How to recover an unpaid debt in New Zealand

Most unpaid invoices in New Zealand are settled long before a tribunal is involved. But knowing what the formal route actually looks like — what it costs, how long each stage takes, and what you need to have ready — changes how you handle the earlier conversations. This page sets out that route.

Step 1: Build the paper trail before you escalate

Everything later in this process runs on documents. Before you send anything formal, gather:

• The invoice or agreement — what was owed, for what, and when it fell due
• Every reminder you've sent, with dates
• Any reply, part-payment, or promise to pay
• The other party's correct legal name and current contact details

That last one matters more than people expect. If you're chasing a business, the trading name on the invoice may not be the legal entity. The Disputes Tribunal states that if you don't have the respondent's correct details it can stop your claim going ahead, and that having full details also makes it easier to enforce a decision later. For a limited liability company (the name will include "Ltd"), you can look up the registered legal name and address on the Companies Register or the NZBN register. If the business isn't a company, the claim goes against the owner's name. If it's a family trust, you need the trustees' names.

The Tribunal also suggests recording anything that helps trace the person later: home and business addresses, a PO Box, an email address, and details of any vehicle they own.

Step 2: Send a letter of demand

A letter of demand is a written notice that states what is owed, why, and by when you expect payment, and says what you intend to do if payment doesn't arrive. There's no prescribed form for it and no fee — you write it and send it.

It does two jobs. The first is practical: it's often the point at which a slow payer starts treating the debt as real. The second is procedural. When you apply to the Disputes Tribunal, the form has a section called "Applicant's contact with respondent", and the Tribunal is explicit that you need to show you've tried to sort out the dispute yourself before coming to them. A dated letter of demand and the reply (or the silence that followed it) is exactly that evidence.

A letter of demand generally sets out:

• Who is owed the money, and by whom — using correct legal names
• The amount, and what it relates to (invoice number, date, goods or services)
• What has happened so far — when the invoice fell due, what reminders were sent
• A clear payment deadline and how to pay
• What you intend to do if the deadline passes

Keep a copy of what you sent and note the date and method of sending. You'll need both if you file a claim.

Step 3: Work out which tribunal or court applies

New Zealand routes debt claims by who the parties are first, and by how much is claimed second.

Some living arrangements aren't covered by tenancy law — Tenancy Services gives disputes between a flatmate and a head tenant, private board arrangements, and situations where a family member is the landlord as examples. Those go to the Disputes Tribunal rather than the Tenancy Tribunal. Tenancy Services publishes a flowchart for working out which tribunal applies.

The Disputes Tribunal: claims up to $60,000

The Disputes Tribunal is New Zealand's small claims forum. It sits at almost every District Court, and it is deliberately less formal than a court: there are no judges, cases are decided by a referee, and a lawyer can't represent you at the hearing — though you can get a lawyer's advice beforehand.

The financial limit is $60,000. This was raised from $30,000, so older guides and templates still circulating online quote the wrong figure.

Disputes Tribunal fees

Application fees are non-refundable. However, the Tribunal notes that a referee may order the respondent to pay your filing fee back — this is only possible if your claim succeeds in whole or in part, and it's entirely at the referee's discretion. Applying for a rehearing is free; appealing to the District Court costs $275.

How to make a claim

You can apply online, which the Tribunal describes as the quickest route — the application goes straight to the Disputes Tribunal team, you can upload documents, and you don't need to visit a court until the hearing. Alternatively you can complete the paper claim form and deliver it to your local District Court or post it to the Ministry of Justice, CPU, SX10042, Wellington. If you file on paper you need to supply three copies of the form and every accompanying document; online applicants don't.

The form asks for:

• Your name, address and phone number
• The respondent's name, address and phone number
• Details of any second respondent — you might claim against both a business and one of its staff, for example
• Your insurer's details, if insurance might cover the claim
• Details of the dispute and the amount claimed
• What you've done to try to settle it

On the details of the claim, the Tribunal asks you to cover what happened, when, where, who was involved, what the loss was, what you want done, and the amount claimed. Online attachments need to be under 5MB each.

What happens after you file

Everyone involved is sent a notice with the time, date and place of the hearing. After the hearing the referee either makes an order or approves a settlement the parties agreed, and gives written reasons.

An order is legally binding. But — and this catches a lot of people out — the Tribunal does not check that its own decision is followed. It says so directly: it's up to the parties to arrange that themselves, and the Tribunal won't trace the other person for you. See enforcement below.

Unpaid rent: the Tenancy Tribunal route

Rent arrears follow a different, more prescribed path than an ordinary invoice, set out in the Residential Tenancies Act 1986. If rent isn't paid on time, Tenancy Services treats that as a breach of both the tenancy agreement and the Act.

Talk first

Tenancy Services' first suggestion to landlords is to check whether the tenant is aware of the missed payment and discuss how they plan to bring the rent up to date — including, if they're having difficulty, letting them add an amount to their regular rent until the debt is paid, with any agreement recorded in writing. It also suggests telling the tenant that the Work and Income Accommodation Supplement may be available to them, and that they don't need to be on a benefit to receive it.

The 14-day notice to remedy

If you can't reach an agreement, Tenancy Services points landlords to a 14-day notice to remedy, which it says can be used if the tenant owes less than 21 days' rent. The notice gives the tenant 14 days to pay the overdue rent, and they must keep paying rent that falls due in the meantime. If the breach isn't fixed within those 14 days, the party who gave the notice can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal.

Tenancy Services publishes the template itself: 14-day notice to remedy — rent arrears. Because this notice has a statutorily prescribed shape, use the official template rather than a general-purpose demand letter.

Repeated missed rent: the three-notice route

Since 11 February 2021, section 55(1)(aa) of the Act — introduced by the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 — gives landlords an additional option for a periodic tenancy. A landlord may apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to terminate the tenancy if:

1. On three separate occasions within a 90-day period, rent that was due remained unpaid for at least five working days; and
2. On each of those three occasions, the landlord gave the tenant written notice of the unpaid rent.

Each written notice must include the amount of overdue rent, the dates it was overdue for, the tenant's right to apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to challenge the notice, and how many other qualifying notices the landlord has given in that 90-day period. Tenancy Services publishes a Notice of overdue rent template that meets those requirements.

The landlord can then file with the Tenancy Tribunal within 28 days after the third notice was given. A tenant can challenge the notices by applying to the Tribunal themselves.

Tenancy Services notes that this sits alongside the existing sections 55 and 56 — in one of its published example scenarios, a landlord issues a notice of overdue rent and a separate 14-day notice to remedy, then makes a section 55 application after rent has been unpaid for 21 days. It also stresses that landlords should consider all the options available and that both parties should first try to resolve things between themselves.

Applying to the Tenancy Tribunal

The application fee is $29, paid by the person applying. If you're successful, the Tribunal can order the other party to pay you the application fee — but you have to ask for this when you make the application.

Applying online is a four-step process and takes about ten minutes; the system saves an incomplete application for up to 30 days. You'll need a RealMe login, a working email address, your bond number if a bond is lodged, and electronic copies of the tenancy agreement and supporting documents. Tenancy Services notes the application may not work on some mobile phones and recommends a desktop or laptop. Applications can also be made on paper, using the current version of the landlord or tenant form.

The same application form is used if you want mediation or FastTrack Resolution. Once it's filed, Tenancy Services will either offer scheduled mediation, formalise a FastTrack Resolution application, or schedule a Tribunal hearing. Withdrawing an application doesn't get your fee back — refunds are only given for double payments, or where you paid but never submitted.

Step 4: Enforcing the order if they still don't pay

This is the stage most people don't budget for. Winning gives you an order; it doesn't give you money. When a tribunal or court orders someone to pay you, what they owe becomes a civil debt, and collecting it is a separate process with its own applications and its own fees.

The Ministry of Justice is blunt about who drives it: the court does not take enforcement action until someone applies for it, and it cannot advise which action to choose. The creditor applies, manages the process, and keeps track of payments — the courts don't hold that information. You also can't enforce a Disputes Tribunal order until the deadline in the decision has passed.

The main enforcement options

Usually the enforcement fees can be added to the debt. Some actions require you to wait for a short stand-down period after the judgment; the Ministry notes that attachment orders, formal requests for a financial statement, and financial assessments don't require you to wait, while seizing property, bailiff service and charging orders do.

Two practical points worth knowing before you pick an action. First, if you're applying for an attachment order there's a protected earnings rate: a debtor must keep at least 60% of their net income, which caps what can be deducted. Second, if you want a bailiff to seize a vehicle, check the Personal Property Securities Register first — it shows whether someone else already has a financial interest in it.

If the debtor is a company, an application for a financial assessment hearing needs the name of a company officer, such as a director, who can answer questions about the company's ability to pay. You can find that on the Companies Register.

Beyond the court route, the Disputes Tribunal also notes you can hire a debt collection agency, which may charge a set fee or a percentage of what's collected, or instruct a lawyer — it observes that a formal letter from a lawyer may itself be enough to get the decision followed.

For questions about enforcement, the Ministry of Justice civil enforcement line is 0800 233 222, or email [email protected].

Time limits

There's a general six-year limit. The Disputes Tribunal states you usually need to make a claim within six years after the event that caused the dispute, and advises talking to a lawyer if you can't. The Ministry of Justice gives the same six-year window for filing a District Court claim, referring to the Limitation Act 2010.

Separately, once you hold a judgment, enforcing one that is more than six years old carries a higher fee ($345) than the ordinary enforcement applications.

Common questions

Sources

Every figure and procedural point above comes from one of these pages. They're the authoritative versions — if something here has gone stale, they'll be right and this page will be wrong.

• Disputes Tribunal of New Zealand — jurisdiction and overview
• Disputes Tribunal: Forms & fees
• Disputes Tribunal: How to make a claim
• Disputes Tribunal: What you'll need to make a claim
• Disputes Tribunal: Decision in your favour
• Ministry of Justice: About civil debt
• Ministry of Justice: Civil enforcement
• Ministry of Justice: Fees and charges for civil enforcement
• Ministry of Justice: Claims you can take to civil court
• Ministry of Justice: Starting a proceeding in the District Court
• Tenancy Services: Rent arrears and overdue rent
• Tenancy Services: How to apply to the Tenancy Tribunal
• Tenancy Services: Breaches of the Residential Tenancies Act
• Residential Tenancies Act 1986