NZ Bond Lodgement: How to Lodge a Bond With Tenancy Services

For a tenancy covered by the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, a landlord who receives a bond must lodge it with Tenancy Services within 23 working days. A boarding house bond of 1 week's rent or less does not have to be lodged. Failing to lodge a bond by the deadline is an unlawful act, and the Tenancy Tribunal can award exemplary damages up to $1,500.

What You Need Before You Start

Before lodging, make sure you have:

• The bond money — either in your account ready to transfer, or already transferred to Tenancy Services
• A written receipt — the RTA requires you to give the tenant a receipt immediately when you receive the bond (unless it was a bank transfer with a verifiable record). The receipt must show the payer's name, date, amount, property address, and what the payment is for (general bond, pet bond, or both)
• Tenant details — each tenant's name, date of birth, contact details and preference, and entry date
• Your Bond Hub login — sign in with RealMe, Microsoft, or Google. If you have no bond currently lodged with Tenancy Services, you can register without a Landlord ID.

Lodging Through Bond Hub (the Standard Route)

Log into the Tenancy Services portal at tenancy.govt.nz. Navigate to Bond Hub and select "Lodge a new bond."

Enter the property address, weekly rent, bond amount collected, and each tenant's details. After payment, Tenancy Services sends the landlord and tenants a confirmation of the lodged bond by email or post, depending on their contact preferences.

After submitting the request, pay online by card or Account2Account, or nominate an eligible tenant to pay through a link sent by email. If the tenant pays the landlord, the landlord must lodge the bond within 23 working days of receiving it.

Paper Forms Are No Longer Accepted

Bond lodgements and top-ups have been online since 18 December 2024, so paper Form T1 is no longer accepted. Since 29 June 2026, refunds and tenant or landlord changes also use Bond Hub or connected property management software.

The 23-Working-Day Clock

The deadline starts the day after you receive the bond payment. Under the RTA, working days exclude Saturdays and Sundays; Waitangi Day, Anzac Day, the Sovereign's birthday, Matariki Observance Day, and Labour Day (plus the following Monday when Waitangi Day or Anzac Day falls on a weekend); the relevant provincial anniversary day; Good Friday through the Tuesday after Easter; and 24 December through 3 January inclusive.

If a tenant pays the bond on a Monday, day 1 is Tuesday. Count forward 23 working days using the statutory exclusions. Missing the deadline is an unlawful act under the RTA — the tenant can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal for exemplary damages of up to $1,500.

What Happens After Lodgement

Tenancy Services processes the lodgement and issues a confirmation containing your bond number. Processing takes up to 10 working days for a complete and correct lodgement.

If you haven't received the confirmation within 10 working days, check your Bond Hub dashboard and contact Tenancy Services at 0800 836 262 or [email protected] with the property address and submission date.

Keep the Bond ID. You'll need it for any future changes — tenant swaps, bond top-ups after rent increases, and the eventual refund when the tenancy ends.

First-Time Landlord Tip

If you have an active bond lodged with Tenancy Services, you already have a Landlord ID. If you have no active bond, you can register for Bond Hub without one.

For a complete walkthrough of every step — from collecting the bond through lodgement, mid-tenancy changes, and eventual refund — our NZ Bond Lodgement guide covers the full process with dated checklists and a working-day calculator.

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