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12 Sample Street, Papakura

Tenant bills

Costs you have paid that are the tenant's to pay back, kept apart from rent so they never change what the rent ledger says is owed.

$504.60 not yet paid back.

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Section 39(4)(c): the tenant pays for water only where the supplier charges by consumption.

Fixed and daily charges are yours and are not part of this. The tenant's share cannot be more than the metered usage.

Confirm all three for this bill

The third, that it is this tenancy's use only, is at the bottom of the form because it applies to every bill.

If this is part of a bigger bill, say what the whole bill was.

If the tenant does not agree, this goes to the Tenancy Tribunal. You cannot take it from the bond without their agreement, and asking for more than the law allows is itself an unlawful act under section 49D. The tenant may also put it right themselves instead of paying, up to the same limit, if you both agree.

  • Water, metered usage, $132.75

    Paid

    Bill period 4 May 2026 to 2 Aug 2026 · issued 3 Aug 2026 · due 24 Aug 2026

    1 payment recorded, $132.75 in total.

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What you can pass on, and what stays with you

Section 39(3) of the Residential Tenancies Act: a tenant pays outgoings that are exclusively attributable to their occupation. Section 39(4) names electricity and gas, telephone and internet, and water where the supplier charges by consumption.

Section 39(2) names three that are always yours: the general rate, insurance premiums and body corporate levies. So does anything incurred whether or not anybody is living there, and anything shared with another tenancy.

Fixed charges stay with you, and so does any charge that does not meet all three conditions. You pay the whole water account yourself, then ask the tenant to pay you back. The account can't be in the tenant's name.

Check before charging wastewater. Tenancy Services' general guidance allows it where it is worked out from metered water use and is only the tenant's. Its 18 August 2026 guidance for Wellington, Porirua, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt says only the metered water usage charge can be passed on there.

Tenant bills are kept apart from rent. They never change what the rent ledger says is owed, never count towards rent arrears, and can never support a notice about rent.

Tenancy Services on utilities and other payments