Tenants can pay a:

• general bond at the start of the tenancy
• pet bond when they get consent to keep a pet.

If the landlord increases the rent and decides to increase the bond during the tenancy, the tenant must pay the amount it has increased by. This amount is called a bond top-up.

The landlord can only increase the rent lawfully. Find out more about this in the ‘Rent increases and reductions’ section.

Rent increases and reductions

How tenants can pay the bond

The tenant can pay the bond either:

• to the landlord, or
• directly to Tenancy Services (if they have the landlord’s approval to do this).

If the tenant is a flatmate but not named on the tenancy agreement, they can pay their bond to the head tenant. Find out about the rules for this bond payment on the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) website.

What happens to bond money that flatmates pay to tenant flatmates? — CAB(external link)

Pay to the landlord

If the tenant pays the bond to the landlord, the landlord must pay it to Tenancy Services when they lodge it. The landlord must provide the tenant with a receipt.

Pay directly to Tenancy Services

If the tenant wants to pay the bond directly to Tenancy Services, they need to get approval from the landlord.

If the landlord approves, they can nominate the tenant as a payee when they lodge the bond. The tenant needs an email address, as Tenancy Services will send them an email. The email has a web link for the payee to click on to access and make the payment. Once the tenant has paid, Tenancy Services will send them a receipt.

Tenants — make sure your email address is up to date

Financial help with bond payments

Work and Income can help eligible people with a bond payment.

Bond grant — Work and Income(external link)

Accommodation security cover grant — Work and Income(external link)

Bond receipts

If the tenant pays the bond to the landlord, the landlord must write a receipt and give it to the tenant.

The receipt must include:

• the date the bond was paid
• if the money is for general bond or pet bond
• the amount of the bond
• the tenant’s name
• the property address, and 
• the landlord’s signature.

Landlords must keep bond receipts and records.

Receipts and accurate records

The landlord must lodge a bond

In most situations, landlords must lodge a general bond, pet bond or bond top-up payment with Tenancy Services.

Find out when a bond does not have to be lodged, the timeframe to lodge it and how to lodge it.

About lodging a bond

Do a property inspection

Property inspections are important. They can help with bond refund applications at the end of the tenancy.

We recommend the tenant and landlord do a property inspection before the tenant moves in. This is to check the condition of the property, and it can be recorded in a property report.

During the tenancy and when it ends, the report can be useful as evidence if there is a problem or dispute.

You can use the form called 'Property inspection report — fillable' in the section ‘Initial property inspection’.

Initial property inspection