Plain language law

New Zealand law explained for everyone

Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Termination of tenancies and recovery of possession

52: Provision for shorter notice may be made with consent of Tribunal

You could also call this:

“The law allows for a shorter notice period to end a tenancy if a special court agrees to it.”

You and your landlord can ask the Tribunal for permission to end your tenancy with shorter notice than usual. This means you can agree to end the tenancy:

By giving notice that’s shorter than what’s normally required in section 51
When a specific event happens that you both agree on
When the landlord needs the property back for a reason you both agree on

To do this, you need to get the Tribunal’s approval first. The Tribunal is like a special court that deals with housing issues.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM95515.

Topics:

Housing and property > Renting

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

51: Termination by notice, or

“Rules for landlords and tenants to end a rental agreement by giving notice”

53: Special provisions for notice terminating service tenancies, or

“Rules for ending a special type of rental agreement when it's connected to a job”

Part 2 Tenancy agreements
Termination of tenancies and recovery of possession

52Provision for shorter notice may be made with consent of Tribunal

With the consent of the Tribunal, the parties to a tenancy agreement may provide for the termination of the tenancy by the giving of notice of a specified period (being less than that required by section 51), or on the happening of any event to be specified in the agreement, or where the landlord requires possession of the premises for any purpose to be specified in the agreement.