Rehearings, appeals & stay of proceedings

On this page:

Rehearings

Both the landlord and the tenant can apply for a rehearing.

You have 5 working days after the decision is issued to apply for a rehearing.  You do not need to pay a filing fee.

You can use this form [PDF, 139 KB] to apply for a rehearing.

You can submit your application at the District Court where the original hearing took place.  You can send your application by email, by courier, or post or you can take into the court in person.

Court contact information, including physical and email address is available on the Ministry of Justice website here.(external link)

If your application was heard remotely by phone or video, please email your application for rehearing to Remote.Tenancy@justice.govt.nz

Grounds for a rehearing

You can apply for a rehearing if you believe that a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice has happened. For example:

  • you did not get the letter telling you the date of the hearing 
  • the adjudicator improperly admitted or rejected evidence 
  • new evidence, relating to the original application, has become available.

Decisions about suppression, including whether to grant or not, cannot be reheard.

A rehearing will not be granted just because you disagree with the decision. You must give reasons and evidence to support your application.

What happens next?

Usually, the adjudicator who made the original decision will consider your application for a rehearing. The adjudicator will decide if a hearing in person or by phone should be held to hear the full reasons for your application for rehearing. If this happens all parties will receive a notice of hearing. 

You may choose to have the adjudicator decide if a rehearing should be granted based on the information you have provided i.e. you can ask the adjudicator to consider your application and what you have provided in writing, without the need for a hearing.

If the adjudicator is satisfied that a miscarriage of justice has, or may have, occurred then a rehearing will be granted. If this happens, a new hearing will be held.  The new hearing could be with the same adjudicator or someone different. 

Stay of proceedings - rehearings

A stay of proceedings stops the original order from being enforced.

A party can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to suspend the enforcement process. This is called a stay of enforcement proceedings. The adjudicator can decide to stay all of the original decision or only part of it.

Filing an application for a rehearing does not automatically stop the order from being enforced. The rehearing application will ask if you want to apply for a stay of proceedings. Please tick to confirm this option on the application form and provide the grounds (reasons) if you are applying for a stay of proceedings.  A decision will then be made separately whether to grant a stay or not.

If the adjudicator does not order a stay, the original order of the Tribunal can be enforced. 

Appeals

When you file an appeal you are asking a District Court judge to make a decision.

You should file your appeal at the District Court where the original hearing took place. You must file an appeal within 10 working days after the decision is issued. There is no ability to file an appeal out of time. The cost for an appeal is $200. 

You can use this form [PDF, 194 KB] to apply for an appeal.

Find a District Court(external link)

Grounds for an appeal

You can appeal to the District Court if you think the decision is wrong (based on the law). You can’t appeal to the District Court because you don’t like a decision.

For some cases, there’ll be no right to appeal. For example, you can’t appeal:

  • against an interim order
  • a final order for the payment of less than $1000
  • a final order to undertake work worth less than $1000.
What happens next?

You and the other party will need to attend a hearing before a District Court judge. We will notify you of the date, time and venue of this hearing.

There is usually no fee for the hearing. However, if the hearing lasts for longer than half a day, you will need to pay a fee of $900 for each half day after the first half day.

The appeal will be conducted by the judge as a rehearing of the original claim.

Stay of proceedings - appeals

If you want to apply for a stay of proceedings while the appeal process is underway you can use this [PDF, 74 KB] form to apply.

You can also get the form from the court or ask them to post it to you. 

Find a District Court(external link)

Please note if a stay is not ordered, the original order of the Tribunal can be enforced. 

What types of decisions can the judge make?

The judge can:

  • dismiss the appeal 
  • cancel the Tribunal's order and order a rehearing 
  • cancel the Tribunal's order and make any other order that the Tribunal could have made.

 

This page was last updated: