guide on resetting the oven timer.
• Front-loading washing machines: If your washing machine isn’t properly cleaned and looked after, it can build up mould that affects your clean washing, have blockages and leaks and it can start to get really smelly!  Click here for a handy guide on looking after your front-loader washing machine.  Click here for a short video on how to do basic cleaning and checks.
• Ventilation and mould prevention: Landlords must make sure their rental properties are properly insulated and heated and have appropriate extractor fans fitted to comply with the Healthy Homes standards.  Tenants must make sure their property is well ventilated during the tenancy, and take steps to prevent mould and moisture build-up.  Click here for an easy guide on how to prevent mould and condensation in your home.

Fire is one of the most serious safety concerns in any property.  Your property is fitted with smoke alarms to provide early warning for occupants if any fire occurs.  Make sure you’re familiar with the emergency exit process for your property.  Click here for advice for Tenants provided by the NZ Fire Service.  Click here for details about managing smoke alarms in apartments.

Devices using rechargeable batteries are responsible for an increasing number of explosions and fires in homes.  Lithium Ion battery fires are very difficult to put out, and are extremely dangerous – especially in high-density properties such as apartment buildings.  Click here for safety advice for storage and charging of Lithium Ion batteries in your home.

• Giving notice to vacate: The period of notice depends on whether the term of your tenancy is a fixed-term (has a specified end date) or periodic tenancy that has no specified end date. You will find this information in your Tenancy Agreement.  If you’re not sure, ask your property manager to confirm your tenancy terms.  If you want to end your tenancy, you must give notice in writing.  You must give a minimum of 21 days’ notice to end a periodic tenancy, where there is no fixed end date specified.  You can do that at any time.  For a fixed term tenancy, where the end date of your tenancy is specified in your Tenancy Agreement, you must give notice that you don’t want to continue your tenancy at least 21 days before the tenancy is due to end.  Notice in writing can be by email.  Let us know your plans as soon as you can – we’ll work with you to arrange a smooth exit process. If you have any questions at all, please contact your property manager.  Click here for more information about giving notice.
• Ending a fixed term tenancy early: We understand that life just happens and things can change unexpectedly. If any of your personal living arrangements change, please get in touch with your property manager as soon as possible (even if the details have yet to be finalised).  If you need to move out before the end of your fixed term tenancy,  then there are a number of options available which we can discuss with you.  We’ll work with you on how best to manage the changes to suit your new circumstances.
• Final payments: Your property manager will send you a final rent summary, and details of any other outstanding costs to bring your account up-to-date at the end of your tenancy.   Please check the payment summaries and contact your property manager if you have any questions about them.
• Exit checklists: There’s a lot to do when moving between properties.  Please click here to download our General Checklist for finalising your tenancy and completing the final cleaning.  Or if you are living in one of our apartments, please click here to download our Apartment Checklist.
• Exit cleaning: Tenants are required to leave their rental property reasonably clean and tidy, and to remove all personal items and rubbish.  Our checklists provide a detailed list of cleaning that we’ll be looking at during your exit inspection.  If you don’t have time to clean, or you want to make sure the cleaning is done to the right standard, then we can arrange our professional cleaning team to do that for you.  Talk to your property manager about what the cost might be for your property.
• Bond refunds: Your property manager will arrange a time to complete your exit inspection once you’ve completely moved out and finished cleaning.  Once your final payments are up to date, the exit cleaning has been completed to an acceptable standard and your keys have been returned to us, we’ll sign off your bond refund form and send it to the bond centre to process your refund.  It can be possible for some of the final costs, such as exit cleaning, to be deducted from your bond if that’s what you prefer.  Talk to your property manager to finalise arrangements for your bond refund.