Proposed unit title dispute service fee seen as excessive
The level of dispute resolution fees proposed in the Unit Titles Act 2010 Fees Regulations is excessive and a retrograde step, the New Zealand Law Society says.
In its written feedback to the Department of Building and Housing on the department’s discussion document on the proposed fees, the Law Society says applicants could face costs similar to those involved in court proceedings.
“Part of the rationale behind the new Unit Titles legislation was to make a system of dispute resolution available to unit proprietors and body corporates that avoided the present expensive and cumbersome process of taking proceedings in the High Court,” the Society’s feedback says.
“The fees that are proposed for complex and non-complex mediations do not achieve this result. This is a retrograde step and is not in accordance with the basic principles behind the dispute resolution process.”
The Society says that in comparison with the fees proposed, applicants wishing to use to the services of the Tenancy Tribunal or the Disputes Tribunal pay a relatively modest fee.
“The Society believes that the service for unit title disputes, if it is to be effective, should be based on consistent pricing models. Resourcing to ensure competent and well-supported, timely dispute tribunal services, particularly in the case of adjudication, is essential.
In its feedback the Law Society also says it does not agree with the proposed division of disputes into “non-complex” and “complex”, calling it an arbitrary division.
“It will be extremely difficult to distinguish between ‘non-complex’ and ‘complex’ matters,” it says.
“Whilst the examples given in the discussion paper may be relatively clear, there will be many other situations where there would be uncertainty as to whether a dispute is non-complex or complex. Who would make the decision as to which category applied? If the wrong choice was made there could be delays and further expense in obtaining a resolution.”