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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

The Tenancy Tribunal - Jurisdiction

81: Exclusion of Tribunal's jurisdiction prohibited

You could also call this:

“ No one can stop you from going to the special court for house renting problems. ”

You cannot make any agreement that stops you from going to the Tenancy Tribunal or limits what the Tribunal can do. If you try to make such an agreement, it won’t work. This rule applies even if you have agreed to use arbitration or to do something else before you can take action.

The Tribunal can still look at your case even if you’ve agreed to use arbitration or to do something else first. This means you can’t be forced to use a different way to solve your problem instead of going to the Tribunal.

However, if you think you have a reason to make a claim and you agree to settle or compromise that claim, then you can make an agreement about that. This doesn’t stop you from going to the Tribunal, but it means you’ve chosen to handle your problem in a different way.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM95584.

Topics:

Housing and property > Renting

Crime and justice > Courts and legal help

80: Orders of Tribunal to be final, or

“The Tribunal's decisions are usually the final word, except in special cases.”

82: Exclusion of other jurisdictions, or

“This law says that only special courts can handle certain cases, unless they started before this law was made or if a judge says it's okay.”

Part 3 The Tenancy Tribunal
Jurisdiction

81Exclusion of Tribunal's jurisdiction prohibited

A provision in any tenancy agreement to which this Act applies, or in any other agreement entered into by the parties to any such tenancy agreement, to exclude or limit—
the jurisdiction of the Tribunal; or
the right of any person to invoke that jurisdiction—

Without limiting the generality of subsection (1), the Tribunal shall have jurisdiction in respect of a claim notwithstanding any agreement relating to the matter that provides for—
the submission to arbitration of any dispute or difference; or
the making of an award upon such a submission to be a condition precedent to any cause of action accruing to a party to the agreement.

Subsection (1) does not apply where a cause of action has accrued, or is believed to have accrued, to a person and that person has agreed to the settlement or compromise of the claim based on that cause of action.