Tenancy mediation is a form of systematic practice that has become firmly established in a number of different legislatures. Yet there has been little research on what makes this an effective or satisfactory procedure. This paper presents a study based on quantitative and qualitative research that looks at tenancy mediation in New Zealand. Drawing on the method of appreciative inquiry, it finds that a consistently high rate of participant satisfaction with voluntary mediation comes from three main components of mediation practice. These are to do with three-way interactive mediator assistance, recognition and reframing, and ‘trust in practice.’ Together, these often generate an experience of transformative mediation which underpins the satisfaction that disputants report.