Should I rent a house with unconsented work?

Insurance and resale problems belong to the owner. What lands on you is the living side. A space converted without consent was never checked against the Building Code, so it may lack insulation, adequate ceiling height, ventilation, proper smoke alarm placement or safely installed wiring and plumbing. The Healthy Homes Standards apply to your rental regardless, but a conversion done outside the consent process is exactly the kind of space that tends to fall short of them. None of this means every converted space is unsafe, but you cannot tell by looking, which is the point of the consent system.

The pattern repeats across the country: a garage converted into a bedroom or studio, a sleepout in the back yard rented as a separate unit, or a basement turned into a flat with its own entrance. Listing language gives clues. A sleepout offered as a bedroom, a rumpus with a bathroom priced as a flat, or a bedroom count that seems generous for the age and size of the house are all worth a closer look before you fall for the price.

Ask the landlord directly whether the space you would be living in was consented, and notice how comfortable the answer is. For certainty, the council holds a property file for every address, and a LIM sets out what the council knows about building work there. Comparing what exists on site with what was approved is the whole test: a four bedroom listing for a house the council knows as three bedrooms answers your question. And if the rent seems well under market for the advertised size, the size may be the problem.

Tenancy law deals specifically with unlawful residential premises. A landlord cannot avoid their obligations by pointing out that the premises should never have been rented, and the Tenancy Tribunal can hear these cases and order remedies, which in serious cases have included rent being repaid.

If you are already living in a space you suspect was never lawful to rent, do not simply stop paying rent, because that creates a separate problem. Talk to Tenancy Services first about where you stand and what to do next.