The Act applies to every residential tenancy (renting a place to live in), except in certain cases. The Act doesn’t cover, for example:

• flatmates
• student accommodation (exceptions apply – see Section 5B of the Act)(external link)
• holiday homes
• hotels and motels
• hospitals and rest-homes
• commercial tenancies.

Section 5 of the Residential Tenancies Act(external link) explains all the different situations the Act doesn’t apply to.

If your residential arrangement falls under Section 5, the Tenancy Tribunal will not have jurisdiction to hear any disputes that may come up (unless the landlord and tenant have agreed that the Act (or parts of it) apply to their arrangement). If you’re not sure whether your residential arrangement is covered by the Act, you can apply to the Tribunal to have an adjudicator determine if they can hear your dispute.

Minors and the Act

Landlords may not be able to enforce the terms of the tenancy agreement against a minor (person under 18 years old). The Contract and Commercial Law Act 2017 may apply.(external link)

If a landlord wants to enforce the tenancy agreement against the minor, they will need to apply to the Tenancy Tribunal. The Tribunal will consider as part of its decision whether the tenancy agreement was fair and reasonable at the time the agreement was entered into.

The Act doesn’t cover flatmates

If a homeowner finds someone to live in their house with them and rents a room to them, that person is a flatmate. Their living arrangement isn’t covered by the Act.

If a few people rent a house together but some of them don’t sign the tenancy agreement, those who don’t sign aren’t tenants. They’re considered flatmates and their living arrangement isn’t covered by the Act.

Flatting has more on the difference between tenants and flatmates.

The Act doesn’t cover holiday homes

The Act doesn’t apply when the house is being rented for the tenant’s holiday purposes. In other words, the tenant actually lives somewhere else and is just staying in the house for a holiday.

If someone’s letting a house for holiday purposes, the common law of contract applies. They should negotiate the terms and conditions in writing, and make sure both parties sign copies of the agreement. They should also make sure the person renting the holiday home pays a deposit.

Some homeowners use specialised holiday home agencies to manage the entire process of finding and contracting with holiday-making tenants. These agencies usually have standard-form letting contracts governing the relationship between the tenant and the letting agent that’s acting for the homeowner.

Typically, holiday houses are let for short periods. If the homeowner wants to let their home to someone who wants it for a lengthy sabbatical or holiday, they could elect to ‘contract into’ the Residential Tenancies Act to avoid any doubt about whether the Act applies to their arrangement.

Who is protected under the Act has more information about ‘contracting into’ tenancy law.

Who tenancy law does protect

If a residential tenancy isn’t one of types mentioned above or in section 5 of the Act, then it’s most likely covered by the Act.

Who tenancy law protects has information about who is covered by the Act.