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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Termination of tenancies and recovery of possession

55AA: Termination by notice for physical assault by tenant

You could also call this:

“When a person renting a home hurts the landlord or their family, the landlord can ask them to leave”

If you’re a tenant, your landlord can end your tenancy by giving you at least 14 days’ notice if you physically attack the landlord, the property owner, their family members, or the landlord’s agent. This applies to both fixed-term and periodic tenancies. A charge must be filed against you for the attack by the police or someone acting for the government.

The notice your landlord gives you must be on an official form and include specific information. It must come with proof that a charge has been filed. The notice must also tell you that you have the right to challenge it at the Tenancy Tribunal. Your landlord or their agent must sign the notice.

If you challenge the notice at the Tribunal before your tenancy ends, your tenancy won’t end unless the Tribunal says so. If there’s a challenge, your landlord has to prove that the attack happened and that they gave you the right kind of notice.

In this law, ‘physical assault’ means intentionally using force against someone, directly or indirectly. A ‘charge’ is an official document that accuses you of a crime. ‘Qualifying evidence’ can be a statement from certain people or specific types of proof that show a charge has been filed.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS533527.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Crime and justice > Criminal law
Crime and justice > Courts and legal help
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“Ending a rental agreement when tenants don't pay rent, cause damage, or hurt others”

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Part 2 Tenancy agreements
Termination of tenancies and recovery of possession

55AATermination by notice for physical assault by tenant

  1. A landlord may terminate a fixed-term or periodic tenancy by giving at least 14 days’ notice to the tenant if—

  2. the tenant has physically assaulted the landlord, the owner, a member of the landlord’s or owner’s family, or the landlord’s agent; and
    1. a charge has been filed in respect of the physical assault against the tenant by or on behalf of the Crown.

      1. For the purpose of subsection (1)(b), a charge has been filed in respect of a physical assault if the particulars of the charge describe a physical assault against a person referred to in subsection (1)(a), regardless of the offence that is specified in the charge.

      2. A notice to terminate a tenancy under this section must—

      3. be in the approved form and include the prescribed information; and
        1. be accompanied by qualifying evidence of the matters in subsection (1)(b); and
          1. advise the tenant of the tenant’s right to make an application to the Tribunal challenging the notice (see sections 77(1) and 78(1)(a) regarding the Tribunal); and
            1. be signed by the landlord or the landlord’s agent.

              1. If the tenant makes an application to the Tribunal challenging the notice, it is for the landlord to prove that the physical assault occurred and that the notice met the requirements of subsection (3).

              2. If the tenant makes an application to the Tribunal challenging the notice before the tenancy is terminated, the tenancy does not terminate under this section except in accordance with an order of the Tribunal.

              3. In this section,—

                charge means a charging document under section 14 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2011

                  physical assault means the act of intentionally applying force to the person of another, directly or indirectly

                    qualifying evidence means—

                    1. a declaration in the approved form made by a person who is prescribed, or is of a class prescribed, for the purposes of this subsection; or
                      1. evidence, in the approved form, of a prescribed type.

                      Notes
                      • Section 55AA: inserted, on , by section 37 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).