The number of renters waiting longer for their bonds to be refunded has grown significantly in the past year due to a technology change at Tenancy Services.
One Wellington resident spoken to by 1News waited more than a month to get his money back.
It means that some, who use the same money for their next bond when moving rentals, have had to put up even more cash and rely on financial support from others as they look for a new place to live.
Bonds – which can be up to four weeks' rent – are paid to the landlord at the start of a tenancy before being lodged and held securely by Tenancy Services. Once the tenancy ends, the money is refunded.
The government agency aims to process refunds within five working days, but it is currently taking longer. And figures obtained by 1News show the proportion of bonds returned on time dropped from 98% in 2024 to 83% last year.
A message on the Tenancy Services website reads: "We are currently experiencing extended processing times for bond refunds, which may take up to 10 working days. We apologise for any inconvenience caused."
The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, which operates the service, blamed the delays on a “large” technology transition between 2024 and 2025, during which refund timetables were changed as the ministry moved from its older paper-based system to a new online system.
Paul Coggan, MBIE's acting head of tenancy, said: "Large technology transitions typically involve a period of adjustment, which is consistent with the bedding-in period associated with new processes and new channels.”
But the delays are causing issues for some renters, who say their bonds are vital to finding a new place to live.
Joe Mooney, a working student in Wellington, told 1News that he and his flatmates had to wait more than a month to get their bond back.
“People need their bonds, they can pay their next flat’s bonds as they move straight on.”
Mooney said he had to rely on support from home and make sacrifices to pay his next bond while his current bond’s status was in limbo.
“You're constantly waiting every day and checking your bank account, and we're texting the group chat, just wondering when that money's going to turn up.
“So, it's sort of stress matched with dread and hope and expectation.”
He said the long wait, paired with a lack of communication from his property manager, “really f***ed us”.
2025 a slow year for bond refunds
Last year saw a marked slowdown in processing times for bond refunds, with 30,546 (17%) taking longer than five working days, according to figures obtained by 1News under the Official Information Act.
A total of 28,855 (16%) refunds took 6-10 days to process, while 1691 (0.9%) took more than 11 days. The remaining 149,157 (83%) of requests were processed within the target of five days.
That represents a sharp increase from the previous three years. In 2024, 98% (178,953) of requests were processed on time. In 2023, only 0.02% of refunds were processed late – 34 were delayed between six and ten days, and 7 were delayed more than 11 days.
There were still fewer requests processed late in 2025 than in 2021. A total of 33,405 (19%) took six to ten days, and 26,486 (15%) took more than 11 working days.
Coggan said the ministry understood how important it was for people to receive their bond money and was working to improve timeliness.
"We have increased the number of people processing bond refunds and responding to queries. This, along with improved processes, has improved performance, and we are identifying further efficiencies to improve timeliness."
He said bond refund times had "significantly improved" in January 2026 – down to six working days and close to the five-day target.
Bond 'absolutely vital' for renters
Renters United President Luke Sommerville said late bond refunds had long been an issue, but renters were currently “feeling the cards stacked against them”.
He said the ministry “should have been prepared for claims”, especially as the new year rolled around.
Sommerville explained that for renters, getting their bond back was “absolutely vital”.
“Most renters are paying four weeks' rent for their bond, so just shy of $1000. They use that cash again for their next rental, like a pot of money. People can’t just pull $1000 out of thin air.”
New Zealand Property Investors Federation President Peter Ambrose said the organisation had not had any complaints from landlords "at this stage".
"I am aware that a lot of landlords are warning their tenants of the potential delay in them receiving their bond due to the processing delays at MBIE, and also responding to tenants if they come back to their old landlord inquiring about the bond delays."
Coggan, meanwhile, encouraged those waiting for a refund to check their emails - including the spam folder - to make sure they had not missed any emails from MBIE requesting more information.
"We will continue to update our website and recorded phone messages with current processing timeframes."
He said MBIE was working to improve its overall bond service. In December 2025, automated self-service bond refunds became available for landlords and property managers.
"This enables much faster bond refunds and visibility of progress of the application, as well as remove queues waiting for manual processing and instead timeframes for refunds will be up to tenants, if they respond same day then the refund will be processed same day.
"Property Management Software users are encouraged to speak with their software vendor to find out when this functionality will be made available to them."
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