Residential property

Trees can stir up a lot of emotion in people - they can cause a whole lot of grief between neighbours so it pays to know where you stand when it comes to the law. 

If you are a landlord or a tenant, then there are some important Healthy Homes Standards dates coming up that you should be aware of.

We all know that if a rental is damaged due to fair wear and tear, that the landlord is responsible for the repair costs as part of general maintenance. Fair wear and tear includes things like worn carpet, appliances breaking and scuff marks on the walls.

A recent news story on the front page of the stuff.co.nz website featured two Wellington couples who were selling their dream home after owning and living in it together for seven years. One comment suggested the story normalised the fact that “housing is now unaffordable for most Kiwis.” The story also normalised the fact that the current generation are more open to property sharing than in the past.

​In the Winter 2019 edition of Property Speaking, we outlined schemes available to help first home buyers. Following the government’s announcement on 4 September 2019 of changes to the schemes, some schemes have been re-named.

The proposed purchaser of a Dunedin property is at least $150,000 out of pocket after improperly cancelling his agreement. The outcome in the recent court case Strack v Grey1 warns buyers to take a diligent approach to conditions in an agreement for sale and purchase of property.

If you frequently buy and sell property, you may want to keep a close eye on Inland Revenue’s review of some property tax rules that was announced in September 2019. One area being targeted is the use of the ‘main home exemption’.