Farm worker accomodation, Service tenancies, your legal obligations.
By Nash Varghese. Published on 08/10/2025.
New Zealand’s farm sector has a labour problem, and the quiet, practical response from many farm owners, corporates and contractors has been to bundle housing with jobs. Worker accommodation—“service tenancies” in the law’s vernacular—helps attract staff and reduce churn, but it turns employers into landlords with a stack of statutory and insurance obligations. Under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), a service tenancy is simply a tenancy provided for the period of employment. It must be documented in writing (ideally separate from the employment agreement), include the usual required statements (insurance and Healthy Homes compliance), and meet all the same standards as any other rental—smoke alarms, maintenance, and the full Healthy Homes suite. Rent may be deducted from wages only with the worker’s agreement and in line with employment law.
Ending a service tenancy follows rules tailored to rural realities. When employment ends (or notice of its end is given), either party can end the tenancy with at least 14 days’ written notice; in narrow circumstances—risk of serious damage or a need to install a replacement worker with no alternative housing—the landlord may give less than 14 days’ notice, but not before employment actually ends. If employment continues and a worker simply wishes to move on, they must give 21 days’ written notice; if a landlord wants to end things while employment continues, they must use the standard periodic-tenancy grounds and timeframes. These settings sit alongside the usual Tribunal pathways for arrears or serious misconduct.
Healthy Homes is now non-negotiable across all rentals, including farm accommodation. From 1 July 2025, every tenancy must comply with minimum requirements for heating, insulation, ventilation, moisture ingress and drainage, and draught-stopping. New or renewed agreements must include a signed compliance statement describing the property’s status. Miss the paperwork and you risk a $500 infringement per tenancy; miss the standards and you risk exemplary damages of up to $7,200 per breach, and for landlords with six or more tenancies MBIE can seek pecuniary penalties up to $50,000. These sanctions sit alongside orders to remedy and cost awards. In short: document, upgrade, and keep records.
Insurance expectations push in the same direction. Most landlord policies condition cover—especially for tenant-related losses—on regular, recorded inspections. AMI, for instance, tells landlords to inspect inside and out at least every three months (and between tenancies), with photos and written notes kept on file. FMG’s rental wording requires internal and external inspections at least every six months—and at each change of occupancy—if you want cover for contamination by unlawful substances. Skip the cadence or the documentation and claims can be knocked back just when you need them.
Of course, inspections must also respect tenants’ rights. Tenancy Services caps frequency at once every four weeks, requires 48 hours’ notice (and no more than 14 days’ notice) for each visit, and limits inspection hours to 8am–7pm (8am–6pm for boarding houses). For farm households working odd shifts, smart scheduling and clear communication keep the relationship functional—and your file notes tidy for insurers and regulators.
Health and safety overlays the whole enterprise. Under the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, a farm that provides worker accommodation may be a PCBU with duties to ensure the accommodation does not expose workers to health and safety risks—particularly where you own, manage or control the housing and employees must live there because no other accommodation is reasonably available. In practice that means thinking beyond the RTA: electrical and gas safety, secure water supply, safe access, and prompt remediation of hazards. WorkSafe’s worker-accommodation guidance is a useful checklist to run alongside your tenancy files.
Run well, service tenancies are a retention tool and a risk-management framework rolled into one: documented standards, planned maintenance, and predictable inspections protect people first and assets second. Run poorly, they invite enforcement action: $500 infringement penalties for missing compliance statements, Tribunal-ordered exemplary damages up to $7,200 per breach, and—if you’re a larger landlord—pecuniary penalties up to $50,000. Compliance is cheaper than non-compliance.
Here at Pride Property we help farms navigate service tenancies end-to-end—drafting robust tenancy agreements (with the right statements), building a Healthy Homes compliance plan, and carrying out documented, individual inspections that keep both MBIE and your insurer happy. If you’re housing staff this season, we can set up a pragmatic cadence—inspections that meet policy requirements without disrupting the milking roster—and a maintenance log that proves the property is safe, warm and well cared for. Call us today on 0800 001 659.