Tenancy Tribunal Annual Report
Earlier this year, The Tenancy Tribunal published their annual report for 2024. The report outlines various statistics and findings which are relevant to Wellington Rental Property Owners.
Tribunal applications
Overall, applications to the tenancy tribunal in 2024 rose by 14% to 29,309 when compared to 2023. This follows the trend of increased levels of tenancy tribunal involvement in tenancies since 2021.
The use of Mediation
Instead of going straight to a Tribunal Hearing, it's becoming more common for a mediation to be scheduled prior. A total of 8,309 applications were settled during 2024 which equates to 28% of applications. A stand out statistic is that 90% of all mediations where both parties (tenant and landlord) attended were settled showing the value of this process.
In person hearings
However, given the increased number of applications however, there was still an uplift of in person hearings needed in the year, with a total of 12,799 hearings required. In saying this, 52% of hearings were conducted virtually which has helped the service get through the increased number of hearings required.
What do the common claims relate to?
With 76% of claims being made by the landlord, the vast majority related to rent arrears, followed by claims for water rates arrears and then compensation claims.
Tenant claims are a much smaller share with the main claim being for recovery of the bond followed by claims related to Healthy homes compliance and then breaches of Landlord obligations.
Timelines for hearings
Interestingly the wait times for both in person hearings and mediations have both risen again in 2024. Mediations are taking up to 22 working days and hearings are up to 49 working days.
The Tenancy Tribunal has advised they are working hard to reduce wait times by recruiting more adjudicators, implementing improvements to processes and utilising more remote hearing options. They advise that as of May 2025 the average number of working days to a hearing is already reducing as a result of these changes.
What does this mean for Wellington Rental Property Owners?
Taking timely steps to resolve an issue is key - Urgent issues and claims should be filed quickly so they can be heard sooner which would result in less potential loss for property owners.
Another important factor is ensuring the appropriate documentation is submitted as part of any claim, to make sure that all the evidence required for the Tribunal to make an informed decision on an appropriate outcome and avoid delays due to missing or additional information being requested.
The Tenancy Tribunal also advise the use of the Fast Track Resolution service where appropriate and participating in mediation can result in faster outcomes, and in turn frees up more time for complex cases to be scheduled for hearings faster.
Our Team have years of experience behind them which does include preparing for and attending meditations and tenancy tribunal hearings. We are constantly learning and evaluating Tenancy Tribunal decisions in order to be able to give accurate and honest advice to our clients.
You can download and read the full report here