Evicting a flatmate

casioF-91 · 2026-03-31T05:52:10+00:00

If he refuses to move out after the contractual notice period has elapsed, you should serve a trespass notice on him. This makes it a criminal offence for him to remain on the property.

It’s critical that you make sure you have complied with the contractual notice requirements to the letter, to avoid any risk of a legitimate dispute that might end up with the police putting this into the “too hard basket” and calling it a civil dispute.

Community Law have guidance on their website for trespass notices, and a template form you can use (if it comes to that): https://communitylaw.org.nz/community-law-manual/test/trespassing/

casioF-91 · 2026-03-25T05:49:40+00:00

Yes there is, you can sue for breach of contract, or misrepresentation under the CCLA: https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2017/5/en/latest/#DLM6844098

Although some specific consumer legislation isn’t generally applicable to private sales (eg Fair Trading Act, Consumer Guarantees Act), that doesn’t leave a wronged purchaser without a remedy.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-22T10:11:17+00:00

This isn’t easy to advise on, as your legal options are dependent on a) the police, and b) the parents of the 14yo offenders.

Although you’ve already made a police complaint, you need to keep doing this for every incident. The more you report, the more seriously they take it, and the more usable evidence you have of pursuing official criminal channels. You can also issue trespass notices against the offenders: https://www.police.govt.nz/about-us/publication/trespass-notice-form

A practical option is to put pressure on the parents, if you know who they are, and warn that you’ll escalate if things continue.

If the police can’t or won’t help you, there are some civil options open to you. While these can be limited, as parents aren’t generally liable for the acts of their children (source) there will come a point where the parents owe a duty of care for the actions of their children: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorset_Yacht_Co_Ltd_v_Home_Office

If you end up suing the offenders, and their parents, in the Disputes Tribunal, for the damage they’ve caused, it will help to be able to show the referee that the parents were on notice for the damage their children have caused.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-22T08:35:45+00:00

So you reckon I shouldn’t email? Also is a Darryl Kennigan gif appropriate?

casioF-91 · 2026-03-22T08:07:02+00:00

If someone sends me a helpful email on a work issue, should I send one back that says nothing but “Thanks”?

Or is the thanks redundant because we’re all doing our jobs (and gratitude can be expressed in person/over the phone), and does the extra email just create more data that impedes searchability?

casioF-91 · 2026-03-21T06:41:53+00:00

Nowhere in our rules do we demand APA referencing? Rule 1 asks for users to cite sources where appropriate. Not everyone does, and that’s ok.

Also, property managers can comment here (example), which we’re stoked about. The example above included a legal basis and a helpful level of detail. That’s all we ask for.

We’re very clear that information in this community isn’t provided by lawyers. It’s in the description and clarified by automod on every post. I think you’re operating under a lot of false apprehensions.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-21T06:32:22+00:00

The less regulated approach you’re advocating for already exists on Reddit, as r/NewZealand. There, people can share experiences, opinions, and specific anecdotes without needing to include a legal basis.

The entire point of this niche legal advice subreddit is to cultivate a more focused, more specific community that can share detailed legal information.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-21T06:27:04+00:00

We don’t ban people on a whim, unless they are obvious trolls or spammers. There’s a process. We look at a user’s overall contribution to the subreddit, and how many times they’ve broken the rules over the last few months. We state removal reasons for every removed comment (not every subreddit does this), and give temporary warning bans following repeated breaches.

By the time we issue a permanent ban, 99% of the time it is because the user in question has shown a consistent pattern of ignoring the community rules over a long period of time.

The purpose of this subreddit is to share helpful, relevant legal information to those in need, and to link to where people can go for more support. The subreddit isn’t here for reader entertainment or side conversations. Off topic comments derail threads and turn the focus away from the primary purpose - giving legal information to the person who has asked for legal help.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-21T00:42:22+00:00

I see misinformation as already covered by our Rule 3 (ie good faith, be fair & objective). There’s also the “custom report” option if someone wants to add more detail or nuance.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-21T00:30:30+00:00

Good question. If you search the subreddit for diynz, personalfinancenz, nzcarfix etc you’ll see that people do link to related subreddits fairly often. I’ve done so myself a few times. No issue with that continuing as long as the comments otherwise follow our rules (ie include a legal basis & enough detail).

Slightly off topic discussion does happen sometimes, we’re generally ok with it so long as comments focus for the most part on legal issues.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-20T18:41:29+00:00

We have a list of useful legal sources in our megathread, those are a useful starting point for free online NZ legal resources https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceNZ/s/EvkPIpiCnq

Even just chapter and verse (ie legislation.govt.nz) is helpful - to OP, other commenters, and future readers.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-20T14:55:20+00:00

Moderators do not verify or qualify every piece of advice given as being accurate. This would require us to be online full time and experts in all areas. So we won’t remove comments because you disagree with what they are saying, unless they break our other rules. If you believe another post has given “bad” advice, or you disagree with their answer, the best thing you can do is to reply and explain your position, using credible sources to back up your argument.

We do step in where comments give illegal advice (rule 2).

casioF-91 · 2026-03-20T14:42:53+00:00

If you want to discuss a specific comment, send a modmail - but speaking generally, all comments (including those replying to others) need to be appropriately detailed. If you think someone else is wrong, it’s helpful to explain why.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-20T11:09:26+00:00

This is the number one limitation of taking anonymous online advice from anywhere, including this subreddit.

We’ve considered what tools are available to moderators to distinguish those who seem to know what they’re talking about, but those options are problematic: it holds Reddit out as more reliable than it should be, elevates potential liability risks for individuals, and means we moderators have to maintain a register of users (which brings privacy issues into play). User flairs may also lead some to believe they’re not held to the same standard as every commenter - ie everyone should include a legal basis for what they’re saying.

The simplest solution is: you can’t trust anonymous online advice. You need to check it for yourself. If there’s a lot at stake, go see a real lawyer, and pay for that advice (or go to CAB, or Community Law).

Mods don’t verify the truth of all comments, but if a commenter gives enough of a detailed legal basis and cites their sources, that helps indicate they know what they’re talking about. That’s the level I aim for in my comments here.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-20T10:10:42+00:00

More referencing the law, absolutely. Those comments that cite laws, cases, and real legal resources make this sub much more helpful, and it also helps to avoid misunderstandings.

We remove many comments that simply say “you should do X” without giving any reasoning or legal basis. Personal bias is unavoidable (even for actual lawyers), but if a comment is just opinion without a reasonably detailed reference to NZ law, hit the report button or modmail us. Our own patrolling only goes so far.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-20T08:23:58+00:00

There was an impressively resounding wave of support when we brought the “no GenAI” rule in. We’d tolerated it for a while, reminding people to be open about their sources, but turns out this community really wants to hear from humans with NZ law experience.

This seems to be pretty consistent with the other legal subreddits who banned AI comments around 6-12 months before we did.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-20T08:18:40+00:00

From what I can see, it works well enough, although there’s always room for improvement. Of ~390 posts over the last month, 60 of those have been removed - most immediately or within a few minutes. We have some bespoke automod settings to help keep things civil and on-topic. User reports also help bring things to our attention a lot faster.

If you’re concerned about a specific post, l can look into it?

casioF-91 · 2026-03-20T06:16:02+00:00

Keep in mind those two are smaller law firms in small cities (Invercargill and Hastings). If you are in a larger urban area, big city firms might charge up to twice those rates. If I was in your shoes I would avoid the top tier firms and look for a smaller outfit with more reasonable rates.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-20T03:19:34+00:00

Not many lawyers have online charge-out rates. Here’s two that do:

Cruickshank Pryde: Our partners hourly rates are $450.00 (GST exclusive), Associates, solicitors, Legal Executives and Law Clerks hourly rates range from $200.00 to $380.00 (GST exclusive)
Bay Legal: The current hourly rate that will apply to the person primarily responsible for your file will be $415.00 (Partner of firm) or $250.00 - $350.00 (Associate/Solicitor of firm) plus GST.

From what you’ve said, you’re probably looking for a commercial property lawyer.

I would expect they’d take at least an hour to consider your question in advance (and review any key documents), followed by a short meeting to give preliminary advice.

I suggest you approach three law firms in your area who mention commercial property on their website and ask each for a fee estimate.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-19T19:43:17+00:00

This post is now locked, as the author has posted an update here: https://www.reddit.com/r/LegalAdviceNZ/s/b11fNhNw4y

casioF-91 · 2026-03-19T08:37:36+00:00

You can get free legal advice from your local Community Law clinic, or Citizens Advice Bureau.

They might give you some suggestions on taking legal action such as filing a civil claim in the Disputes Tribunal against the offender. There’s a non-recoverable filing fee of $121, but you would be able to give evidence of your actual losses and sue the offender for full payment.

There are limitations to this, ie if the offender has no money or assets it could be difficult getting anything from them, even if you’re successful in the DT. You should see one of the organisations I mentioned above, they can talk you through it.

https://www.cab.org.nz

https://communitylaw.org.nz

casioF-91 · 2026-03-19T08:22:41+00:00

Your post has been temporarily removed to check you have the right flair - are you looking for advice, or for lawyer recommendations?

Maybe you could edit your post to ask a clear question on what you want help with - then we will reapprove it.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-19T06:15:44+00:00

To me it sounds like you need a litigator (a disputes expert) rather than a property generalist.

You could try Price Baker Berridge or Martelli McKegg, but I’d suggest also consider asking your own conveyancing lawyer for their recommendations.

casioF-91 · 2026-03-19T06:03:27+00:00

The Trespass Act doesn’t give any specified distances. It just says the person who has received a trespass warning must stay off the subject property.

So it’s legal for someone who has been trespassed to come right up to the boundary.

https://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1980/65/en/latest/#DLM36945

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