Some landlords will add further conditions to the tenancy agreement. It’s okay to do this if the conditions are not contrary to the law or trying to remove the tenant’s rights. Often additional conditions are about clarifying expectations about the use of the property to reduce wear and tear or damage to the property, or to support health and safety.
Tenants should be encouraged to seek advice before signing agreements that are not templates, or have numerous special terms and conditions. These conditions are likely to be strict on the tenant, and much easier on the landlord.
Lawful additional conditions
Here are some examples of lawful conditions that landlords may add to the tenancy agreement:
- tenants must not park cars on the grass
- tenants must not park bikes on carpet (they can drip oil)
- tenants must use pins and hooks, rather than blu-tack, to attach things to walls (blu-tack can lift paint and rip wallpaper)
- tenants must not use Rug Doctors to clean carpets (in some cases these can destroy them)
- tenants must not place hot pots on the benchtop
- tenants must not put meat in the compost (this can attract rats)
- tenants must not smoke or vape indoors
- tenants must not place furniture in front of the fire escape
- tenants must turn on the bathroom fan when taking a shower
- tenants must not use unflued gas heaters (they can make homes very damp)
- tenants must use the rangehood when cooking
- tenants must not dig a vegetable garden into the lawn
Implicit conditions
A tenancy agreement may include a number of conditions that are already covered by the Act. For example, the tenancy agreement may say:
- tenants must not disturb the neighbours
- tenants must pay rent on time
Rules like this are already covered in sections 40 - 42 of the RTA. It may be useful to have these conditions listed in the agreement, but it doesn’t make any difference if they are left out, because the rules in the RTA apply anyway.
Vague conditions
A tenancy agreement may contain conditions that are vague or difficult to enforce. It’s a good idea to clarify at the start of the tenancy what is meant by these conditions so that everyone knows, and hopefully any future disputes can be avoided.
An example of a vague condition is “No large dogs”. The landlord and tenant may have different ideas about what “large” means. It would be clearer if the condition was expressed as something like “the tenant may be permitted to keep a dog at the property if they first get permission from the landlord”.
Many vague conditions are also unnecessary, because they are covered by the requirements of the RTA or other laws. For example, “No parties” is vague because it can be unclear when a small gathering becomes a party. It’s also unnecessary, because tenants have the right to a social life (known as “quiet enjoyment” of the property), and already have a legal duty not to disturb other tenants. They are also subject to local council noise regulations.
There may be times when additional conditions, while lawful, may not be particularly reasonable. If conditions are overly restrictive then this is something that the tenant should discuss and negotiate with the landlord so that they can start the tenancy with a shared understanding.
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