Short term
Before renting or buying you need to find somewhere to stay such as in a furnished apartment, motel, bed and breakfast, or backpacker hostel. To find short-term accommodation, search in the Yellow Pages under accommodation. The following websites may also be useful:
Accommodation New Zealand
AA Travel
AA Travel Christchurch earthquake info
Jasons
Christchurch NZ
Tourism New Zealand
Long term
Most new migrants rent when they first arrive. This gives you time to save money and decide where you want to live, the size of place needed, your budget, your school and transport needs.
Tenancy Agreement
A tenancy agreement is a written, legal contract between you and your landlord.
The law says you must have one. You should sign an agreement only if you fully understand everything that is written in it, because a tenancy agreement becomes a legal document when you sign it.
You must also pay a deposit and a bond. Your landlord will send the bond to the Department of Building and Housing which is an independent government agency. The Department of Building and Housing will send you a letter when it receives the bond. A bond is usually the equivalent of two or four weeks rent.
Information about renting in different languages can be found at: www.dbh.govt.nz/pub-tenancy-generalinfo or free phone 0800 86 6262.
Renting a house or flat
The Press, the daily newspaper, is the main source of advertisements for renting private houses (especially on Wednesdays and Saturdays).
Trademe.co.nz is also a good source of rental properties.
Buy, Sell & Exchange (Friday only) also advertises properties to let. Both papers can be purchased from dairies, petrol stations, bookshops and supermarkets.
RealEstate.co.nz also has searchable listings for residential rentals.
Remember to have a personal reference ready for landlords to look at. This will help them decide whether to rent the house to you. If you use a rental agency to find a property they will manage your contract with the landlord. The main rental agencies advertise in the Classifieds section of The Press (press.co.nz).
Social housing
Social housing is rental housing for people who have low incomes or special social, medical and personal needs.
Christchurch City Council provides social housing. To apply for social housing you must live in Christchurch, have low income and limited assets, and have a housing need. Successful applicants may have to go on a waiting list until suitable housing becomes available.
Housing New Zealand Corporation (HNZC) also provides social housing.
To apply for a house from HNZC you must be eligible (that is, you must meet certain conditions). For migrants to be eligible you must have lived in New Zealand for two years. If you receive an emergency benefit, due to hardship, HNZC may accept your application.
Quota refugees are automatically eligible for a Housing New Zealand house. HNZC charges rent to its tenants based on their income. After you have lodged your application for housing with HNZC, you are assessed to determine your housing need. The assessment considers things like your current living arrangements and your social, medical and personal needs. This ensures that those with the greatest need receive help first.
Buying a house
You can buy a house if you can pay the full price of the property or arrange a long-term loan or mortgage from a lender, for example a finance house or the bank. The finance house or bank will look at your income, what you own, your debts and credit rating. Most banks and finance houses will ask you to pay a deposit (often 20 per cent of the cost of the house) from your own money.
Your bank will give information on all the types of mortgages that are available. Make sure you use the mortgage that is most suitable for you.
Properties are advertised through:
Real estate agents. You can find real estate agents in the Yellow Pages under real estate agents.
The Realtor and Bluebook which are weekly publications available for free.
The Press advertises many homes on Saturday. Look for ‘Open Days’, which is when you can visit the house without a real estate agent.
TradeMe is also a good source of properties for sale.
Other free publications such as Homesell and Property Press are available at various supermarkets, malls, petrol stations, and dairies and The Star newspaper, which is delivered to your letterbox.
All major real estate companies have websites that advertise houses nationwide.
Moving into your home or rental accommodation – things to consider
Power
Christchurch homes are generally powered by electricity. You will need to open an account with an electricity provider. Look in the Yellow Pages [http://yellow.co.nz/yellow+pages/electricity+supply/Christchurch] under electricity supply. All providers have a free phone number to call. You may need to pay a bond at the same time that you pay the first bill.
www.consumer.org.nz/powerswitch can help you decide which power company may be the cheapest for you.
Telephone
Look in the Yellow Pages under telecommunications. There are several service providers. The largest two are:
Telecom - free phone 123 and follow instructions.
All local calls are free if you use a fixed line. Calls to 0800 and 0508 numbers are also free. All emergency 111 calls are free. You can also use cellphones (mobile phones).
Vodafone, Telecom and 2degrees are common networks in New Zealand, and you can purchase phones (either pre-pay or plan payments) from stores. Look in the Yellow Pages under cellular phones.
Internet (dial up, wireless and broadband)
Accounts can be set up immediately if you are a Telecom or Telstra Clear customer and you want an account with the same company. Internet starter packs are available from other internet providers. Look in the Yellow Pages under internet service providers.
Rubbish and recycling
Christchurch City Council operates a kerbside collection service in Christchurch and your area will have a specific collection day. To find out what your collection day is, ask your neighbours.
Rubbish: The red wheelie bin is collected every two weeks and is for all waste that is not recycling or organics.
Recycling: The yellow wheelie bin is collected every two weeks and is for paper, cardboard, plastic containers, glass bottles and jars, tins and cans.
Organics: The green wheelie bin is collected every week and is for food scraps and garden weeds and twigs.
Insurance
If you are renting you should insure your possessions. The My Insurance website is a useful resource or look in the Yellow Pages under insurance companies.
Used furniture and homeware
Houses and most flats are unfurnished. Second-hand furniture and homeware such as crockery, cutlery and pots can be purchased at the Ecoshop,191 Blenheim Road, phone (03) 982 8467, and second-hand shops. Look in the Yellow Pages under secondhand dealers.
When buying new or second-hand baby gear such as car seats, cots and pushchairs be sure they meet NZ Safety Standards, check the Consumer website.
Buy, Sell & Exchange is sold on Friday from dairies, petrol stations, bookshops and supermarkets. People advertise items they want to sell often at cheap prices including household goods, cars, bicycles and computers. Also advertised are services and job opportunities.
TradeMe is an online auction site for people wanting to buy and sell goods in New Zealand.
Garage sales are a good way to sell goods you no longer need and to buy cheap second-hand goods. Garage sales are usually on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays, and advertised in The Press on Saturday. Many people also put signs on fences indicating a garage sale.
You can also hire new or used appliances. Look in the Yellow Pages under hire services.
Consumer magazine is an excellent source for independent product and service reviews. All libraries have this magazine.
