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Residential Tenancies Act 1986

Tenancy agreements - Key money, bonds, and rents

19: Duties of landlord on receipt of bond

You could also call this:

“When a landlord receives money for a bond, they must give a receipt and send the money to the government quickly.”

When you pay a bond to your landlord or someone acting for them, they must follow these rules:

They need to give you a receipt right away. The receipt must be in writing and signed by the person who took your money. It needs to show the address of the place you’re renting, how much you paid, what the payment was for, the date you paid, and your name if they know it.

The landlord then has 23 working days to send the bond money to the chief executive. They also need to send a form with details about the bond, signed by both you and the landlord.

These rules don’t apply if you’re renting a room in a boarding house and your bond is one week’s rent or less. In that case, different rules in section 66D apply.

If the landlord doesn’t give you a receipt or send the bond money as required, they’re breaking the law. They might have to pay a fine or an infringement fee as listed in Schedule 1B.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM95043.

Topics:
Housing and property > Renting
Money and consumer rights > Consumer protection
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18A: Landlord must not require security other than permitted bond, or

“Landlords can only ask for a bond and nothing else to make sure tenants pay rent or follow the rules.”

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20: Duties of chief executive in relation to bonds, or

“The boss of the rental office must safely keep the money you give as a bond and tell you and your landlord about it.”

Part 2 Tenancy agreements
Key money, bonds, and rents

19Duties of landlord on receipt of bond

  1. Where any person pays to the landlord, or to any other person on behalf of the landlord, any amount by way of bond (whether the amount is for the whole or part of the bond), the following provisions shall apply:

  2. the person who receives the payment shall forthwith give to the payer a written receipt, signed by that person, showing—
    1. the address of the premises to which the payment relates; and
      1. the amount and nature of the payment; and
        1. the date of the payment; and
          1. the name of the payer (if known to the person who receives the payment):
          2. the landlord shall, within 23 working days after the payment is made, forward the amount received to the chief executive, together with a statement of particulars in the approved form signed by the landlord and the tenant.

            1. Subsection (1) does not apply if a bond of 1 week’s rent or less is paid in respect of a boarding house tenancy. In that case, section 66D applies instead.

            2. Failure to issue a receipt, or to forward any amount received, in accordance with this section is hereby declared to be an unlawful act.

            3. A landlord who fails to comply with subsection (1) commits an infringement offence and is liable to a fine or an infringement fee specified in Schedule 1B.

            Compare
            • Residential Tenancies Act 1978–1981 s 32(2) (SA)
            Notes
            • Section 19(1): amended, on , by section 16(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
            • Section 19(1)(b): replaced, on , by section 8(1) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 1996 (1996 No 7).
            • Section 19(1)(b): amended, on , by section 16(2) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
            • Section 19(1A): inserted, on , by section 16(3) of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2010 (2010 No 95).
            • Section 19(3): inserted, on , by section 16 of the Residential Tenancies Amendment Act 2020 (2020 No 59).