2026 Winner

Sue Harrison

NZPIF myRent Landlord of the Year

Sue Harrison’s property journey spans decades. She first became a landlord in her twenties when she rented out her first home, before intentionally building a Christchurch property portfolio in her thirties. Her experience has since grown to include long-term rentals, social housing and short-term accommodation.

What stands out is the hands-on approach Sue continues to take with her tenants. Maintenance requests are dealt with quickly, communication is direct and personal, and she continues to invest in her homes beyond minimum requirements, including double glazing and additional insulation.

That approach has helped create some remarkably stable tenancies. Several of Sue’s tenants have been with her for more than four years, with her longest current tenancy reaching 7.5 years. She has even had former tenants ask to return and new tenants arrive through recommendations from people who have previously rented from her.

Sue’s contribution extends well beyond her own properties. A member of the Canterbury Property Investors’ Association and NZPIF since 1998, she has served on the CPIA committee, as NZPIF Secretary and for two years as NZPIF National President. She has also been a strong advocate for landlord education and the NZPIF RentSkills programme.

After many years of investing, managing homes, supporting tenants and giving her time back to the wider property community, Sue is a very deserving 2026 NZPIF myRent Landlord of the Year.

Runner-up

Suzanne Taylor

Suzanne’s property journey began in 2012 while she was on maternity leave. Looking for a way to replace her salary and spend more time at home with her children, she learnt the property flipping business and went on to complete more than 20 projects across Wellington over seven years.

She later moved into long-term property investment, with a focus on creating good-quality homes and lasting relationships with tenants.

One tenancy perhaps sums up Suzanne’s approach better than anything else. A family moved into one of her properties more than 11 years ago with their three daughters. Today, one of those daughters has a family of her own and lives in a new home Suzanne developed at the rear of the same property, allowing two generations of the family to live close to one another.

Suzanne is also Vice President of the Wellington Property Investors’ Association and helps facilitate Wellington Women in Property, sharing her experience and helping newer investors find their feet.

Congratulations to Suzanne on being named 2026 NZPIF myRent Landlord of the Year Runner-up.

Merit Award

Muhammad Irfaan Saib

Muhammad’s approach is built around providing safe, stable homes and treating tenants with fairness and respect. He takes a proactive approach to maintenance and property improvements, is working towards HomeFit Plus-level standards, and has introduced welcome and exit packs to make the tenancy experience clearer and easier for everyone. A 2025 finalist, Muhammad returned in 2026 to receive a Merit Award.

Merit Award

Sarah Whittle

Sarah’s journey into property investment began with planning for her son’s future housing needs. When the right property became available, the family secured it for the future but, rather than leaving it unused, worked with a disability support provider to offer it as supported accommodation to a young person who urgently needed to move out of emergency housing. Sarah hopes their experience will encourage more private landlords to consider the role they can play in providing suitable homes for disabled and vulnerable people.

Merit Award

Aaron & Jordayna McDowell

Aaron and Jordayna temporarily relocated their young family from Auckland to Taranaki and took on the renovation of three Hawera homes. Aaron worked on the projects around his full-time job while Jordayna project-managed the renovations during pregnancy. Together they transformed the properties into warm, modern homes for three local families and now self-manage them with a strong focus on responsive, personal relationships with their tenants.

Merit Award

Mohit & Shefali Gupta

Mohit began investing in 2015 with a focus on long-term financial security, later building a diverse portfolio with Shefali across Auckland, Rotorua and Christchurch. Both Chartered Accountants, they bring a structured approach to their property business while keeping their philosophy refreshingly simple: look after your tenants and they will look after your home. They focus on proactive maintenance, warm and healthy homes, and sharing what they’ve learnt with other investors.

2026 Winner

Tania & Logan MacDonell

NZPIF Renovation of the Year

Tania and Logan MacDonell saw something very different when they looked at the unused basement beneath their New Plymouth investment property.

Rather than leaving it as underutilised space, they set out to transform it into a fully compliant, self-contained family home, creating two independent dwellings within the property’s existing footprint.

This was no simple cosmetic renovation. The basement was completely gutted, internal walls were repositioned, windows enlarged and the existing laundry relocated upstairs. One of the most technically challenging parts of the project involved trenching beneath the existing concrete slab to install new drainage and plumbing.

The existing garage was repurposed to create a master bedroom with an ensuite and double wardrobes, while new exterior brickwork was carefully matched to the original house. Double glazing, upgraded insulation and fire-rated materials were incorporated as part of creating two fully compliant homes.

The result is a great example of finding opportunity within an existing property. An unused basement has become another warm, modern family home without increasing the building’s original footprint.

Congratulations to Tania and Logan MacDonell, our 2026 NZPIF Renovation of the Year winners.

Merit Award

Peter & Karen van Cingel

Peter and Karen took on a tired one-bedroom flat in Whangārei that was dated, poorly laid out and dominated by exposed cinder-block walls and concrete ceilings.

Over just five and a half weeks, they spent around 225 hours of evenings and weekends doing much of the renovation themselves.

The flat received a complete top-to-bottom makeover. The block walls were lined and plastered, the ceilings finished, electrical fittings upgraded and the property recarpeted. The cramped U-shaped kitchen was replaced with a more open L-shaped design, while the bathroom was completely reconfigured to make much better use of the available space.

They were resourceful too. Salvageable items from the old property were sold rather than sent to landfill, timber was reused elsewhere in the renovation and even some of the original kitchen tiles found a second life in the bathroom.

Merit Award

Matthew & Melanie Lovell

When Matthew and Melanie Lovell bought in Inglewood, they were taking on a property that needed considerably more than a fresh coat of paint.

The deceased-estate property had previously been a hoarder’s house and had suffered years of neglect. The roof was failing, the gardens were overgrown and the dated three-bedroom house needed major work throughout.

Instead of opting for a cosmetic makeover, Matthew and Melanie stripped it back and rebuilt it as a modern four-bedroom family home. The project included a new roof, complete rewiring and replumbing, insulation, double glazing, flooring, heating, a new kitchen and bathrooms.

They also made better use of the existing floor area, adding a master ensuite and walk-in wardrobe and improving the connection to the outdoors with a new stacker door.

Merit Award

Danielle Nobis & Tim Cuncannon

Danielle and Tim’s renovation didn’t exactly get off to the start they had imagined.

They purchased their Porirua property intending to tackle their first renovation flip. But when they walked through the door on settlement day, they discovered the property had been robbed. The hot water cylinder had disappeared, copper piping had been ripped out and the underfloor insulation had been torn up.

Rather than being derailed, they got to work.

Over approximately three and a half months, the damaged and outdated house was transformed with a new kitchen and bathroom, new roof and guttering, rewiring, new flooring, heating, ventilation and insulation, along with interior and exterior painting.

They also improved the home’s functionality for families, adding a secure back fence and reworking the internal layout to create a larger bathroom.

What started as their first flip ultimately became a modern family home with tenants in place and a long-term investment they were proud to keep.