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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Miscellaneous provisions

136: Service of documents

You could also call this:

“This explains different ways to send important papers to landlords and tenants, like giving them in person or sending by mail.”

When you need to give or serve a notice or document to a landlord or tenant under this Act, you can do it in several ways:

You can give it to them in person. You can send it by post to the address they’ve given for this purpose. If the landlord is a company, you can post it to their registered office. You can deliver it to the address they’ve given and put it in the mailbox or attach it to the door. For company landlords, you can do this at their registered office too. You can also email or fax it to the address they’ve given.

For tenants, you have more options. You can post it or deliver it to where they live. You can give it to someone who looks at least 16 years old and lives there. You can give it to the person who usually pays the rent or to the tenant’s lawyer or agent.

For landlords, you can give it to someone who looks at least 16 years old and lives at their home. You can give it to the person who usually collects the rent, or to the landlord’s lawyer or agent.

If there’s more than one landlord or tenant, giving the document to one of them is enough.

If you send a document by post, it’s considered delivered four working days after you post it. If you deliver it to an address, it’s considered delivered two working days later. If you fax or email it after 5 pm, it’s considered delivered the next working day.

These rules don’t apply to infringement notices, which have their own rules.

Section 91A and Section 56C have some special rules that override parts of this section in certain situations.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM96407.

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Part 5 Miscellaneous provisions

136Service of documents

  1. Where any notice or other document is required or authorised by this Act to be given to or served on a landlord or a tenant, it shall be sufficient if it is given or served in any of the following ways:

  2. it may be given to or served on the landlord or the tenant personally:
    1. it may be sent by post addressed to the landlord or the tenant at the address or the Post Office box given by the landlord or the tenant as an address for service in accordance with this Act:
      1. if the landlord is a company, it may be sent by post addressed to the landlord at the address of the landlord’s registered office:
        1. it may be delivered to the premises to which any address for service relates, and either placed in the mailbox or attached to the door in a prominent position:
          1. if the landlord is a company, it may be delivered to the landlord’s registered office, and either placed in the mailbox or attached to the door in a prominent position:
            1. it may be transmitted to the email address or facsimile number given by the landlord or the tenant as an address for service.

              1. Without limiting the provisions of subsection (1), any notice or other document required or authorised by this Act to be given to or served upon any tenant may be served on a tenant:

              2. at the premises to which the tenancy agreement relates, if the tenant resides at those premises, as follows:
                1. by posting it addressed to the tenant at those premises; or
                  1. by delivering it to those premises and either placing it in the mailbox or attaching it to the door of those premises in a prominent position; or
                    1. by giving it to any person appearing to have attained the age of 16 years and to be residing at those premises; or
                    2. at any other place of residence of the tenant, by giving it to any person appearing to have attained the age of 16 years and to be residing at those premises and who confirms that the tenant resides at the premises; or
                      1. at the premises to which any address for service given by the tenant relates, by giving it to any person appearing to have attained the age of 16 years and to be residing at those premises; or
                        1. by giving it to the person who ordinarily pays the rent under the tenancy agreement; or
                          1. by giving it to any solicitor or other agent of the tenant duly authorised by the tenant to receive the same.

                            1. Section 91A overrides subsections (1) and (2) in relation to service on tenants in the circumstances set out in that section.

                            2. Without limiting the provisions of subsection (1), any notice or other document required or authorised by this Act to be given to or served upon any landlord shall be deemed to have been duly given or served if it is given—

                            3. to any person appearing to have attained the age of 16 years and to be residing at the place of residence of the landlord; or
                              1. to the person (not being a bank or similar institution) who ordinarily receives the rent payable under the agreement; or
                                1. to any solicitor or other agent of the landlord duly authorised by the landlord to receive the same.

                                  1. Where 2 or more persons are landlords or tenants under a residential tenancy agreement, it shall be sufficient compliance with a provision of this Act requiring or authorising a notice or other document to be given to or served upon the landlord or the tenant if the notice or other document is given or served, in accordance with this Act, to or upon any one of the landlords or any one of the tenants.

                                  2. A witness summons may be served on the witness—

                                  3. personally; or
                                    1. by sending it by post addressed to the witness at the witness's last-known place of residence or business.

                                      1. Where any document is sent by post in accordance with any of the foregoing provisions of this section, it shall be deemed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have been given or served on the fourth working day after the date on which it was posted; and, in proving service, it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter was properly addressed and posted.

                                      2. Where any document is delivered to any address in accordance with any of the foregoing provisions of this section, it shall be deemed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have been given or served on the second working day after the date on which it was delivered; and, in proving service, it shall be sufficient to prove that the letter was properly addressed and delivered.

                                      3. Section 56C overrides subsections (6) and (7) in relation to the giving of a notice of withdrawal under section 56B(1) and (3)(c) and accompanying qualifying evidence under section 56B(1)(a).

                                      4. Where any document is transmitted by facsimile in accordance with this section after 5 pm on any day, it shall be deemed, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have been given or served on the next working day after the date on which it was transmitted; and, in proving service, it shall be sufficient to prove that the document was properly transmitted by facsimile machine to the person concerned.

                                      5. Where any document is transmitted by email in accordance with this section after 5 pm on any day, it is to be treated, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, to have been given or served on the next working day after the date on which it was transmitted.

                                      6. In proving service of a document transmitted by email, it is sufficient to prove that the email was—

                                      7. properly addressed to the email address in question; and
                                        1. properly transmitted with the document to that email address.

                                          1. Nothing in this section applies to the service of infringement notices (see section 126F).

                                          Compare
                                          • Residential Tenancies Act 1978–1981 s 93 (SA)
                                          Notes
                                          • Section 136(1)(b): replaced, on , by section 84(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
                                          • Section 136(1)(ba): inserted, on , by section 42(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).
                                          • Section 136(1)(c): replaced, on , by section 84(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
                                          • Section 136(1)(ca): inserted, on , by section 42(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).
                                          • Section 136(1)(d): replaced, on , by section 84(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
                                          • Section 136(2): replaced, on , by section 50(3) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 7).
                                          • Section 136(2)(c): replaced, on , by section 84(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
                                          • Section 136(2A): inserted, on , by section 84(3) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
                                          • Section 136(3): amended, on , by section 50(4) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 7).
                                          • Section 136(4): amended, on , by section 50(5) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 7).
                                          • Section 136(7): amended, on , by section 50(6) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 7).
                                          • Section 136(7A): inserted, on , by section 72(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).
                                          • Section 136(8): inserted, on , by section 50(7) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 7).
                                          • Section 136(9): inserted, on , by section 42(3) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).
                                          • Section 136(10): inserted, on , by section 42(3) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2016 (2016 No 26).
                                          • Section 136(11): inserted, on , by section 72(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).