Receipts and accurate records

Landlords must keep records

Landlords must keep copies of all documents relating to the rental home. These records must be kept during the tenancy and for 12 months after the tenancy ends. It’s a good idea for tenants to do the same.

Specific documents must be provided if requested by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, under the Residential Tenancies Act.

Landlords must keep rent and bond records for 7 years after the tax year to which they relate.

If landlords apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to collect overdue rent, they should bring rent records, bank statements and rent books from the start of the tenancy to their hearing.

Download our spreadsheet below for an example of how to record rent payments.

Tenants should keep records

The tenant should keep their own records for the rent they’ve paid. Bank statements are one way to do this but it’s also good to keep a rent summary spreadsheet.

If the tenant pays rent with cash or by cheque, the rent book is usually their receipt.

The tenant should keep the rent book or other records for a reasonable time after the tenancy ends. This can help if there are any problems with the tenancy.

Rent receipts

A landlord must give a written receipt for rent when there is no other record available to the tenant. For example, if the tenant pays in cash. Receipts must be given:

• immediately, if rent is paid in cash
• within 72 hours, if rent isn’t paid in cash.

A receipt is not legally required when the rent is paid:

• from a tenant’s bank account by automatic payment
• by non-negotiable personal cheque from the tenant’s bank account
• into the landlord's account, if the account is only used for the tenancy (and any of the landlord's other tenancies)
• automatically from the tenant’s pay or benefit into the landlord’s bank account.

It’s a good idea to give a receipt for all payments, even if it’s not required by law.

Rent receipts should include the following information:

• the address of the rented property, or some other way to identify it (such as a reference number)
• the amount of money received and what it’s for
• the period the rent covers
• the day the rent was paid
• the name of the person who paid the rent
• the signature of the landlord or the person who received the rent.

Statement of rent

The landlord must give a written statement of rent if the tenant asks for it in writing. The statement must cover the period the tenant asks for.