Final Inspection Tenancy NZ: What Landlords Must Do Before and After the Tenant Leaves

The notice has been served, the period has expired, and the tenant is about to leave. The final inspection is the last step before you reclaim the property — and the one that determines whether you get the bond back cleanly or end up in a dispute at the Tenancy Tribunal.

Scheduling the Final Inspection

There's no statutory template for a final inspection under the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, but the Act does set boundaries around when and how a landlord can enter the property.

For a landlord-initiated inspection before the tenancy ends, give at least 48 hours' written notice, no more than 14 days in advance; the inspection must occur between 8:00 AM and 7:00 PM. The tenant can propose a different time within that window; try to agree on a practical time. Most landlords schedule the final inspection for the last day of the tenancy or the day after the tenant has vacated, depending on when they hand back the keys.

A joint inspection — where you and the tenant walk through the property together — isn't legally required, but it's the most effective way to agree on the property's condition before the bond refund process begins. If both parties agree that the property is in fair condition (allowing for reasonable wear and tear), the bond refund can be filed immediately through Bond Hub without dispute.

If the tenant declines to attend, conduct the inspection anyway and document everything thoroughly. You can still file a bond claim, but you'll need stronger evidence to support it.

What to Check During the Inspection

The Residential Tenancies Act expects the property to be returned in "reasonably clean and tidy" condition, allowing for fair wear and tear. Fair wear and tear means the gradual deterioration that occurs through normal use — scuffed skirting boards, minor marks on walls, carpet wear in high-traffic areas. These are not grounds for a bond claim.

What you're looking for is damage beyond fair wear and tear:

Structure and fixtures. Holes in walls larger than picture-hook size, broken windows, damaged doors, cracked tiles, missing or broken light fittings. Compare against your ingoing inspection photos and the property condition report from the start of the tenancy.

Carpet and flooring. Burns, large stains that don't come out with professional cleaning, tears, or pet damage. Normal foot traffic wear and sun fading are fair wear.

Cleaning. The property should be reasonably clean. An oven caked in grease, mould in the bathroom, or rubbish left behind goes beyond fair wear. But "not as clean as when they moved in" is usually not enough — the Tribunal applies a practical standard, not a hotel standard.

Chattels and appliances. If the tenancy included a stove, washing machine, curtains, or other chattels, check that they're present and functional. Missing items are a bond claim.

Gardens and exterior. If the tenancy agreement allocated garden maintenance to the tenant, check the lawns and garden beds. Overgrown gardens are less clear-cut at the Tribunal — you'll need the specific tenancy clause and photos of the state at the start.

Keys and access devices. Confirm you have every key, garage remote, and access card back. If keys are unreturned, document any re-keying needed and its cost before proposing a bond claim.

Documenting the Condition

Take timestamped photos of every room, every area of damage, and the overall condition of the property. Video is even better — a slow walk-through with a running commentary on what you're seeing.

If you conducted an ingoing property inspection at the start of the tenancy (and you should have), the final inspection is a comparison exercise. Damage beyond fair wear and tear is the gap between the two sets of photos.

If you don't have ingoing photos, proving damage at the Tribunal becomes much harder. The adjudicator will apply a reasonable-person standard, but without a baseline, "it wasn't like that when they moved in" carries less weight.

Keep a written record alongside the photos: date, time, which room, a brief description of the condition. This becomes your evidence file if the bond goes to mediation or the Tribunal.

The Bond Refund Process

Once the inspection is complete and the tenant has vacated, the bond refund is processed through Bond Hub (managed by Tenancy Services).

If both parties agree on the refund split — full refund to the tenant, full claim by the landlord, or a split — the landlord can submit a bond refund request through Bond Hub online. The tenant or tenants have 12 working days to respond to the request.

If there's no agreement, either party can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for a determination. The filing fee is $27. The Tribunal will review the evidence from both sides — your inspection photos, receipts for repairs, the tenancy agreement, the ingoing report — and issue a binding order.

Standard bonds are capped at four weeks' rent. Under the pet consent rules effective 1 December 2025, a landlord may also require a pet bond of up to two weeks' rent when a pet is permitted.

Handling Abandoned Property

If the tenant leaves belongings behind, you can't simply throw them out. Sections 62B and 62C of the RTA 1986 set out a specific process.

First, assess whether the storage, transport, and decontamination costs exceed the estimated market value of the goods. If they do, you can dispose of the items immediately. If the goods are worth more than the cost of dealing with them, you must store them securely for at least 35 days. After 35 days, unclaimed goods can be sold at auction or a reasonable market price, with the proceeds going first to your storage and sale costs and any surplus remitted to Tenancy Services.

Personal documents — passports, birth certificates, financial records, official mail — can never be sold or destroyed. Hold them for 35 days, then hand them to the local police station.

Getting the Close-Out Right

The final inspection isn't just about finding damage. It's the step that determines whether the tenancy ends cleanly or turns into a months-long bond dispute. The Ending a Tenancy in New Zealand guide includes a close-out checklist covering the inspection, bond refund filing, abandoned property rules, and every document you need to keep for your records.

For the steps leading up to this point — serving the notice, calculating deemed receipt dates, and dealing with tenants who won't leave — see the full NZ landlord tenancy ending guide.

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