Bond
A landlord can ask tenants to pay a bond when they move into a property.
Purpose of a bond
The bond is money held by Tenancy Services that could cover:
- unpaid rent
- damage to the property; or
- any claim(s) relating to the tenancy.
Tenants who have looked after the house, paid rent in full, and paid any amounts owing should get a refund of their bond when the tenancy ends.
Start of the tenancy
- Landlords can charge up to 4 weeks rent as bond.
- Other forms of security are not allowed, but a landlord may ask for a guarantor’s agreement.
- In a boarding house tenancy, if the bond is 1 week’s rent or less it doesn’t have to be lodged.
- If a landlord charges a bond for any other tenancy, they must lodge it. This includes service tenancies and bonds paid by the Ministry of Social Development.
- Landlords who charge a bond must lodge it with Tenancy Services within 23 working days of receiving a full or part payment and give the tenant(s) a receipt.
During the tenancy
If your bond details change, it’s important to update Tenancy Services. An accurate bond record allows for a faster refund at the end of the tenancy.
Changing information on a bond record
- If a tenant named on the bond moves out, or a new tenant paying bond moves in, a ‘change of tenant’ form needs to be completed and signed by all tenants and the landlord.
- If the landlord or property manager changes, a ‘change of landlord/agent’ form needs to be completed by the original and new landlord/property manager.
- Send your bond forms to bonds@tenancy.govt.nz. You must also update us if your contact details or the property details change (you can email or call 0800 836 262).
If rent is increased, a landlord may ask for additional bond.
- The top up can only be for the value of the rent increase, multiplied by the number of weeks bond collected at the start of the tenancy.
- This must be lodged with Tenancy Services within 23 working days of receiving a full or part payment
If a landlord plans to leave New Zealand for 21 or more consecutive days, they must appoint an agent.
- The landlord must let the tenants know how to contact the agent if there are issues at the property.
- The landlord and agent must also complete and sign a ‘change of landlord’ form and send this to bonds@tenancy.govt.nz.
End of the tenancy
Complete in full and sign the bond refund form after the final inspection.
- The same people who are named on the bond need to sign the bond refund form. The signatures need to match what we have on record.
- Do not sign a blank refund form. Tenants and landlords should only sign the refund form once it has been completed to show what has been agreed to.
Complete the bond lodgement form
You will need to complete a bond lodgement form and have it signed by everyone who signed the tenancy agreement. The same people who sign the bond lodgement form need to sign the bond refund form when the tenancy ends.
If these names and signatures don’t match, there will be delays processing the bond.
To submit the bond lodgement form you will need to save it as a PDF. You will also need to make an online payment to Tenancy Services.
Bond lodgement forms [PDF, 299 KB]
Saving the form as a PDF using your smart phone
Android:
1. Take a photo of the form
2. Open the photo in albums
3. Click on the photo, then click on the 3 dots in the top-right corner
4. Click on print and save as PDF
Apple iphone
1. Hold down on the Note app
2. Click on scan document and then save
How to make payment
1. Use the online bond payment system
If you are lodging a single bond for 6 tenants or less, use the online bond payment system.
Lodge and pay for your bond online
2. Pay using direct debit (landlords, agents and property managers only)
If you frequently lodge multiple bonds at a time, you can pay by direct debit.
Find out how to pay by direct debit below.
Lodge your bond by direct debit (landlords and agents only)
Becoming a direct debit payer
Are you a landlord, agent or property manager who frequently lodges multiple bonds (two or more) at a time?
You may qualify to make bond payments by direct debit and to lodge your forms with us by email. Tenants cannot use this function.
To register to become a direct debit payer to lodge bonds, follow the steps below:
1. Read, complete and sign a direct debit authority form [PDF, 436 KB].
- This form details the terms and conditions of the service and will remain in force until you advise us you want to cancel the arrangement.
- Note that you may only register one bank account for deduction.
If your deduction bank account is not a transactional account, you may need to check with your bank that your account type supports direct debits.
2. Email the completed direct debit authority form to bond.finance@mbie.govt.nz
3. Once your form has been processed, Tenancy Bond Services will email you a unique direct debit authority identifier (DDAUTHID).
- Take note of your DDAUTHID. It must be used each time you initiate a direct debit payment. Do not share it with anyone – it is linked to the bank account from Step 1.
Making a direct debit payment
Once you are authorised to lodge bonds by direct debit and have been issued with a direct debit authority identifier (DDAUTHID), you may lodge your bonds by direct debit.
To pay your bonds by direct debit, follow the steps below:
1. Ask the parties to each tenancy to complete and sign the bond lodgement forms, as usual.
2. Complete and sign the direct debit payment form [PDF, 270 KB], taking care to check your forms. Please be sure the total bond amounts match the total amount of payment.
3. Email the direct debit payment form and all the bond lodgement form(s) to bond.finance@mbie.govt.nz
- A direct debit payment form must be completed every time you lodge bonds.
- Bond lodgement forms must still be completed in full and accompany the direct debit payment form.
What to expect after initiating a direct debit payment
Every time you initiate a direct debit payment, we will email you to let you know the amount of payment and the date on which the funds will be deducted from your nominated bank account.
Please be sure the funds required to meet the payment are in your account on this date.
Need more help?
Please contact us at bond.finance@mbie.govt.nz
3. Pay using direct credit
You may be able to pay by direct credit if:
- You are lodging a bond for more than 6 tenants, or
- You are a landlord, agent or property manager and you are unable to pay by direct debit.
Find out more about paying by direct credit below.
Note: from 25 June 2021, MBIE services are unable to accept payments by cheque.
Lodge your bond by direct credit
Making a direct credit payment
If you are not able to pay online, or use our direct debit payment option, you can make bond payments by direct credit.
Please email bond.finance@mbie.govt.nz if you need to pay by direct credit. We need to set you up in our system before you make any payments.
Once you have been set up to pay using direct credit, you will need to provide the following information to make a payment:
- Your completed bond lodgement forms
- Remittance advice, providing a summary (or schedule) of the bond amount paid in relation to each bond lodgement.
Need more help?
Please contact us at bond.finance@mbie.govt.nz.
In this section
Landlords and tenants need to complete and submit a bond refund form at the end of the tenancy.
If the landlord charges a bond they must lodge it with Tenancy Services within 23 working days.
At the end of a tenancy the tenant can transfer the bond to a new tenancy rather than getting a refund.
It is important for landlords, property managers and tenants to keep the bond record up to date.
Read our tips on how to prevent problems with bonds during a tenancy.
The way bonds are lodged, managed and refunded is changing. A new digital system will make the process simpler, quicker and more reliable.
