Can my landlord drop by to visit our flat without letting us know first? He never complains about anything or inspects it, but often just visits.

You don't have to let your landlord in if he visits without letting you know first and without your permission. The landlord has to respect your right to enjoy the flat in peace.

You have a right to "quiet enjoyment" of the flat. If your landlord does not respect that right, you can take him to the Tenancy Tribunal and he could even be fined.

Your landlord can only come in to your flat under certain circumstances:
- He can come in with your permission at anytime.
- Or he can come in to do an inspection if he follows the rules about inspections. The rules are that he gives you at least 48 hours’ notice (but not more that 14 days’ notice). Also, he can only inspect between the hours of 8am and 7pm. And he cannot inspect more than once every four weeks.
- Or he can come in to do maintenance or repairs and follows the rules about that (he has to give you at least 24 hours' notice, and the notice has to let you know the reason for the visit, and he has to come between 8am and 7pm.

To deal with these frequent visits, we suggest that you should first talk to your landlord and let him know how you are feeling about how often he comes to your flat. You can tell the landlord that he has to follow the rules and only visit the flat for an inspection, or for maintenance or repairs. There are a few other specific situations where a landlord can visit your flat. You can read about them on the Community Law website: www.communitylaw.org.nz/legal-reference-manual/chapter-22-tenancy/landlords-rights-and-obligations/

If your landlord continues to visit without giving you notice, and his visits are making you feel uncomfortable, you can contact the Department of Building and Housing (0800 TENANCY - 0800 83 62 62) or your local Community Law Centre to talk about your options for taking further action.

Answered 30 May 2012. The IMPORTANT NOTICE below is part of this answer.