A month in Auckland

The Residential Tenancies Act does not apply where premises are let for the tenant's holiday purposes, nor to hotels and motels that ordinarily let for less than 28 days at a time. Tenancy Services explains that the Act does not apply when the tenant lives somewhere else and is staying in the house for a holiday, and that for a lengthy sabbatical or holiday the owner could contract into the Act to avoid any doubt.

The other route is a short fixed-term tenancy: a written agreement of 90 days or less, covered by the Act, which becomes a periodic tenancy if it runs past 90 days. Under a holiday let, bond money should not be lodged with Tenancy Services, because the Act's bond and dispute system does not apply.

GST is 15%. Platforms have collected it on short-stay and visitor accommodation since 1 April 2024, but not on residential rental accommodation that is exempt from GST, which Inland Revenue describes as a home let to a tenant under a residential tenancy agreement.

Hotels and motels registered for GST follow a 4-week rule: GST on the full value for the first 4 weeks, then on 60% of the value of the room and the services that go with it, such as cleaning and power. Agreed up front, a stay of more than 4 weeks gets the 60% from the start. Food stays fully taxed. No visitor levy applies in Auckland.

Street parking by the hour adds up over a month: in Zone 1 of the city centre, 4 hours on a weekday cost NZD 38. Auckland Transport leases car park spaces by the month, but a lease has a minimum 3-month term, with an NZD 100 fee for ending it earlier, is paid by direct debit and depends on availability, so it does not fit a single month.

In the residential parking zones, a household can apply for 50 free one-day coupons a year and buy extra ones at NZD 5 each, booked for a visitor's number plate. A month of daily coupons would use 30 of the household's 50 free coupons for the year, so a flat or house with off-street parking is the simpler choice.

Ponsonby and Parnell suit a month close to the centre, about 2 to 3 km away, in a house or flat with its own parking. Takapuna suits a month by the beach on the North Shore, with Auckland Transport car parks in the heart of the suburb, and Devonport a quieter month with the ferry to the city. Waiheke Island suits a month without daily trips to the mainland. The City Centre suits a month without a car. These choices are editorial.

An NZeTA lets EU and US visitors stay up to 3 months per visit and British citizens up to 6 months, with no more than 6 months in New Zealand in any 12. Staying longer needs a visa before arrival, and working needs a work visa. Immigration New Zealand asks visitors to show at least NZD 1,000 for each month of the stay, or NZD 400 a month when the accommodation is already paid, plus a paid ticket out. Everyone completes a New Zealand Traveller Declaration, which opens 24 hours before the journey.

For the car, an overseas licence is valid for 18 months from the last arrival until 31 October 2026 and for 12 months from 1 November 2026. A licence not in English needs an accurate translation or an international driving permit.

Airbnb calls a booking of 28 nights or more a monthly stay. It charges the first month up front and releases it to the host 24 hours after check-in, charges each later month 10 days in advance, and applies a long-term cancellation policy that generally requires 30 days' notice of changes.

Booking an inner-suburb house without asking where the car goes. Homes built after 30 September 2013 get no residents' permits or coupons.

Planning on a monthly car park lease. Auckland Transport's leases run for at least 3 months.

Paying a bond for a holiday let as if it were a tenancy. Agree in writing how the host holds and returns it.

Arriving without proof of funds. Immigration New Zealand may ask for NZD 1,000 a month at check-in or on arrival.