The tribunal said nationally, the wait time for a hearing is just over eight weeks.
The Tenancy Tribunal takes, on average, just over eight weeks to hear a residential property case nationally, except in Auckland, where it is longer.
Katie Gordon, tribunal dispute resolution national manager, said the eight weeks was the average time from when an application was submitted to its first tribunal hearing date.
A landlord group representative hopes the tribunal starting later next month to make orders on paper might speed it up.
Sarina Gibbon, Auckland Property Investors Association general manager and tenancy consultant, said paper orders were possible for the first time from March 20.
Residential Tenancies Act amendments passed in December enable that, unless it is for termination or landlords’ right to entry. The law had not allowed this previously.
“I am hopeful that the new RTA provisions that allow the tribunal to make decisions on paper will streamline the process without compromising the function of justice,” Gibbon said.
Gordon said applications for the tribunal to hear cases on Auckland properties took longer. That is thought to be due to the sheer number of applications being made.
“Factors that increase the wait time for a hearing include complex cases requiring longer hearings or the property being located in high-demand areas such as Auckland,” Gordon said.
The eight weeks is four months shorter than claimed by Angela Maynard of the Tenants Protection Association last month.
Nor are most cases renters trying to escape fixed-term leases after job losses, as she claimed in a Herald story on January 11. Instead, most cases are brought by landlords against tenants.
Gordon said that in 2024, 29,309 tribunal applications were made, up from 25,362 in 2023 and 20,373 in 2022.
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, the Ministry of Justice and the tribunal were continuously working to make operations as efficient as possible without compromising the quality of the service provided to participants, Gordon said.
Examples of recent changes included greater use of remote hearings and improvements to scheduling to cut the time it takes for people to find out when their mediation or hearing is. Tribunal wait times improved as a result of these and other factors.
Gibbon said common reasons for further delays or adjournments were illness and other distress, requests for a translator, application for legal representation, insufficient documentation on the day etc.
“I don’t want to call it a loophole because the system is actually quite accommodating and humane but if someone wants to drag the process out with multiple adjournments, it is possible.”
On the North Shore, the tribunal had significantly longer delays beyond the estimated timeframe, Gibbon said.
“In my capacities, I am aware of wait times ranging from six weeks to six months to get a tribunal hearing. One of my private clients who is at the receiving end of multiple adjournments due to illness and family members’ illnesses, has been waiting for a hearing for just under seven months,” she said.
She encouraged people to visit the tribunal’s hearing timeframes link which explains the process.
“I think that link should be bookmarked by every landlord and tenant. Having coached several landlords and tenants through the process, there is a lot that applicants to do at the application stage to speed up the process,” she said.
NZ Property Investors Federation Vice-President Peter Lewis said landlords cannot bring a case for termination until rent is at least 21 days in arrears.
“This means that, on average, a tenant could live rent-free for up to 55 days or nearly two months before a resolution is reached.”
For landlords, even with a maximum bond claim, unpaid rent then exceeds the bond amount, leaving them struggling to pay their own unavoidable costs of mortgage interest, council rates and insurance premiums, he said.
Tribunal orders requiring tenants to pay often go unenforced, making the problem worse.
“Mediation, intended as an initial step for dispute resolution, often fails when tenants refuse to participate. In such cases, the matter proceeds to the Tribunal, adding at least two weeks to the process, sometimes longer.”
David Whitburn, founder of investment business Whitburn Group, said mediations were excellent if both parties participated.
Various district courts were working at capacity, he said, particularly citing renovation works at Albert Street in central Auckland.
Matt Ball, PR and advocacy manager for the Property Investors Federation, said it wanted a separate division for rent arrear cases, which account for 60% of tribunal applications.
“Establishing a dedicated division to handle these cases could significantly reduce court backlogs. Landlords would submit applications with supporting evidence of arrears, which would be reviewed administratively rather than requiring a courtroom hearing,” the federation submitted to the Ministry of Justice.
It also wants a fast-track system created for urgent cases, such as when people stop paying rent.
Law changes passed recently come into force soon:
Anne Gibson has been the Herald’s property editor for 25 years, written books and covered property extensively here and overseas.
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