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73: Seal of Tribunal
or “The Tribunal has a special stamp to make important documents official”

You could also call this:

“The Tribunal keeps important papers that you can look at and get copies of if you ask nicely and pay a small fee.”

The Residential Tenancies Tribunal keeps records and papers. You can see these records if you want to. Here’s how it works:

The people who work at the Tribunal, called Registrars, keep all the records and papers. They might use computers to do this. The person in charge of the Ministry of Justice decides how they should keep the records.

You can look at these records and papers if you want to. Sometimes you might have to pay a small fee. You can usually see them at any reasonable time. But sometimes, the Tribunal might say you can’t see certain records. They can do this using section 95A.

If you want a copy of any record or paper, you can ask for one. You can ask a Registrar in person, or you might be able to ask online if that’s allowed. You might have to pay a fee for this too.

If you get a copy, you might wonder if it’s real. Don’t worry! The copy will come with a certificate. This certificate will be signed by a Tenancy Adjudicator or a Registrar and will have the Tribunal’s official seal. This means you can trust that the copy is real and correct.

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Next up: 75: Offices and Tenancy Officers

or “This part used to explain how the government set up special offices and people to help with renting homes, but it's not used anymore.”

Part 3 The Tenancy Tribunal
Constitution and administration

74Records of Tribunal

  1. Registrars must keep the records and papers of the Tribunal in the way (including by electronic means) approved by the chief executive of the Ministry of Justice.

  2. Except where the Tribunal otherwise orders under section 95A, the records and papers of the Tribunal shall be available for public inspection, on payment of the prescribed fee (if any), at all reasonable times.

  3. The chief executive of the Ministry of Justice must make arrangements under which a true copy of any record or paper of the Tribunal that is available for public inspection will be provided to any person on—

  4. an application made by that person—
    1. to a Registrar; or
      1. by any electronic means (for example, through an Internet site) approved by the chief executive of the Ministry of Justice (if the arrangements allow applications to be made by electronic means); and
      2. payment by that person of the prescribed fee (if any).
        1. A certificate, given by a Tenancy Adjudicator or any Registrar and sealed with the seal of the Tribunal, to the effect that any such copy is a true copy of the record or paper of the Tribunal to which it relates shall, in the absence of proof to the contrary, be sufficient evidence that it is a true copy of that record or paper.

        Notes
        • Section 74(1): replaced, on , by section 22(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).
        • Section 74(2): amended, on , by section 107 of the Statutes Amendment Act 2022 (2022 No 75).
        • Section 74(3): replaced, on , by section 22(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).
        • Section 74(4): amended, on , by section 22(3) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).