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How do I terminate my contract in New Zealand? 

Posted by Nina Song on 9 September 2022
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New Zealand is a society ruled by law, with heavy contracts and credibility, under the dual constraints of morality and law, usually major breaches of contracts are less common, because the party who breaks the contract without reason will pay a relatively large cost. Of course, since the contract is agreed by both parties A and B, there are naturally some ways to terminate it; Whatever the reason for the termination of the contract (natural or man-made disasters, market changes, accidental accidents), procedures need to be followed to ensure that the termination of the contract is known to both parties and that both parties have minimal damage (at least as low as is acceptable to both parties). 

So, in New Zealand, as a party to a contract, what should you do if you want to terminate the contract? 

Contracts always have a term 

A contract always has a time limit, or there are conditions that trigger termination, and if the contract has been fully executed and the parties have fulfilled their rights and obligations in the contract, in practice neither party has any further obligation to perform the contract. This is the simplest, the so-called “contract expiration”, jumping out and jumping. 

Determine if there is a clause to terminate the contract 

Any contract will have a clause that triggers termination, whether it is lenient or harsh. Contracts signed in New Zealand can be revoked or accessible, effectively restoring the state of the parties before the contract was signed. 

If the contract itself does not have a termination clause, you can negotiate with the other party to see if it can be terminated. Of course, the webmaster’s advice is that the contract without a termination clause is itself a bit “strange”, do not sign. 

Determine whether there is legal power to terminate the contract 

It can be said that almost all contracts can impose conditions for termination under the supervision of the law, for example, if one party to the contract violates the criminal law of New Zealand or the place where the contract is performed, then the contract can be terminated by one party without compensation, or even from the other party, for example, fraud, misrepresentation, intentional misleading, etc. in the contract are criminal. 

In addition, if one party to the contract is unable to perform the contract, or is manifestly in breach of the contract, or if the lack of capacity results in poor execution of the contract, the other party to the contract may also terminate it in accordance with the law. 

For example, A bought B’s house, agreed to deliver it after 7 days, and on the fifth day, the earthquake came and destroyed the house so that it was impossible to live; Then, A does not need to settle with B on the seventh day according to the contract, because the contract is already “impossible”. 

Make a small amount of compensation to negotiate the termination of the contract 

Under the new crown pneumonia epidemic, many merchants are unsustainable and have to declare liquidation, but commercial real estate is usually signed for five to seven years leases, and if they quit, landlords also need to have a few months to find new tenants; Then, it is entirely possible to “break the contract through friendly negotiation”, compensate the landlord for three months and five months of rent, and then both parties agree to terminate the contract. 

However, remember that the agreement to terminate the contract must have a written agreement and the original parties to the contract must jointly sign one copy of the contract to take effect. 

The court is in court 

If all of the above methods fail, the parties to the contract are already “incompatible”, OK, according to the subject matter of the contract, go to the corresponding court to fight the lawsuit, for example, the amount of less than fifteen thousand New Dollars in civil litigation can go to the arbitration court to spend 100 New Zealand dollars to complete; However, if the amount is large, or the evidence on both sides is large, and it is difficult to sort out which is right and wrong, it may have to be resolved in the district court, or even continue to fight the lawsuit to the high court and so on. 

In most cases, you will need to consult your lawyer to determine the consequences of terminating the contract that you can afford. However, the lawyer is not cheap, so if it is a compensation of 18,000 yuan, you might as well pay the other party directly, after all, the lawyer shot, hundreds of hours, the lawsuit may not be able to win. Of course, if you are not “not (steaming) fighting for steamed buns (steaming) fighting for breath”, that is another story, you are happy. 

In fact, what is said above is “hindsight”, if you want to prevent micro-gradualism, avoid falling into the trap of the contract, before leaving your signature on the contract at the beginning, you should consult a lawyer well, after all, the money spent at this time is only a small amount of money.

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