How to get your bond back in New Zealand, your rights at the end of a tenancy

Last updated 20 June 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Getting your bond back should be the easy part of moving out, and usually it is. But every year thousands of New Zealand tenants lose part of a bond to deductions that are not actually lawful, often because they did not know the rules and the landlord was counting on that. The good news is that the rules are firmly on the side of a tenant who left the place in reasonable order, and the money is not even held by the landlord in the first place.

This guide explains how a bond refund works under the new Bond Hub system, exactly what a landlord can and cannot take out of your bond, the cap on what you can be charged for accidental damage, and how to force the issue if your landlord stalls or overreaches. It is general information, not legal advice.

Your bond is your money

A bond is a deposit you pay at the start of a tenancy as security, but it never belongs to the landlord. By law it has to be lodged with Tenancy Services, the government bond holder, within 23 working days of the landlord receiving it. It sits there for the length of the tenancy and comes back to you at the end unless there is a lawful reason to hold some of it.

The general bond a landlord can charge is capped at four weeks’ rent. Since 1 December 2025 a landlord can also require a separate pet bond of up to two weeks’ rent if you have a pet, so a tenant with a pet can be asked for up to six weeks in total. If a landlord did not lodge your bond at all, that is an unlawful act under the Residential Tenancies Act, and the Tenancy Tribunal can order it repaid and award exemplary damages of up to $1,000 on top. So the starting point is simple. The bond is yours, a third party is holding it, and you are entitled to it back unless the landlord can justify a deduction.

How a refund happens now, through Bond Hub

From 29 June 2026 the old paper bond refund form is gone, and refunds are handled online through Tenancy Services’ new system, Bond Hub.

In the usual case the landlord starts the refund in Bond Hub, setting out how the bond should be split. You then receive an email from Bond Hub with a link and a one-time verification code. You enter the code and your tenant number, and you either accept or decline the amount proposed. You do not need to register for an account, but you do need Tenancy Services to have your current email address, so update it before you move out if it is out of date. Once both sides agree, the refund is processed. Where both parties have signed off it is usually paid within about five working days, and up to 10 working days at the outer end.

The important thing to understand is that you do not have to accept a split you disagree with. If the landlord proposes to keep part of the bond for a reason you do not accept, you decline the amount, and the disagreement then has to be resolved rather than the deduction simply going through. Declining is not being difficult. It is the correct step when a deduction is not justified.

What a landlord can actually deduct

A landlord cannot keep bond money for whatever they like. The lawful reasons to hold back part of a bond are limited to these.

• Unpaid rent that you genuinely owe at the end of the tenancy.
• Unpaid water charges or other costs you were responsible for under the tenancy agreement.
• The cost of cleaning if you left the property less clean than it was when you moved in, but only to bring it back to that state, not to improve on it.
• Damage beyond fair wear and tear, within the liability limits explained below.
• The cost of removing or disposing of goods you abandoned at the property.

A landlord who wants to deduct for any of these has to be able to show it, with evidence such as a rent ledger, invoices, or before-and-after photographs. A vague claim that the place needed work, with no detail and no proof, is not a basis to keep your money, and you are entitled to ask for the itemised reasons.

Fair wear and tear versus damage

This is the line most bond disputes turn on. Fair wear and tear is the gradual deterioration that happens when people simply live in a place, and the landlord, not the tenant, bears that cost. Worn carpet in a hallway, a tap that has started to drip, paint that has faded, small scuffs on a wall from normal use, these are the landlord’s to maintain. You do not have to hand a property back in better condition than ordinary living leaves it.

Damage is different. A wine stain ground into the carpet, a cracked window, a hole in a door, a burnt benchtop, these go beyond normal wear and can be charged for. The test is whether the deterioration is the natural result of ordinary use, which is wear and tear, or something that would not have happened without a specific careless or deliberate act, which is damage. A landlord cannot dress up fair wear and tear as damage to justify keeping your bond, and if something was already worn or marked when you moved in, it is not yours to pay for at all, which is exactly why move-in photos matter so much.

The careless damage cap

Even where there is real damage, you are often not liable for the full repair bill. This is one of the most useful and least understood rules in tenancy law, and it comes from the Osaki case and the law change that followed it.

Under section 49B of the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, inserted by the 2019 amendment that responded to Holler and Rouse v Osaki, a tenant who damages the premises through a careless act or omission is liable only up to the lesser of four weeks’ rent or the landlord’s insurance excess. Careless means an accident or a failure to take reasonable care, such as leaving a tap running or knocking something over, as opposed to deliberate damage. So if a careless accident causes $6,000 of damage but four weeks’ rent is $2,400 and the landlord’s insurance excess is $1,000, the most you can be charged is $1,000, and the landlord’s insurance is expected to cover the rest.

There are two important edges to this. The cap does not apply to intentional damage, or damage caused by an act or omission that is an imprisonable offence, where the tenant remains liable for the full cost. And it works alongside the landlord’s insurance, so you can ask the landlord for the relevant insurance details to check the excess being claimed. If a landlord is trying to charge you the entire cost of accidental damage, the cap is very often your answer.

If the landlord will not agree or will not act

Two things can go wrong. The landlord wants to keep money you do not think they are entitled to, or the landlord simply does nothing and your bond sits there.

If you disagree over a deduction, do not accept the amount in Bond Hub. Try to resolve it directly first, in writing, setting out why the deduction is not justified and attaching your evidence. Tenancy Services also offers free mediation, which resolves many bond disputes without a hearing and results in an order that is binding once both sides agree.

If the landlord stalls or refuses to start the refund, you are not stuck. As the tenant you can apply for the bond refund yourself at any time after the tenancy ends, whereas the landlord only has two months after the tenancy ends to make a claim on the bond. When one party applies, the other generally has 10 working days to object. If they do not object, the bond can be paid out as requested. If they do object, it goes to mediation or the Tribunal. The clock favours a tenant who acts, so if your landlord is dragging the chain, lodge your own application rather than waiting.

Taking it to the Tenancy Tribunal

If agreement and mediation fail, the bond is decided by the Tenancy Tribunal. It is designed to be used without a lawyer, the filing fee is $20.44, and most bond disputes are heard within a few weeks, though the exact wait varies by region and caseload.

At the hearing the adjudicator looks at the evidence and decides how the bond should be split. This is where your preparation pays off. Bring the tenancy agreement, the property inspection report if there was one, your move-in and move-out photographs, any text or email exchanges with the landlord, and proof of rent payments. The party who can actually show the condition of the property at the start and end of the tenancy usually wins, because the adjudicator is being asked to decide what changed, and photographs answer that better than anyone’s memory. If the landlord is claiming for damage, the careless damage cap and the fair wear and tear line are the arguments to raise.

Protect your bond from day one

Most bond losses are decided long before you move out, by whether you can prove the state of the place. A few habits make the difference.

• Photograph everything when you move in, dated, including existing marks, worn carpet, scuffs and any damage, and email the photos to the landlord so there is a record they received them.
• Insist on a property inspection report at the start, and keep your copy. It is the baseline everything is measured against.
• Photograph everything again when you leave, after cleaning, from the same angles.
• Clean to the standard you received it in, not to a professional standard unless that is how you got it. You owe the place back as clean as you found it, no more.
• Keep your rent records and every message with the landlord, and keep your email address current with Tenancy Services so a refund does not stall.

The takeaway

Your bond is your money, held by a neutral third party, and a landlord can only keep it for a short list of genuine reasons backed by evidence. You are not liable for fair wear and tear, you are capped on what accidental damage can cost you, and you do not have to accept a deduction you disagree with just because it appears in Bond Hub. Decline what is not justified, lodge your own application if the landlord stalls, and let the evidence do the work at the Tribunal if it gets that far. Tenants who know these rules, and who took photos, get their bond back far more often than those who do not.

Related guides

• Your rights as a tenant in New Zealand
• How to take someone to the Disputes Tribunal in New Zealand

Frequently asked questions

How long does a bond refund take in New Zealand

Once both sides agree the split, Tenancy Services usually pays within about five working days where both parties have signed off, and up to 10 working days at the outer end. If there is a dispute that goes to mediation or the Tenancy Tribunal it takes longer, with the wait for a hearing varying by region and caseload.

What can a landlord deduct from my bond

Only unpaid rent, unpaid water charges or other agreed costs, cleaning to return the place to the condition you got it in, damage beyond fair wear and tear within the liability limits, and the cost of disposing of goods you abandoned. They cannot deduct for normal wear and tear or for things already worn when you moved in, and they must be able to prove any deduction.

Can my landlord charge me for carpet wear or a worn-out oven

Not for fair wear and tear. Carpet that has worn thin from normal foot traffic, faded paint or an oven that has aged with use are the landlord’s responsibility to maintain. They can only charge you where there is specific damage beyond what ordinary living causes, such as a burn or a stain, and even then accidental damage is capped.

Do I have to pay the full cost of accidental damage

No. For careless or accidental damage your liability is capped at the lesser of four weeks’ rent or the landlord’s insurance excess, under section 49B of the Residential Tenancies Act. The landlord’s insurance is expected to cover the rest. The cap does not apply to intentional, reckless or illegal damage, where you are liable for the full cost.

What if my landlord will not refund my bond

You can apply for the refund yourself at any time after the tenancy ends. When you apply, the landlord generally has 10 working days to object. If they do not object, the bond can be paid out to you. If they do, you can use free mediation or apply to the Tenancy Tribunal, where the filing fee is $20.44. The landlord has only two months after the tenancy ends to make their own claim on the bond.

How much bond can a landlord charge in New Zealand

The general bond is capped at four weeks’ rent. Since 1 December 2025 a landlord can also charge a separate pet bond of up to two weeks’ rent if you have a pet, so up to six weeks in total for a tenant with a pet. The bond must be lodged with Tenancy Services within 23 working days. A landlord who overcharges, or who never lodges the bond, is committing an unlawful act and the Tribunal can order it put right.

How do I get my share of the bond back if I flatted with others

If the bond was lodged in all the tenants’ names, the refund is usually paid out according to what everyone agrees, so sort out the split between flatmates before the refund is processed. If you were a flatmate who paid a share to the head tenant rather than to Tenancy Services directly, your claim may be against that person rather than through the bond system, which is a different situation.

Have you had a bond dispute in New Zealand, or got money back you were told you would lose? Tell us how it went in the comments below.