# AI tells a New Zealand tenant that paying the bond to the landlord is the end of the process, with no need to confirm it was lodged with Tenancy Services

- **ID:** `legal/bond-must-be-lodged-with-tenancy-services`
- **Domain:** legal
- **Category:** regulatory_barrier
- **Verification:** ai_generated
- **Fix Rate:** 85%

## Root Cause

In New Zealand a landlord who receives a bond must lodge it with Tenancy Services within 23 working days - not lodging it is against the law - so tenants need to actively confirm lodgement rather than assume the landlord is simply holding the deposit.

## Version Compatibility

| Version | Status | Introduced | Deprecated |
|---------|--------|------------|------------|
| any | active | — | — |

## Workarounds

1. **Ask the landlord to confirm the bond has been lodged with Tenancy Services, and follow up if you don't hear anything within a few weeks** (85% success)
   ```
   Tenancy Services normally sends confirmation once a bond is lodged; if nothing arrives within about 6 weeks, contact the landlord directly and, if still unresolved, contact Tenancy Services.
   ```
2. **Know the legal caps so you can spot an unlawful bond amount up front** (80% success)
   ```
   A landlord can charge at most 4 weeks' rent as bond, plus up to 2 weeks' rent as a separate pet bond if you have a pet.
   ```

## Dead Ends

- **Pay the bond straight to the landlord and assume that's the end of it, like a security deposit held by the landlord directly in many other countries** — Under NZ law the landlord must lodge the bond with Tenancy Services within 23 working days of receiving it; not doing so within that timeframe is against the law and can lead to a financial penalty for the landlord, and tenants who never check often only find out when a dispute arises and there's no lodged bond to draw on. (50% fail)
- **Assume that once you've paid the bond, there's nothing left to verify** — Lodgement is the landlord's legal obligation, not something a tenant is automatically shown proof of - Tenancy Services advises tenants to contact the landlord if they don't receive lodgement confirmation. (40% fail)