Both the landlord and the tenant can apply for a rehearing.
You should apply at the District Court where the original hearing took place. You have 5 working days after the decision is issued to apply for a rehearing. There is no filing fee payable for a rehearing application.
You can use this form to apply for a rehearing [PDF, 146 KB].
You can apply for a rehearing if you believe that a substantial wrong or miscarriage of justice has happened. For example:
Disagreeing with an order for suppression or if an application for suppression is declined does not count as grounds for rehearing.
You must give reasons and evidence to support your application.
A rehearing will not be granted just because you disagree with the decision.
The same adjudicator who heard the original case will consider the application and decide whether to grant a rehearing. You may have to attend a short hearing to argue why a rehearing should be granted.
If a rehearing is granted, it will usually be conducted by a different adjudicator.
Both the landlord and the tenant can file an appeal.
You should file your appeal at the District Court where the original hearing took place. You have 10 working days after the decision is issued to file an appeal. The cost for an appeal is $200.
You can use this form to apply for an appeal [PDF, 194 KB].
At the appeal hearing, you can choose to be represented by a lawyer if you wish. If you use a lawyer for the appeal, you will have to pay your lawyer's fees. Legal aid is generally not available.
You can appeal if you think the decision was wrong, but not just because you don’t like the decision.
For some cases, there’ll be no right to appeal. For example, you can’t appeal:
You may be able to apply for a rehearing in those cases.
You and the other party will need to attend a hearing before a District Court judge. We will notify you of the date, time and venue of this hearing.
There is usually no fee for the hearing. However, if the hearing lasts for longer than half a day, you will need to pay a fee of $900 for each half day after the first half day.
The appeal will be conducted by the judge as a rehearing of the original claim.
The judge can:
There is no provision in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 to file an appeal out of time.
Filing an application for a rehearing or appeal does not stop the order from being enforced – for example, it doesn’t stop an eviction from happening. A party can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal or District Court for an order to suspend the enforcement process. This is called a stay of enforcement proceedings.
You can get the form from the court or ask them to post it to you.
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