Jess lives in an apartment building in Wellington. She is currently having issues with the Body Corporate of her building regarding payment of levies which were levied for repairs to common property.  She believes she doesn’t have to pay them.

Jess was becoming increasingly concerned that she would need to engage in complicated legal proceedings to sort the matter out. However, when she contacted her lawyer about it, she was informed that an option available to her is to take the dispute to the Tenancy Tribunal who can hear and resolve disputes (up to $50,000) which arise between parties in relation to a unit titled property.

There are two different categories of applications to the Tenancy Tribunal:

Category 1:

• Deals with complex disputes.
• The application fee is $3,300.00 including GST.

Category 2:

• Deals with simpler disputes likely to involve mediation in their resolution.
• The application fee is $850.00 including GST.

Lawyers cannot be present at Tribunal hearings unless the dispute is worth more than $6,000.00, but an experienced lawyer can help you with good advice and with preparation of your case, particularly if the issue is complex.