Cooling Off period?

[PJT]

Hi guys,

when signing a tenancy lease agreement is there some sort of a 'cooling off' period if I have not moved in yet?

The bloody estate agent is putting major pressure on me to sign the contract. We do want the place but just in case there is something about that we don't like at all I was wondering if I could get out of the contract before moving in.

Cheers....

[JandM]

Here's the fount of all wisdom on matters to do with tenancies. http://www.dbh.govt.nz/tenancy-agreement

I don't quite understand your hesitation - you want the place, but you still think there might be something you don't like that you'll find out before moving in? Haven't you seen it yet?

[PJT]

Well, we got ourselves in kind of a mess. We are still overseas, and the estate agent has told us that we can sign the contract after arrival.
Now she says when we paid the holding fee of one week's rent we agreed to take the property. Which is not what she said when we enquired about it.
In fact she herself said that the holding fee would be lost if we were to change our minds the last minute.

Estate agents: As always passing on the pressure they are under unfiltered!

[bluesky]

Well, we got ourselves in kind of a mess. We are still overseas, and the estate agent has told us that we can sign the contract after arrival.
Now she says when we paid the holding fee of one week's rent we agreed to take the property. Which is not what she said when we enquired about it.
In fact she herself said that the holding fee would be lost if we were to change our minds the last minute.

Estate agents: As always passing on the pressure they are under unfiltered!

Of course, if you're still overseas, and don't yet have a NZ address, if you just broke of all contact with the agent it would be very hard for them to do anything more about it! You'd lose the "holding fee" obviously.