NZ Building Answers

What is a bond and how does it work in NZ?

Updated June 2026

Short answer

A bond is money a tenant pays at the start of a tenancy as security, capped at four weeks' rent. The landlord cannot keep it in their own account: it must be lodged with Tenancy Services, which holds it until the tenancy ends. You get it back when both parties sign the refund form, or the Tenancy Tribunal decides any dispute.

Source: Tenancy Services. Updated June 2026.

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Key facts

Maximum bond is four weeks' rent
Landlords must lodge bonds with Tenancy Services within 23 working days
The money is held by Tenancy Services, not the landlord
Refunds need both signatures, or a Tenancy Tribunal decision
Fair wear and tear cannot be claimed from a bond

What the bond is for

The bond is security for the landlord if the tenancy ends badly: unpaid rent, damage beyond fair wear and tear, or a house left needing real cleaning. It is not extra rent and it is not the landlord's money. If the tenancy ends with the rent paid and the house in reasonable order, the full amount comes back to you.

A landlord can ask for up to four weeks' rent as bond. Asking for more than that is not allowed, and neither is charging tenants a letting fee on top.

Where the money actually sits

Within 23 working days of receiving your bond, the landlord must lodge it with Tenancy Services. You should then receive confirmation of the lodgement directly, with a bond number on it. Keep that confirmation with your tenancy agreement. Tenancy Services holds the bond as a neutral party, which is the whole point of the scheme.

If a month has passed and nothing has arrived, ask the landlord, and if the answer is vague, contact Tenancy Services with your tenancy details. An unlodged bond is a problem worth catching early, because the lodgement is what protects the money.

Getting it back at the end

When the tenancy ends, the landlord checks the property against the condition it was in at the start, allowing for fair wear and tear. If everything is in order, you both sign a bond refund form and Tenancy Services pays the money out, usually within a few days of receiving it.

This is where the photos from your first week earn their keep. Carpet that has flattened under normal use is fair wear and tear. A burn mark or a hole in a door is damage. The difference between those two categories is what bond arguments are made of.

If you and the landlord disagree

You do not have to accept a deduction you think is unfair. A refund form can be signed for part of the bond while the rest stays put, and either side can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to decide the disputed amount. The Tribunal looks at evidence: the initial inspection report, photos from both ends of the tenancy, and receipts for any work claimed. Tenancy Services can explain the process before you commit to it.

Before you hire

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