Section 77 — Residential Tenancies Act 1986: Jurisdiction of Tribunal

77 Jurisdiction of Tribunal (1) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, the Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to determine in accordance with this Act all disputes arising between landlords and tenants in relation to any tenancy to which this Act applies or to which this Act did apply at any material time. (2) Without limiting the generality of subsection (1) of this section, the Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to do the following things: (a) To determine whether any premises are or are not, or were or were not at any material time, residential premises to which this Act applies: (b) To determine whether there is or is not, or was or was not at any material time, a tenancy agreement to which this Act applies in force in respect of any residential premises, and to determine the terms of and the parties to any such agreement: (c) To determine whether any tenancy is or is not, or was or was not at any material time, a service tenancy: (d) To determine whether any rent that is, or that was at any material time, being charged in respect of any tenancy to which this Act applies does or does not or did or did not exceed the market rent for that tenancy by a substantial amount, and, where the rent does or did exceed the market rent by a substantial amount, to make such order relating to the rent as it thinks just: (e) Where any rent is, was, or will be required wholly or partly in a form other than money, to determine in monetary terms the value of the rent so required: (f) To determine whether or not any notice purporting to terminate a service tenancy was or was not authorised by any of the provisions of this Act and given in the form and manner prescribed by or under this Act: (g) To determine whether any person is or is not entitled to possession of any premises by virtue of any provision of any tenancy agreement to which this Act applies, or by virtue of any breach by any other person of any provision of any such tenancy agreement, or on the expiry of any such tenancy agreement, and to make an order for the recovery of the premises by any person who is entitled to possession: (h) Before the commencement of the tenancy, and on the application of either or both of the parties, to consent to the inclusion of any term in any tenancy agreement to which this Act applies, where the inclusion of that term would otherwise be contrary to any of the provisions of this Act: (i) During the tenancy, and on the application of both of the parties, consent to the inclusion of any term in any tenancy agreement to which this Act applies, where the inclusion of that term would otherwise be contrary to any of the provisions of this Act, and to make an order varying the agreement accordingly: (j) To order that a provision of this Act shall not apply to, or in relation to, any tenancy agreement or any residential premises, or shall apply in such modified form as the Tribunal may specify in the order: (k) To order the tenant under any tenancy agreement to which this Act applies to pay to the landlord any sum found to be owing by the tenant to the landlord, whether by way of rent in arrear or otherwise pursuant to the tenancy agreement, and to order the landlord under any such tenancy agreement to pay to the tenant the whole or any part of any sum found to have been paid by way of rent in excess of the amount lawfully payable, or of any other sum demanded or received by the landlord in contravention of any of the provisions of this Act: (l) To order the landlord or the tenant under any tenancy agreement to which this Act applies to do anything necessary to remedy the breach by that party of any express or implied provision of the tenancy agreement or any provision of this Act, or to do anything that that party is required to do by any such provision: (m) To order the landlord or the tenant under any tenancy agreement to which this Act applies to refrain from doing anything if the doing of that thing by that party would constitute a contravention or (as the case may require) a further contravention of any express or implied provision of the tenancy agreement or any provision of this Act: (n) To order the landlord or the tenant under any tenancy agreement to which this Act applies to pay to the other party such sum by way of damages or compensation as the Tribunal shall assess in respect of the breach of any express or implied provision of the tenancy agreement or any provision of this Act: (o) To consider and determine any complaint by any party to a tenancy agreement or by the chief executive that any person has committed an unlawful act, and, where it finds such a complaint to be proved, to order the payment of such sum in the nature of exemplary damages, not exceeding the maximum prescribed by this Act, as the Tribunal may think just: (p) To approve the assignment by the tenant of the whole of the tenant's interest under any tenancy agreement to which this Act applies, or the subletting by the tenant under any such tenancy agreement of the whole or any part of the premises, where the Tribunal finds that the landlord has withheld consent unreasonably and the assignment or subletting is not absolutely prohibited by the tenancy agreement: (q) To make orders of a consequential or ancillary nature necessary to exercise or perfect the exercise of any of its jurisdiction. (3) The Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to make an order for the recovery by any person of any residential premises to which this Act applies, or the eviction of any person from any such premises, regardless of the value of the premises or the amount of any rent payable for the premises. (4) In respect of tenancy agreements, the Tribunal has jurisdiction to exercise, and may exercise, all the powers conferred on a court by section 264 of the Property Law Act 2007 (which relates to the granting of relief to the tenant against the landlord's refusal to enter into a renewal of a tenancy agreement or to sell the landlord's interest in the premises to the tenant). (5) The Tribunal shall not have jurisdiction to require any landlord or any tenant under a tenancy agreement to which this Act applies to pay any sum, or to do any work to a value, or otherwise to incur any expenditure, in excess of $12,000. (6) Subsection (5) of this section shall not prevent a party to a tenancy agreement to which this Act applies from abandoning so much of a claim as exceeds $12,000 in order to bring the claim within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal; and, in any such case, an order of the Tribunal under this Act in relation to the claim shall operate to discharge from liability in respect of the amount so abandoned any person against whom the claim and the subsequent order is made. (7) The Tribunal shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any claim arising under any tenancy agreement to which this Act applies, being a claim consisting of a balance, not exceeding $12,000, after a set-off or any counterclaim made by the respondent against the claimant arising under the same tenancy agreement, being a counterclaim admitted by the claimant in the notice of claim. (8) A cause of action shall not be divided into 2 or more claims for the purpose of bringing it within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. Subsection (2)(o) was amended, as from 18 August 1992, by section 19 Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1992 (1992 No 79) by substituting the words “ chief executive ” for the words “ Director-General ” . Section 77(4): substituted, on 1 January 2008, by section 364(1) of the Property Law Act 2007 (2007 No 91).