Landlord Issues

In New Zealand, it's common to sign a one year lease. Then your lease switches to a periodic lease at the end of one year, which means you continue to live there. Tenant must give three weeks notice to move out, landlord must give 5 weeks notice to tenant on a periodic lease. We were promised by the management company our lease would go periodic at the end of the one year (verbally)

23 days prior to our one year anniversary, I got a phone call telling us we had to sign another one year lease. We told them we expected to go to a periodic lease, as per their promise. They told us we were such GOOD tenants that the landlord wanted another one year lease. period. We knew we needed to move in less than a year, as the baby would be walking soon and this house is too expensive to repair (it has expensive wall paper).

So we were being forced into a one year lease. The landlord was afraid of losing $800 of rent. But they were okay giving us three weeks notice to move out and putting a baby onto the street. Does this sound like these people are human beings, landlord or management company? I realise people generally only care about themselves, but they essentially punished us for being the BEST tenants they could have found. They were trying to force us into a one year lease, when 90% of all leases in New Zealand go periodic after one year. And all after they promised us we could go periodic after one year, verbally.

Their defence is: the landlord doesn't want to (possibly) lose $800 of rent. My response was: but it's okay for you and them to put us onto the street with a baby? So it's $800 versus making a family with a baby homeless? The answer was: silence.

I'm really just venting, as I can't believe how uncaring, unprofessional, unfair and uncooperative some people can be. Again, the landlord MIGHT have lost $800 of rent if we went periodic. And they might not have lost anything. But they were willing to essentially put us at risk of becoming homeless with a baby OR force us into a one year lease. All because we were SUCH GOOD TENANTS.

Really, I just need to vent. But all responses are appreciated.

What's periodic rent? Here in the US we have 12 months lease or 6 months lease or pay month by month ( which is typically more pricey), never heard or any other options. At the end of your lease you either renew for next term or pay monthly or move out. Is it different in NZ?

If agreement was verbal then there is really no agreement. Verbal agreements don't have any legal value.

Our lease agreement spells everything out. What's in your lease agreement?

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Sounds like At Will Tenancy. No, I'm floored that it's sign a lease or else leave. Is this through a company? At Will is more common with private landlords, over here in the States.

Would you have been able to last the 6 additional months of toddler years or did you have a certain place in mind that you wouldn't want to break a lease?

I'm pretty sure they have the right to dictate whether tenancy is by lease or not at all. Most property managers here won't even consider renting to a tenant without a 6/12 month lease.