Tribunal orders are on line

[Glenn]

17 October 2007


Media Statement

Tenancy Tribunal orders available online




Tenancy Tribunal orders are now available free of charge on the internet, Courts Minister Rick Barker announced today.

The Tenancy Tribunal which is administered by the Ministry of Justice through Courts is a quick and affordable way for landlords and tenants to settle disputes which they are unable to resolve themselves.

"The Tenancy Tribunal issues around 20,000 orders a year and the public will now be able to access decisions online though the Ministry of Justice website," Mr Barker said.

"The online publication of Tenancy Tribunal orders is a further extension of the Labour-led government's commitment to improving public access to the justice system.

"Users will be able to search for orders using the Tenancy Tribunal application number, the address of the residence, or the name of one of the parties involved. The service will be one of many sources of information for landlords and tenants to help them make more informed decisions.

"Orders made by the Tenancy Tribunal have always been publicly available in hard copy form. This service is about making it easier to access those records and ensuring our judicial processes are open and understandable.

"I would like to acknowledge the hard work which has gone into this project by officials to make sure that this site is a useful resource and meets the needs of both tenants and landlords.

"I encourage people to make use of this service and provide feedback and suggestions," Mr Barker said.

To access Tenancy Tribunal orders online visit www.tenancytribunal.govt.nz

Media Contact:
Adham Crichton (Press Secretary): 04 4719556 or 021 2279556

[whitt]

Cool.
Although I cant find me. Maybe it is not retrospective.

[Bodmin]

Mine is there

An order from July is there for one of our ex tenants.

[Glenn]

I have been one of the testers of the new system.
I was able to pick up orders from the beginning of this year right up to two weeks ago.
Being a high user means my lights come up a few times. I found it really helpful looking to see what Housing NZ are claiming on their applications. It looks as if I need to beef up some of my claims. Their claims for locks and ground maintenance are worth looking at.
Someone needs to start comparing different judgements from the different courts around the country. I had a brief look at a few other courts and the detail of the judgements varies enormously.
You have to understand that only cases that actually go to tribunal are recorded. All the cases that are dealt with in mediation and later sealed are not on the register. I guess it would still be possible to look at those records at the court house.

[drelly]

Hey Glenn,

I thought I'd give you some feedback that you might be able to pass on for me in your role as a tester.

I have two tribunal cases on there that were lodged by my ex-property manager. If you do a search for D Smyth, the Coe and Ruwhiu orders are mine.

Firstly, although the tribunals were requested and attended by the property manager, there is no way to search and find those orders using their name. This is a massive loophole for property managers who don't wish to be found on there. It looks as though anyone acting "as agent for", doesn't have their details recorded in the database.

Also, what is the purpose of listing these orders online? If it's for us as individuals to be able to check our own tribunal orders, then it's ok. But if it's to check on the tribunal records of property managers or even individual tenants, it falls down.

It is inevitable that the orders are going to be hard to find due to slight changes in names or the way they are recorded and so the search as it is requires too much precision.

- It doesn't allow me to do a search for all tribunal orders in "Whangarei". It requires a specific street address.
- I can't search using just a surname.
- I shouldn't need to know the entity that a property manager or landlord operates under to be able to find them.
- Agents should also be recorded.

If this is about easier access, they need to widen the search options and make it more "fuzzy".

cheers,
Dave

[Glenn]

the answers

I have figured out some of the answers by both advise and experimentation

I have two tribunal cases on there that were lodged by my ex-property manager. If you do a search for D Smyth, the Coe and Ruwhiu orders are mine.

This might be because the PM has only used your name on the application.
Have you opened the attachment and read the case. Does your name appear on the judgement.
All of the cases I lodge quote both my name and the owner. Sometimes the PM's use a slightly different name like Award Realty for Harcourts.

Firstly, although the tribunals were requested and attended by the property manager, there is no way to search and find those orders using their name. This is a massive loophole for property managers who don't wish to be found on there. It looks as though anyone acting "as agent for", doesn't have their details recorded in the database.

So no most if not all have both applicants names that you can search on
Also, what is the purpose of listing these orders online? If it's for us as individuals to be able to check our own tribunal orders, then it's ok. But if it's to check on the tribunal records of property managers or even individual tenants, it falls down.

The purpose is for landlords to check to see if the applicant has has a tribunal application or is a defendent. Also for tenants to check which landlords make lots of applications. Have a look at housing NZ. They account for 30% of all applications.

It is inevitable that the orders are going to be hard to find due to slight changes in names or the way they are recorded and so the search as it is requires too much precision.
No you can put part of the name in plus say just an initial for the christian name

- It doesn't allow me to do a search for all tribunal orders in "Whangarei". It requires a specific street address.

Wrong again. all tribunal orders for Wangarei have the Wangarei alpha code. You can scroll through all the cases one at a time. Start at 001 and keep entering numbers and you wil find them all.
- I can't search using just a surname.

Wrong again. Enter the surname and scroll through the alphabet for the first letter of the christian name.
- I shouldn't need to know the entity that a property manager or landlord operates under to be able to find them.
- Agents should also be recorded.

If this is about easier access, they need to widen the search options and make it more "fuzzy".

Keep trying and experimenting folks there is a wealth of information sitting there to down load.
I am planning on getting all Nelson cases printed off and will publish a list of the names.

[Keys]

Can this be made one of those threads which show in the "must read" bits on here?


Keys

[cube]

I've made it sticky, so it won't get lost!

[drelly]

Hey Glen,

The PM had them acting "as agent for" me on the order.

I'm not convinced about the "initial" thing. I know it works but that relies on landlords to use the right name every time. Simply being able to search by surname only would make it much easier.

I'm not sure what you mean by "alpha code" but that's another work-around. They should just let us do it the easy way.

I can't search just by surname. You're not suggesting I try A, then B, then C... for the initial, are you??

It's great the information is there but altering the search slightly to allow easier access as I've suggested is a really simple thing for them to do. I believe that they have deliberately made it more difficult than it needs to be for some obscure reason of their own.

[hort1]

Not all

Hi All

Not all TT orders have been entered as I have just checked and one of ours is not to be found.
It was heard and ruled in May this year in Tauranga and is not to found on the new site. ???

[rentalmanagers.co.nz]

finally here, tenancy tribunal database

http://www.tenancytribunal.govt.nz

After years of waiting here it is....
Dont forget to search your new prospective tenants here as well as the usual Veda Adantage databases etc.

I have searched our own Company and no tribunal results are under our name. Maybe they are still busy loading data.

Good to see it finally here. Make sure you take all your defaulters to the tribunal so we can all read about them.

[xris]

Hello,

This is not intended to be critical for the sake of it but I have a few comments.

First, at long last we have it online. Thank you Glenn for your contribution.

Although searching through I have not looked enough to form an overall opinion yet, positive or negative.

It does though appear a little on the clumsy side at times and not too user friendly.

• Common abbreviations can be used for Street Direction e.g. 'W' for West
• ………………………….

Do not use abbreviations (e.g. search for 'High Avenue', not for 'High Ave').

I quickly checked in the help section and found the two comments above, both quite close to each other.

This leads me to think that my standard opinion with things like this is true, namely that one should never overestimate people’s ability, especially when they are paid by the government. One is also drawn to ask: “Why on earth did it take ??two years to set this up?” I am a computer dumbo but I would think Drelly or anyone involved in computing could have set this up in a couple of weeks, not years. I accept there may have been more to it than just setting things up in a closed room though – Glenn?

Whatever, I will enjoy using it and reading through it, just like many others will too.

xris

[Perry]

Man, what a crock of s**t. Even entering an appln
number wont work for me.

Glenn, what's with the last box? The one requiring
alpha characters in it? There's no such thing on the
Notice of Hearing form.

Is this for 2007 Orders only, perhaps? I'm trying
for an 06.

Can someone post a working result and it's reference/
search criteria, so I can try the same search, please?

[Keys]

Can someone post a working result and it's reference/
search criteria, so I can try the same search, please?

07-00344-NN

Keys

[xris]

07-00344-NN

Keys

Hello keys,

Did you just stumble actross this or are you involved with it in some way?

xris