Tenancy disputes set to move faster

The new FastTrack Resolution service will be available from today to all landlords and tenants. Photo / Janna Dixon

The Government today launched a new service to speed up the settlement of rental disputes between tenants and landlords.

Housing Minister Nick Smith said the new FastTrack Resolution service will be available from today to all landlords and tenants to help resolve rent arrears disputes in a faster and more efficient way.

"A new online system for Tenancy Tribunal applications is also up and running from today, which will reduce processing times significantly," Dr Smith said.

"FastTrack Resolution means that landlords and tenants who have made a substantial agreement about the repayment of debt will be able to have their agreement formalised by a confirmation conversation, rather than a full mediation. Now a process that could previously take up to 12 days can be completed in as little as 48 hours."

The service had already been available to high volume Tenancy Tribunal users including large property management companies and Territorial Local Authority housing providers and had helped ease the tribunal's workload allowing to focus on more complex disputes.

Rental arrears disputes make up about three quarters of the 43,000 applications the tribunal receives each year.

Dr Smith the next step in the Government's improvements to tenancy services would be to upgrade tenancy bond services to an online platform.

Dr Smith last week confirmed to the Herald he also has officials working on ways to improve standard tenancy agreements to encourage longer term leases with greater security of tenure.