Once a Tribunal date has been set, the tenant will be notified by email, text, and / or letter. The Tribunal will not inform the tenant of the scheduled end time, but this can be checked online, or with the local Tribunal closer to the hearing.
Delaying a hearing / adjournments
Sometimes the tenant may not be able to attend the hearing. For example, they may be having surgery, be at a tangi, or have another commitment they cannot miss. In this event, the tenant should contact Tenancy Services or the Tribunal as soon as possible to request an adjournment. An adjournment request should include why the adjournment is needed, and any supporting evidence that can be provided (such as a hospital appointment confirmation).
If the hearing date is more than five days away, the tenant should contact Tenancy Services to make the request. If it’s within five days of the hearing date they will need to contact the Tribunal (see below).
The Tenancy Services case coordinator or the Tribunal staff will ask the applicant if they agree to a new hearing date. If the applicant does not agree to the postponement, the tenant can still write directly to the Tribunal to ask that the hearing be adjourned, making it clear that their intention is to dispute the matter.
Withdrawing an application
A party can usually withdraw an application to the Tenancy Tribunal any time before, or even at, the hearing. Consequently, reaching a resolution outside of the Tribunal is almost always an option right up to the hearing itself.
There is no penalty fee for withdrawing an application, although the $20.44 filing fee is unlikely to be refunded. This fee increases from $20.44 including GST to $27 from 1 July 2024.
Contacting the Tribunal about the application
If there’s five working days or less until the hearing, contact the Ministry of Justice.
If there’s more than five working days until your hearing, contact Tenancy Services.
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