The Tenancy Tribunal has exclusive jurisdiction to hear disputes between landlords and tenants where the tenancy is a residential one. You can apply to the Tribunal by contacting your local Tenancy Services office (see below).
You can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal by completing an Application for Order of Tribunal. You can obtain a copy of this form from any office of Tenancy Services, which is part of the Department of Building and Housing; for contact details, see www.dbh.govt.nz (under Tenancy Services/Location). Alternatively you can ask for a form to be sent out to you by ringing one of the Tenancy Services offices or by ringing the Tenancy Advice Services Centre freephone number, 0800 836 262.Alternatively you can ask for a form to be sent out to you by ringing one of the Tenancy Services offices or by ringing the Tenancy Services Centre freephone number, 0800 737 666.
There is an application fee of $20.
You will be sent a notice of the date, time and place for the hearing. Generally hearings are held within one or two weeks of the application being made, although they can be held at shorter notice in urgent cases.
The RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1986 provides that the parties to a dispute over a tenancy should first try to solve the matter through mediation. When an application to the Tribunal is lodged, Tenancy Services will seek to arrange a meeting with the parties and a mediator. Mediation meetings are confidential. However, either party is entitled to refuse mediation, and to choose to go straight to the Tribunal.
If an agreement suitable to all parties is not reached through mediation the matter will be referred to the Tribunal for it to make a decision.
If the Tribunal thinks it appropriate it may order the parties to go back to mediation.
Your case will be heard by an Adjudicator, whose decision is binding on both parties. With some exceptions the parties are not permitted to have lawyers present at these hearings and therefore represent themselves. However, as the case will be heard by way of a public hearing, you are entitled to take along people to support you.
The Adjudicator will listen to both sides. Both parties are entitled to attend and be heard at the hearing, to call evidence, and to examine, cross-examine, and re-examine witnesses.
The Adjudicator is guided by the provisions of the RESIDENTIAL TENANCIES ACT 1986 in making a decision.
Under the Act, all tenancies entered into after 1 December 1996 must have a written agreement setting out the particular terms that have been agreed to (see How to enter into a residential tenancy). This agreement should be signed, with a copy being retained by each party. The Tribunal will seek to enforce the terms of the agreement and will seek guidance from the agreement when making a decision. However, if a provision agreed to is inconsistent with the Act or any other legislation, it will not be enforced.
The Tribunal must determine each dispute according to the relevant legal principles and the substantial merits and justice of the case, but it is not bound to give effect to strict legal rights or obligations or to legal forms or technicalities.
The Adjudicator’s decision will be delivered in writing in the form of a Tribunal Order; both the landlord and tenant will receive a copy of the order. The decision carries the same weight as a court order and thus both parties will be required to comply with it.
Without limiting the Tribunal’s general jurisdiction to settle tenancy disputes, the Act specifies a variety of orders that the Tribunal may make, including:
If you are not satisfied with the Tribunal’s decision, you may apply to the Tribunal for a rehearing on the ground that a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice has or may have occurred or is likely to occur. You must lodge your application within five working days after the date of the decision (or within any time extension allowed by the Tribunal).
You also have a right of appeal to the District Court. However, this right does not apply to interim orders, nor if the decision concerns an amount less than $1,000 or a work order valued at less than $1,000.