Residential Tenancies (Infringement Notices) Regulations 2021

2021/4

Coat of Arms of New Zealand

Residential Tenancies (Infringement Notices) Regulations 2021

Patsy Reddy, Governor-General

Order in Council

At Wellington this 2nd day of February 2021

Present:
The Right Hon Jacinda Ardern presiding in Council

These regulations are made under section 140(1)(a) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council.

Regulations

1 Title

These regulations are the Residential Tenancies (Infringement Notices) Regulations 2021.

2 Commencement

These regulations come into force on 11 February 2021.

3 Infringement notice

An infringement notice issued under section 126C of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 must be in the form set out in the Schedule.

Schedule Infringement notice

r 3

Form Infringement notice

Section 126C, Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Infringement notice No:

Date of notice:

Enforcement authority

This infringement notice is issued by [name or number of person authorised to issue an infringement notice].

Address for correspondence:

Details of person infringement notice issued to

Full name:

*Full address:

*Date of birth:†

*Gender:†

*Occupation:†

*Telephone number:

*Specify only if known.

†Not required if the notice is served on a company or other body corporate.

Details of alleged infringement offence(s)

Infringement offence number: 1 [Include additional tables if more than 1 offence is to be included in the same notice. Offences in subsequent tables must be numbered sequentially, with the first offence always being numbered 1.]

Provision contravened:

Time:

Place:

†Name(s) of relevant tenant(s):

Nature of alleged infringement:

Infringement fee payable:

Does a higher level of fees apply? Yes/No*

Total infringement fee payable: [Include this row only if more than 1 offence is included in the same notice, and then only in the table for the last offence. The total must be calculated by adding together the individual infringement fees for each separate offence.]

†Specify only if known.

*Select one. The Residential Tenancies Act 1986 provides for a higher level of fees to apply for infringement offences by a landlord of 6 or more tenancies or a landlord of a boarding house.

Service details

Infringement notice served by [specify method of service] on [date].

Payment of infringement fee

The infringement fee is payable within 28 days after [date infringement notice served].

The infringement fee may be paid to [name of enforcement authority] by [specify method(s)].

What you need to know

If you pay the infringement fee in full as shown above, no further action will be taken. For a more detailed statement of your rights, see below. This includes—

  • what happens if you are late paying the fee or don’t pay the fee at all (paragraphs 4 to 6):

  • what to do if you want to query this notice (paragraphs 8 to 14).

Statement of rights

If there is anything in these notes you do not understand, you should consult a lawyer.

1

This notice sets out 1 or more alleged infringement offences. Each offence that is identified by a number is a separate infringement offence. You may decide what to do in respect of each alleged offence individually, and may act in the same way in respect of all alleged offences or in different ways in respect of different alleged offences, as set out below.

Payments
2

If you pay the infringement fee in full as shown above under the heading Payment of infringement fee, no further enforcement action will be taken for the offence. Please note that unless you have an arrangement as described in paragraph 3, part payment of an infringement fee is not sufficient to avoid further enforcement action for the offence.

3

If [name of enforcement authority] offers the ability to pay an infringement fee by instalments and you enter into an instalment arrangement,—

(a)

the time to pay will be as agreed with [name of enforcement authority]; and

(b)

the enforcement action in paragraphs 4 to 6 may be taken if you default on a payment; and

(c)

you cannot request a court hearing about the infringement offence (see paragraph 13).

What happens if you do not pay on time
4

If you do not pay the infringement fee on time as shown above and do not request a hearing (see paragraph 8 for your ability to do this), you will be served with a reminder notice (unless [name of enforcement authority] decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence). Please note that in some circumstances if you do not receive a reminder notice you may still become liable to pay a fine and court costs as set out in paragraph 5.

5

If you do not pay the infringement fee and do not request a hearing within 28 days after being served with the reminder notice,—

(a)

[name of enforcement authority] may, unless it decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence, provide particulars of the reminder notice for filing in the District Court; and

(b)

if so, you will become liable to pay court costs as well as a fine.

6

The fine will be equal to the amount of the infringement fee or the amount of the infringement fee remaining unpaid.

Defence
7

You have a complete defence against proceedings for an alleged infringement offence if the infringement fee has been paid in full to [name of enforcement authority] in the manner specified in this notice before, or within 28 days after, a reminder notice for the alleged offence is served on you. Late payment or payment made in any other manner is not a defence.

Further action you may take
8

You may—

(a)

ask [name of enforcement authority] to consider any matter relating to the circumstances of the alleged offence; or

(b)

deny liability for the alleged offence and request a court hearing; or

(c)

admit liability for the alleged offence, but have a court consider written submissions as to penalty or otherwise.

9

To take an action listed in paragraph 8, you must write to [name of enforcement authority] at the address shown on this notice. This written communication must be signed by you and must be delivered within 28 days after you have been served with this notice, or within any further time that [name of enforcement authority] allows.

10

If, in your written communication to [name of enforcement authority] referred to in paragraph 8, you deny liability for the alleged offence and request a court hearing, [name of enforcement authority] will serve you with a notice of hearing that sets out the place and time at which the matter will be heard by the court (unless [name of enforcement authority] decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence).

Note: If the court finds you guilty of the offence, the court is entitled to take into account any maximum fine for the offence, and not just the infringement fee. So the court may impose a fine that is greater than the infringement fee. Also, if the court finds you guilty of the offence, costs will be imposed in addition to any penalty and you will be required to pay a hearing fee. You cannot get a conviction for an infringement offence.

11

If you admit liability for the alleged offence but want the court to consider your submissions as to penalty or otherwise, you must, in your written communication to [name of enforcement authority],—

(a)

request a hearing; and

(b)

admit liability for the offence; and

(c)

set out the written submissions you wish the court to consider.

12

If you take the action in paragraph 11, [name of enforcement authority] will then file your written communication with the court (unless [name of enforcement authority] decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence). If you follow this process, there will be no oral hearing before the court.

Note: The court may take into account any maximum fine for the offence, and not just the infringement fee. So the court may impose a fine that is greater than the infringement fee. Also, costs will be imposed in addition to any penalty. You cannot get a conviction for an infringement offence.

13

If [name of enforcement authority] offers the ability to pay an infringement fee by instalments and you enter into an instalment arrangement, paragraphs 8(b) and (c) and 9 to 12 above do not apply, and you are not entitled to request a hearing to deny liability or to ask the court to consider any submissions as to penalty or otherwise.

Contacting the enforcement authority
14

When writing, please specify—

(a)

the date of the alleged infringement offence; and

(b)

the infringement notice number; and

(c)

your full name and address for replies.

Note: All correspondence regarding the infringement offence must be directed to [name of enforcement authority] at the address shown on this notice.

15

Further details of your rights and obligations are set out in section 21 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957.

Michael Webster,
Clerk of the Executive Council.

Explanatory note

This note is not part of the regulations, but is intended to indicate their general effect.

These regulations come into force on 11 February 2021. They prescribe the form of an infringement notice for infringement offences under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2012.

Date of notification in Gazette: 4 February 2021.

These regulations are administered by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.