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Appeals from the Tenancy Tribunal
Important note on currency
This section was originally published on CourtKeys in 2015 as part of a public legal education project. While it remains useful for understanding general legal concepts and processes, some information may now be out of date. Updated and revised material is included in Civil Litigation for Non-Lawyers. This article is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal advice.
You may be able to appeal a Tenancy Tribunal decision to the District Court if you believe the Tribunal decision was incorrect in some way.
However, there are limitations on the right to appeal. Section 117 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides:
(1) Subject to subsection (2), any party to any proceedings before the Tribunal who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Tribunal in the proceedings may appeal to the District Court against that decision.
(1A) A decision referred to in subsection (1) includes the decision to grant, or refuse to grant, an application under section 105 for a rehearing.
(2) No application shall lie –
(a) against an interim order made under section 79; or
(b) against an order, or the failure to make an order, for the payment of money where the amount that would be in dispute on appeal is less than $1,000; or
(c) against a work order, or the failure to make a work order, where the value of the work that would be in dispute on appeal is less than $1,000.
(3) A District Court shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine an appeal under this section notwithstanding any limits imposed on such courts in their ordinary civil jurisdiction by sections 29 to 34 of the District Courts Act 1947.
[…]
(5) An appeal under this section shall be brought by the filing of a notice of appeal in the District Court nearest to the place at which the Tribunal sat in the proceedings to which the appeal relates.
(6) Every such notice of appeal shall be filed within 10 working days after the date of the decision to which the appeal relates.
It costs $200 to file a District Court appeal as per Schedule 1 of the District Courts Fees Regulations 2009.
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