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85: Manner in which jurisdiction is to be exercised
or “The Tribunal decides disputes between landlords and tenants fairly and quickly, focusing on what's right rather than strict legal rules.”
You could also call this:

“How to start a case with the Tribunal by submitting a form and paying a fee”

You can start a case with the Tenancy Tribunal by filling out a special form and paying a fee. You can do this at any Tribunal office or online if the chief executive has approved an electronic way to do it.

If you’re the chief executive and you’re acting under section 124A, you can file one application for multiple tenancies if they all have the same landlord or if the landlords are connected to each other.

Before approving the form, the chief executive must talk to the head judge of the Tribunal about it.

If a landlord is applying to end a tenancy under section 61(1), they need to say on the form if they want their case handled quickly under section 91AA. If they do, they must give the tenant’s contact details so the Tribunal can use them.

The chief executive decides which offices can accept applications. They can change this decision anytime. When they make or change this decision, they must tell everyone by putting it in the Gazette and on the internet.

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Next up: 87: Duties of chief executive on receipt of application

or “The boss decides what to do when someone asks for help with a house problem.”
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Part 3 The Tenancy Tribunal
Procedure

86Filing of applications

  1. Proceedings before the Tribunal are commenced by filing an application in the approved form, with any prescribed fee,—

  2. at any office of the Tribunal; or
    1. by any electronic means (for example, through an Internet site) approved by the chief executive.

      1. The chief executive may, if acting under section 124A, file an application to commence a proceeding that relates to 2 or more tenancies if, for each tenancy,—

      2. 1 person is the landlord; or
        1. 1 person (P) or an associated person of P is the landlord.

            1. Example

            A is a landlord. A’s spouse, B, is also a landlord.

            B is an associated person of A.

            The chief executive may file a single application to commence a proceeding that relates to 1 or more of A’s tenancies and to 1 or more of B’s tenancies.

          1. Before the chief executive approves a proposed form for the purposes of subsection (1), the chief executive must consult with the Principal Tenancy Adjudicator about the proposed form.

          2. The approved form for an application under section 61(1) must (in particular) require the landlord, in the application,—

          3. to state whether the landlord wants the application to be dealt with under section 91AA; and
            1. to provide specified contact details of the tenant for use by the Tribunal under section 91AA(3), if the landlord wants the application to be dealt with under section 91AA.

              1. The chief executive must determine the offices of the Tribunal for the purposes of subsection (1).

              2. The chief executive may from time to time vary or replace a determination described in subsection (3).

              3. The chief executive must publish every determination under subsection (3) and every variation or replacement under subsection (4) in the Gazette and on the Internet.

              Notes
              • Section 86: replaced, on , by section 60 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
              • Section 86(1): replaced, on , by section 26(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).
              • Section 86(1A): inserted, on , by section 51 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).
              • Section 86(2A): inserted, on , by section 26(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).
              • Section 86(3): replaced, on , by section 7(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2012 (2012 No 113).