Can I cancel a real estate agency agreement in New Zealand?

Yes, in defined circumstances. If you change your mind you can cancel a sole agency in writing by 5pm on the first working day after you are given your copy. If the agent approached you unsolicited you have five working days and it does not need to be in writing. If the sole agency runs longer than 90 days, either party may cancel any time after day 90 under section 131 of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008.

What is the difference between a sole agency and a general agency?

A sole agency appoints one agency exclusively, so commission may be payable to that agency even if another sells the property. A general agency allows more than one agency to market the property, with commission going to whichever one sells it. Sole agency is the usual residential arrangement.

Do I have to sign the agency agreement at the appraisal?

No. An appraisal commits you to nothing. You are entitled to take the agency agreement away and have a property lawyer read it, and the Real Estate Authority's consumer site advises getting legal advice before signing. Every term is negotiable up to the moment you sign and effectively none of them are afterwards.

Will I still owe commission after cancelling an agency agreement?

Possibly. Most agreements provide that if the agency introduced a buyer during the term and that buyer later purchases the property, commission remains payable for a defined period after the agreement ends. Check that clause specifically, and check whether the sole agency converts into a general agency on cancellation.

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Agency Agreements: Before You Sign

Step 5 of 14 in the pathway Selling your home

Previous: Commission, and negotiating it · Next: Pricing, and the appraisal gap

General information, not legal advice. Selling a property in New Zealand turns on the exact wording of the documents you sign, and this guide describes how the process generally works rather than what your agreement says. Have a property lawyer read any agency agreement and any sale and purchase agreement before you sign it, not after. That review costs far less than either document going wrong. If you have a problem with a licensed agent, the Real Estate Authority runs a free complaints process, and settled.govt.nz is its independent consumer guidance.

📜 The Document That Decides Everything

The agency agreement is the most consequential thing a seller signs, and it is usually signed first, often at the kitchen table, at the end of a meeting where somebody has just told you what your house is worth. It sets the commission, the length of the appointment, who pays for marketing, and what happens if you want out. Everything after it is negotiated from a weaker position.

                Key point: You are not obliged to sign at the appraisal, and you are entitled to take the agreement away and have a lawyer read it. Settled.govt.nz, which is run by the Real Estate Authority, advises getting legal advice before signing. An agent who discourages that is telling you something useful about the agent.
            

What the agreement must set out

The commission, expressed so you can work out what you will actually pay.
The expenses you are agreeing to, including marketing.
The type of agency and how long the appointment runs.
How the agreement ends, and what survives after it ends.

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🔑 Sole Agency and General Agency

There are two shapes of appointment and the difference is exclusivity.

	Sole agency	General agency
Who may sell	One agency only	More than one agency
Commission if another agency sells	May still be payable to the sole agent	Payable to the agency that sells
Typical use	The standard arrangement	Less common for residential
Cancellation	Specific statutory rights, below	Set by the agreement

Sole agency is the normal residential arrangement and it is not a bad thing in itself: an agency investing in a campaign wants to know it will be paid if the property sells. What matters is the term you agree to and what happens at the end of it.

                The trap to look for: Some sole agency agreements convert into a general agency when the sole agency period ends or is cancelled. If that happens and you do not also cancel the general agency, the agency may still be entitled to commission on a later sale. Ask directly what the agreement becomes when the sole agency ends.
            

⏰ Your Cancellation Rights

New Zealand law gives sellers specific rights to get out of a sole agency agreement. These are statutory, they do not depend on the agency being at fault, and they are not favours.

Change of mind: cancel in writing by 5pm on the first working day after you are given your copy

Unsolicited approach: five working days to cancel, and it does not have to be in writing

Longer than 90 days: either party may cancel any time after day 90, in writing

The 90-day right sits in section 131 of the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 and applies to sole agency agreements for residential property that run longer than 90 days. It is the reason a very long sole agency is less binding than it looks, but it is also a reason to check the term before signing rather than relying on it later.

                Cancelling is not the same as being free of the agency: If the agency introduced a buyer during the term and that buyer later purchases, commission may still be payable. Ask how the agreement treats buyers introduced during the appointment, and get the answer in the document rather than in conversation.
            

🔍 What to Check Line by Line

Read these clauses specifically, and ask for anything you do not understand to be explained in writing.

The commission: the rate, the tier boundaries, any fixed fee, and whether GST is included in the figures shown.
Marketing: the total you are committing to, when it is payable, and whether it is payable if the property does not sell.
The term: the exact end date, not a duration described loosely.
What the agreement becomes when the sole agency period ends.
Buyers introduced during the term, and for how long after the end that applies.
Whether the agency may accept a commission or referral fee from anyone else in the transaction.

Model what different structures cost you before you agree to one, using the real estate commission comparison calculator and the commission negotiation savings calculator.

                On published rates: Most large New Zealand brands are franchise networks in which each office sets its own fee, and a brand-wide rate card generally does not exist. When we publish an agency structure we say where the figure came from. Treat any national rate quoted to you as a starting point to be checked against the agreement in front of you.
            

⚖ If Something Goes Wrong

Licensed agents work under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008 and a professional conduct code, and there is a free complaints process that does not require a lawyer.

Raise it with the agency first, in writing, and keep the correspondence.
If that does not resolve it, the Real Estate Authority handles complaints about licensed agents.
For a dispute about the agreement itself, rather than conduct, that is a legal question for your own lawyer.

                The cheapest protection is the earliest one: A property lawyer reading the agency agreement before you sign costs a fraction of what a disputed commission claim costs, and it happens at the only point where every term is still negotiable.
            

Next in this pathway: pricing your home, and why the highest appraisal is not the best one.

🎯 Test Your Knowledge

Quiz on Agency Agreements in NZ: Before You Sign (10 Questions)

1. You may cancel a sole agency agreement after a change of mind by:

5pm on the first working day after receiving your copy

Any time within a month

Only with the agency's consent

You cannot cancel

2. If an agent approached you unsolicited, you have:

No cancellation right

One working day

Five working days, and it need not be in writing

Ninety days

3. A sole agency for residential property longer than 90 days can be cancelled:

Never

By either party after 90 days, in writing

Only by the agency

Only in the first week

4. A cancelled sole agency may convert into:

Nothing at all

A general agency

An auction

A tenancy

5. The difference between sole and general agency is:

The commission rate

Exclusivity

The marketing budget

The settlement date

6. Under an agency agreement, marketing costs are usually:

Paid by the agency

Paid by you and agreed in the agreement

Paid by the buyer

Never charged

7. Commission may still be payable after the agreement ends if:

The house is repainted

A buyer introduced during the term later buys

The market falls

You change lawyers

8. Settled.govt.nz advises sellers to:

Sign at the appraisal

Get legal advice before signing

Avoid lawyers

Choose the highest appraisal

9. A brand-wide national commission rate generally does not exist because:

It is a secret

Offices are franchises that set their own fees

The Authority forbids publishing

Rates change daily

10. Complaints about a licensed agent's conduct go to:

The Disputes Tribunal

The Real Estate Authority

Inland Revenue

The council

Related guides

Real estate commission, what you are agreeing to pay.
Selling privately or with an agent, the alternative to signing at all.
The sale and purchase agreement, the other contract in the sale.

Official New Zealand sources

The rules described on this page come from these bodies. Each link goes to the page used, and each was checked on 15 August 2026.

Settled.govt.nz, signing an agency agreement, cancellation rights and what to check before signing.
Real Estate Agents Act 2008, section 131, cancelling a sole agency for residential property after 90 days.
Real Estate Authority, agency agreements, the requirements an agency agreement must meet.

This guide explains how the rules work. It is not legal advice about your own sale, and a property lawyer should review any agreement before you sign it.