How to serve a trespass notice

[Horse]

Having been involved in something that required this recently, I thought other KBers might find the information useful.

The best reference is this NZ Police web page: How to serve a Trespass Notice. Now I know it might rankle some KBers who consider Police the "opposition", but they've got good info here.

At that page you'll find info about how to serve someone with a trespass notice, and a template in RTF, Word 95, and OpenDocument format that you can simply print out and fill in (it lists an HTML version as well, but that appears to be broken).

What surprised me about this is that you don't need a lawyer, or pay some fee down at the district court. Just fill in the forms, and serve them on the person you want to keep away, and that's it.

Now, serving them is the important part. The police page says:

It is recommended that the Trespass Notice be served personally on the individual concerned rather than by registered post. This should minimise later disputes over whether the person was aware of the notice.

So do it yourself, or pay a document server to do it. Amusingly, if someone thinks they're being clever by refusing to accept the document, you can just put it down in front of them:

It says personally serving a Trespass Notice may be effected "by leaving the document with the person to be served, or, if that person does not accept it, by putting it down in that person's presence and bringing it to that person's attention."

So tell them it's a trespass notice for them, and leave it on the ground at their feet.

If you're concerned about the physical confrontation (and let's be honest, some people are scary), and too cheap to pay a document server, you can send it by registered mail. But get it right - the Trespass Act 1980 says:

A warning under section 3 or section 4 of this Act shall be given to the individual person concerned either orally, or by notice in writing delivered to him or sent to him by post in a registered letter at his usual place of abode in New Zealand.

So sending it to someone's workplace instead would be a FAIL. Worth keeping that in mind.

Hope someone finds that useful. As I said, check out the Police page mentioned above, or the actual Trespass Act itself - it's surprisingly brief for an Act of Parliament.

[ynot slow]

And if like a mate,whose flatmates' boyfriend was being a tosser as she caught him shagging her mother,(then her mum trespassed her daughter from the mums home)cops were good.

We went to police station,got the form and the 3 of us took it to him,muggins said I'll give it to him,the girl had a video in car in case.The guy was ok,then started having a go,I knew the camera was filming,the guy kept baiting me,so I asked him what it felt like shagging his ex g/f mum,who was still young but sloppy.He swung and glanced me,had another go,so I threw a couple,and went as he picked himself up.

An hour later the police call saying he pressed charges that I assaulted him,he had broken nose and what was my version,showed the cops the video,they asked did I want to press charges,nope I said,keep him away from us.He died about 3 weeks later in a car crash.

[madbikeboy]

This is a fantastic post. Excellent. So, when my evil ex comes near me, I screw up the letter and wrap it in a brick, and throw it at her, right?

[Horse]

So, when my evil ex comes near me, I screw up the letter and wrap it in a brick, and throw it at her, right?

I wouldn't recommend it.

[ready4whatever]

didnt know you can just print it then serve it without the courts. interesting

[Mom]

The only time I needed to trespass someone from my property the police served them for me, problem solved. It worked really well too, the person concerned would not even drive in the street I lived in

I think people dont actually realise how to serve papers on someone. There are people that do it for a living but it costs.

If you are really not interested in facing the person yourself, you can simply ask someone to do it for you. If they know the person to be served and can swear they do, all the good. Dont take any shit, drop it at their feet.

[Fatt Max]

I had a girlfriend who went a bit mad on me. Rather than serve a notice on her I served a portion of my shepherds pie. It tasted like crap and I never saw her again

[Swoop]

I had a girlfriend who went a bit mad on me. Rather than serve a notice on her I served a portion of my shepherds pie. It tasted like crap and I never saw her again

Shepherd's Pie? Are you sure it wasn't a cottage pie?

[McJim]

I couldn't find the bit where it said you could just shoot the fucker and use him as compost.

[phill-k]

Actually its even easier than as stated above, your local cop shop has both the document and a copy and if you request them they are now required to serve the document on your behalf. How do I know? local copper served me recently, wanker of a neighbour, requested it, I've got a few copper mates (actually ex/retired) and they didn't believe me when I told them the cop was wasting his time doing this sort of work but when asked told me they now have to serve trespass notices if requested to do so, even offered to serve one on the neighbour for me, I've now also had confirmed by this cops senior that they are required to serve them if requested

[scumdog]

Meh serve 'em regularly.

"Ya can't do that to me'

'Just you watch'

hehehehe.

[Insanity_rules]

I had a girlfriend who went a bit mad on me. Rather than serve a notice on her I served a portion of my shepherds pie. It tasted like crap and I never saw her again

I hope that shepherds pie is not a euphamism for actual crap or something! Oh BTW I saw this and thought of you

[sarahtvet]

local copper served me recently, wanker of a neighbour, requested it, I've got a few copper mates (actually ex/retired) and they didn't believe me when I told them the cop was wasting his time doing this sort of work but when asked told me they now have to serve trespass notices if requested to do so, even offered to serve one on the neighbour for me, I've now also had confirmed by this cops senior that they are required to serve them if requested

Sounds like you were the bigger person. Tit-4-tat behaviour somewhat pathetic, reminds me a bit of the playground. Shame your neighbour couldn't have talked to you and sorted it, honest communication a barely used art form these days

As you say it is good that the cops will serve them but surely their time is better spent on other stuff olice:

Sounds like there are many ways to serve them without you being there if you are that scared of the person you are serving. Anyway if you do it in a public place surely the served is unlikely to do anything drastic about a piece of paper (one would hope anyway).

Less scary than Fatt Maxs shepherds pie by the sounds of things

I had a girlfriend who went a bit mad on me. Rather than serve a notice on her I served a portion of my shepherds pie. It tasted like crap and I never saw her again

So cooking isn't one of your fine attributes then

If you have a party best we all bring takeaways

[ynot slow]

Had a call from a friend,he has been trespassed from a pub in a nearby town,he worked in but lived 30km away,and hadn't been there at all.He told the cops he wasn't there as was on holiday and proved it,went to the pub to ask the owner what the hell,turned out mate was set up by his wifes ex,he used the mates name as this guy was banned from all the other pubs except this one.

Sometimes the threat of a trespass order does the trick.And usually they work for the real dumb pricks who need the reasoning spelt out as to why they're being trespassed,i.e because you stole items from the flat you were living in doh.

[Murray]

If you really want the forms just ask your pub for one - they all have them and use them on a fairly regular basis, or the pub I worked at did. Funny giving them to representative rugby players - didnt go down to well with the local union!!!