Though on the flip side, that means 1 in 50 tenants in Christchurch are behind on rent, and 1 in 25 in Auckland.

In a book of 100 tenants, 96-98 pay on time, 2-4 are behind.

Here’s how we compare to the industry average:

Ahead of the industry average. That’s good. 

That means fewer headaches and more rent in your bank account.

But would you have guessed that Auckland tenants are more likely to fall behind?

Why do Christchurch tenants pay their rent on time more than Aucklanders?

The Auckland and Christchurch rental markets are different.

In the last 3 months of 2024, over 6,000 landlords took their tenants to the Tenancy Tribunal. 

• 47% came from Auckland 
• 6% were from Christchurch 

But Auckland has both more people … and a higher % of people who rent. 

Once you adjust for all those differences, Auckland tenants are 1.9x more likely to fall behind on their rent. (Compared to Christchurch tenants).

That lines up with the data I’m seeing across my two offices.

Why do tenants get behind on their rent?

Now, you might be thinking, “I’ve never missed a rent payment in my life – why do other people?”

The reasons are pretty human:

• A tenant might get sick and not have any sick leave
• They have a big unexpected bill (like car repairs) and need it to get to work
• They’ve had their hours cut at work

Christmas holiday spending is another one. 

We see a small spike in rent arrears every December and January. That’s when people are stretched: buying gifts, travelling, taking time off.

But by February, things usually settle down again.

Why am I sharing this?

Now, we could pretend that tenants pay on time. All the time. 

But that’s not true. 

And I’d rather be honest with you than ignore one of the major concerns you might have.

Let’s face it – most property investment companies would rather you didn’t know this. It’s inconvenient. It doesn’t sell the dream of investing.

It doesn’t look great to say: Hey, this is how often your tenant won’t pay their rent if you work with us.

But I’m also proud that we are beating the industry average. 

And it also reminds me of horror movies. (Stick with me on this.)

You know, in a horror movie, how the monster is most terrifying when you can’t see it? 

You hear the creature coming, you see them in the darkness, and it scares the bejezus out of you. 

But as soon as you see the monster … it’s a bit less scary. Because then you know what you’re dealing with.

It’s the same in property. If you’re worried about what could go wrong … that’s scarier than having the data and knowing how often things do go wrong. 

So here’s the data. Here's the monster. 

Once you’ve seen it, you can tame it.