A month in Christchurch

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.

The council adds its own layer. In residential and rural zones, homes let short-term take individual bookings of less than 28 days each, under the council's summary of the District Plan, while most commercial zones, the City Centre Zone among them, have no limit on guests or nights. Whether a longer booking in a residential zone needs a resource consent was not verified as of September 2026, so ask the host how the booking is set up.

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 local tourist tax was found.

The Central City suits a month in an apartment in the City Centre Zone, a commercial zone with no limit on nights. Riccarton and Merivale suit a month in the suburbs with a car, Sumner a month by the sea about 13 km from Cathedral Square, and Akaroa a month on Banks Peninsula, where unhosted homes in the residential zone may be let for up to 180 nights a year. These choices are editorial.

GetCar reports that Metro buses cost NZD 3 a ride with a contactless card, capped at NZD 6 a day and NZD 30 a week, and that Metrocard and cash stop being accepted on 23 November 2026. Route 3 links the airport, the city centre and Sumner, and route 8 the airport and Lyttelton. With a car, the council's meters charge NZD 5 an hour, so a place with its own parking avoids a daily cost.

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 a month in a residential-zone house without asking how the host handles the council's 28-day rule.

Choosing a home near the airport without asking about consent. Unhosted short-term lets in residential zones inside the 50 dB noise contour need a resource consent.

Paying a bond for a holiday let as if it were a tenancy. Bond money from an arrangement outside the Act should not be lodged with Tenancy Services, so 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.