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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Termination of tenancies and recovery of possession

56C: Service of notices of withdrawal and accompanying evidence

You could also call this:

“How to properly send and deliver notices about ending a tenancy and the proof needed”

When you want to end your tenancy because of family violence, you need to give your landlord a notice. This notice is called a ‘notice of withdrawal’. You also need to give your landlord some evidence to show why you need to leave. Here’s how you can give these documents to your landlord:

If you send the notice and evidence by post, they are considered given to the landlord on the day you post them. To prove you sent them, you just need to show that you addressed the letter correctly and posted it.

If you deliver the notice and evidence to an address, they are considered given to the landlord on the day you deliver them. To prove you gave them, you just need to show that you addressed the letter correctly and delivered it.

Sometimes, your landlord might need to give you a notice of withdrawal. If they send it by post, it’s considered given to you on the day they post it. If they deliver it to an address, it’s considered given to you on the day they deliver it. The landlord can prove they gave you the notice by showing they addressed it correctly and posted or delivered it.

These rules are different from the usual rules about giving notices in section 136 of this law.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=LMS533563.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Family and relationships > Marriage and partnerships
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56B: Withdrawal from tenancy following family violence, or

“How you can leave your home if someone in your family is hurting you”

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56D: Termination where it would be unreasonable to require remaining tenant to continue with tenancy, or

“Ending a tenancy when it's too hard for the remaining renter to keep living there after someone else moves out”

Part 2 Tenancy agreements
Termination of tenancies and recovery of possession

56CService of notices of withdrawal and accompanying evidence

  1. Despite section 136(6),—

  2. if a notice of withdrawal under section 56B(1) and accompanying qualifying evidence under section 56B(1)(a) are sent by post in accordance with section 136, they are to be treated as given to the landlord on the date on which they are posted, and, in proving that the notice and evidence were given, it is sufficient to prove that the letter was properly addressed and posted:
    1. if a notice of withdrawal under section 56B(3)(c) is sent by post in accordance with section 136, it is to be treated as given to the tenant on the date on which it is posted, and, in proving that the notice was given, it is sufficient to prove that the letter was properly addressed and posted.

      1. Despite section 136(7),—

      2. if a notice of withdrawal under section 56B(1) and accompanying qualifying evidence under section 56B(1)(a) are delivered to an address in accordance with section 136, they are to be treated as given to the landlord on the date on which they are delivered, and, in proving that the notice and evidence were given, it is sufficient to prove that the letter was properly addressed and delivered:
        1. if a notice of withdrawal under section 56B(3)(c) is delivered to an address in accordance with section 136, it is to be treated as given to the tenant on the date on which it is delivered, and, in proving that the notice was given, it is sufficient to prove that the letter was properly addressed and delivered.

          Notes
          • Section 56C: inserted, on , by section 39 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).