Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Public Works Act 1981

Compensation - The award

90: Costs in claims for compensation

You could also call this:

“Who pays for the costs when you go to a hearing about money for public works”

When you go to a hearing at the Land Valuation Tribunal about compensation for public works, the Tribunal decides who pays for the costs of the hearing. They can tell you who needs to pay and how much.

If someone offers you money for compensation before the hearing, and you get less money at the hearing than they offered, you might have to pay for your own costs and some of their costs too. This is for any costs that happened after they made the offer.

If that doesn’t happen, the Tribunal will usually make the other side pay for their own costs and your costs too, unless there’s a good reason not to.

One reason the Tribunal might not make the other side pay your costs is if they think you asked for way too much money compared to what you actually got or what the evidence showed.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM46938.

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89: Separate sums to be awarded for items of claim, or

"The Tribunal looks at each part of your claim separately and decides how much you get for each"

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91: Costs may be deducted from compensation awarded, or

"Money you owe can be taken out of your compensation"

Part 5 Compensation
The award

90Costs in claims for compensation

  1. Subject to the provisions of this section, the costs of a hearing by the Land Valuation Tribunal under this Part shall be in the discretion of the Tribunal, which may direct to and by whom and in what manner those costs or any part of them shall be paid.

  2. Where the respondent has made an offer of any amount for compensation and the compensation awarded is less than the amount so offered, the Tribunal may order the claimant to bear his own costs and to pay the costs of the respondent in so far as the costs of either party are incurred after the making of the offer.

  3. If costs are not awarded in accordance with the provisions of subsection (2), the Tribunal shall, unless for special reasons it thinks it proper not to do so, order the respondent to bear his own costs and to pay the reasonable costs of the claimant.

  4. Without limiting the generality of the provisions of subsection (3), it is hereby declared that the fact that the Tribunal in any case considers that the amount claimed was unreasonably high having regard to the compensation awarded or the evidence before the Tribunal, shall be a special reason that the Tribunal may take into consideration for the purposes of that subsection.

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