No asset procedure
Question from Pauline updated on 5th August 2016:
Tenants owing us serious rent arrears have been granted the " No Asset Procedure" and have been fully exonerated from paying the serious rent arrears.
The Tenancy Tribunal ruled that they must re pay the arrears at a nominal rate. However, they have been fully exonerated by this sham 'No Asset Procedure" process. and cleared of all debts!
They will be laughing all the way to the next unsuspecting landlord. How do others deal with this?
Our expert Allan Galloway responded:
A “No Asset Procedure” (NAP) is an alternative to bankruptcy and is administered by the Insolvency & Trustee Service (ITS). A person may only apply for an NAP once, and there are a certain debts that are not excluded by this process. More information on the NAP can be found on the ITS website here at http://www.insolvency.govt.nz/cms/financial-trouble/personal/step3/no-asset-procedure.
A feature of the NAP is that the person is responsible for paying any debts incurred after they applied for the NAP. There are other consequences for an individual who enters a NAP, such as the adverse effect on their credit rating. This may impact on their ability to secure a subsequent rental property should their future landlord conduct a credit check as a part of their pre-tenancy checks.
For further information regarding landlord and tenant rights and responsibilities, including information on how an Order of the Tenancy Tribunal can be enforced, you can visit our website at www.tenancy.govt.nz, or subscribe to our tenancy landlord e-newsletter at www.tenancy.govt.nz/subscribe.
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