Tenancy Tribunal Support

Practical, personalised preparation for your Tenancy Tribunal case

Facing the Tenancy Tribunal can be daunting, especially if you have never been through the process before.

Landlords and property managers may have considerable experience with Tribunal proceedings and may arrive with rent records, notices, correspondence and other evidence already organised.

You don't need to work out how to prepare your case alone.

TSG Tenant Advocacy can help you understand what matters, identify the evidence you need, organise your case and prepare to present it clearly and confidently.

Tribunal support is now individually assessed

TSG no longer asks tenants to choose from fixed Tribunal support packages before we understand their case.

Every Tribunal case is different.

A relatively straightforward matter might require a review of the Tribunal documents, advice about the issues and help preparing for the hearing.

A complex case may involve competing applications, rent arrears, termination, Healthy Homes issues, repairs, access or privacy disputes, water or other charges, extensive correspondence, counterclaims and a substantial body of evidence.

The amount and type of work required can therefore vary considerably.

Instead, you tell us what's happening first.

We assess your circumstances, the Tribunal proceedings, important dates, available evidence and the work likely to be required.

If we believe TSG Tenant Advocacy can assist, we provide you with a TSG Advocacy Plan explaining the support we recommend, the work included and the price.

You then decide whether you want to proceed.

Submitting an enquiry does not create an advocacy engagement and there is no obligation to proceed after receiving our recommendation.

How TSG can help with your Tribunal case

Your support is built around your particular circumstances. You aren't required to purchase work you don't need.

Depending on your case, TSG Tenant Advocacy may assist with the following.

Case assessment and strategy

We review your circumstances, the Tribunal application and the important evidence.

We identify the issues that appear to matter, what needs to be answered, the strengths and weaknesses requiring attention, any important evidence that appears to be missing and the practical work needed to prepare the case.

Where a landlord or property manager has made allegations against you, we can help identify what needs to be addressed and what evidence may support your response.

If you have claims of your own, we can help identify and organise those issues so that your case remains focused on matters relevant to the Tribunal.

Tribunal applications and counter-applications

Some tenants come to us because their landlord or property manager has already applied to the Tribunal.

Others have made their own application or need to consider whether a counter-application is appropriate.

Where included in your Advocacy Plan, we can review existing applications and help develop or prepare the material needed to put your position before the Tribunal.

Evidence preparation

Good Tribunal preparation isn't simply about collecting as many documents, emails and photographs as possible.

Evidence needs to relate to the issues the Tribunal is being asked to decide.

Depending on the case, we may help assess and organise:

• Tribunal applications and notices
• tenancy agreements
• rent records and payment histories
• 14-day notices
• landlord and property-manager correspondence
• maintenance and repair records
• Healthy Homes documentation
• photographs and videos
• invoices and accounts
• inspection records
• communication histories
• other relevant supporting evidence

If something important appears to be missing, unclear or contradictory, we'll identify it and explain what further information or evidence may be needed.

Tribunal-ready evidence bundles

For cases requiring substantial preparation, your Advocacy Plan may include preparation of an organised Tribunal evidence bundle.

This may include a clear index, chronology, relevant correspondence, rent information, maintenance history, photographs and other supporting documents arranged so that important evidence can be located and understood.

The exact structure depends on the case.

We don't create paperwork simply to make a case look bigger. The objective is to make the relevant evidence easier to understand and use.

Written submissions and case preparation

Where appropriate, we can help prepare structured written material covering your position, your response to the other party's claims, your own claims and the outcome or orders you are asking the Tribunal to consider.

The objective isn't to bury the Tribunal in paperwork or legal language.

It is to present the relevant facts, evidence and issues as clearly and logically as possible.

Preparing you for the hearing

If your case proceeds to mediation, a case conference or a substantive Tribunal hearing, preparation can make an enormous difference to how confidently you are able to present your case.

Depending on your Advocacy Plan, preparation may include reviewing your final case strategy, working through the important evidence, identifying the main points you need to explain, preparing speaking notes or hearing guidance, considering questions you may be asked and preparing for the arguments likely to be raised by the other party.

Video meetings with your advocate may also form part of the preparation where appropriate.

The aim is simple: when the hearing arrives, you should understand your case, know the important points you need to make and be able to find the evidence supporting them.

What organised Tribunal preparation can look like

A Tribunal dispute can quickly become more complicated than the original problem suggests.

For example, a tenant might face claims involving rent arrears, property damage or access while also disputing the landlord's rent records and raising issues involving maintenance, Healthy Homes requirements, entry to the property or other alleged breaches.

That can create several different factual and legal questions, each requiring different evidence.

TSG's work in a substantial case may involve analysing competing claims, reconciling records, building a chronology, organising correspondence and photographs, identifying relevant evidence, preparing written material and helping the tenant prepare for the hearing.

The important point is that we assess the actual case first rather than assuming every tenant needs the same package of work.

View a sample Tribunal evidence bundle

Our sample shows the type of organisation and preparation that may be appropriate in a substantial Tribunal case.

Your case may require considerably less work, or it may involve different issues and require a different approach.

How TSG Tenant Advocacy works

1. Tell us what's happening

Complete our Request Tenant Advocacy form.by clicking here

You don't need to know which sections of the Residential Tenancies Act apply, and you don't need to decide what type of advocacy you require.

Give us the basic facts and tell us about any important hearing, mediation, notice or other deadline.

2. We assess your situation

We review what you've told us and identify the immediate issues, urgency and likely advocacy work involved.

We may ask some follow-up questions or request specific documents.

We deliberately don't ask you to send your entire tenancy history with the initial enquiry. Once we understand the problem, we can tell you which documents we actually need.

3. We review the important evidence

For Tribunal cases this may include the Tribunal application, notices, tenancy agreement, rent records, relevant correspondence and documents directly connected with the dispute.

The documents often tell us things that aren't apparent from the initial description of the problem.

4. We determine the support required

We consider the complexity of the case, the evidence, deadlines, stage of the Tribunal proceedings and the amount of preparation and advocacy likely to be required.

A straightforward matter shouldn't be priced as though it were a major Tribunal dispute.

Equally, a complicated case requiring substantial evidence analysis and preparation can't sensibly be squeezed into a one-size-fits-all package.

5. You receive your TSG Advocacy Plan

If we believe TSG can assist, we explain what we recommend.

Your Advocacy Plan sets out the proposed work, what is included and the price.

You know what we're proposing before you decide whether to proceed.

6. Advocacy begins if you accept

Once you accept the Advocacy Plan and any agreed initial payment has been made, your matter becomes an active TSG Tenant Advocacy case.

We then work through the agreed advocacy and preparation with you.

Already have a Tribunal application or hearing date?

Contact us as early as you reasonably can.

If you've received a Tenancy Tribunal application, mediation or hearing notice, a 14-day notice, termination notice or another document containing an important deadline, tell us about it on the enquiry form.

Don't worry about sending every document immediately.

Once we've reviewed your enquiry, we'll tell you which documents we need first.

Request Tenant Advocacy

You don't need to choose a package or work out what level of Tribunal support you need.

Tell us what's happening.

TSG Tenant Advocacy will assess your situation and, if appropriate, provide a proposed TSG Advocacy Plan explaining the support we recommend, what it will involve and the price.

REQUEST TENANT ADVOCACY

Complete our Request Tenant Advocacy form.by clicking here and completing the TSG Request Tenant Advocacy form, and we'll be in touch within hours, often sooner!