A new tenancy services website designed to be a one-stop shop for all tenancy-related advice, information and education has been launched today by Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith.

“Good information for tenants and landlords on their legal responsibilities and how to resolve disputes is essential for the 450,000 homes that are let in New Zealand. This new website is about ensuring all the information is in one place and that it is as easy as possible to navigate,” Dr Smith says.

“This initiative is part of the Government’s broader programme of Better Public Services, and of ensuring we keep up with technological change in how people interact with Government. We had feedback that the former website did not enable easy access to key information and that people were not accessing services they were entitled to because they were not fully informed of their rights.

“Today’s announcement is one of a number of initiatives the Government has underway to improve tenancy services, with a particular focus on making it easier for landlords and tenants to interact with government online. Late last year, we introduced online Tenancy Tribunal applications and the national roll out of the FastTrack Resolution service aimed at resolving rent arrears disputes in a faster and more efficient way.

“Our next major initiative will be the progressive rollout of a new online tenancy bond system from early 2016, which will mean landlords will be able to lodge and pay tenancy bonds online, discarding the use of cheques,” Dr Smith concluded.

The new website can be found at: www.tenancy.govt.nz.