Rent and Bond in Advance: What a Landlord Can Legally Ask For (NZ)

The short version

Three separate amounts get confused at the start of a tenancy: rent in advance, the bond, and (from December 2025) a pet bond. The law caps each one.

• Rent in advance: maximum two weeks.
• Bond: maximum four weeks' rent.
• Pet bond: maximum two weeks' rent, only where a pet is kept, one at a time.

A landlord who asks for more than these caps is breaking the Residential Tenancies Act 1986, and the tenant can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to get the excess back plus, in some cases, exemplary damages.

Rent in advance: two weeks, and not again until it runs down

You can ask a new tenant for up to two weeks' rent before they move in. The catch that trips landlords up is the second half of the rule: you cannot require any further rent until the period that the advance covers has expired. So if a tenant pays two weeks up front, you cannot ask for the next payment until those two weeks are nearly used up. You cannot stack four or six weeks of rent at the door.

This applies whether rent is weekly, fortnightly or monthly. The two-week ceiling is on how far ahead you can sit, not on the payment frequency.

Bond: four weeks, lodged within 23 working days

The bond is separate from rent. The maximum is four weeks' rent. You do not have to take a bond, but if you do, the rules on the Tenancy Services bond page are clear:

• You must lodge it with Tenancy Services (Bond Centre) within 23 working days of receiving it. Holding a bond in your own account is itself a breach.
• The bond is the tenant's money held in trust. It is not "yours" until the Tribunal or a signed agreement says so at the end of the tenancy.
• You get a bond number (BN-) once it is lodged. Keep it; it is your evidence the bond exists if there is ever a dispute.

If the rent goes up later, you can ask the tenant to top the bond up so it stays at four weeks, but you have to lodge the top-up the same way. Note that a rent increase has its own rules: 60 days' written notice and no more than once every 12 months.

Pet bond: new from 1 December 2025

The 2024 Amendment Act introduced a pet bond. From 1 December 2025 a landlord can ask for a pet bond of up to two weeks' rent where the tenant keeps a pet. Key points landlords get wrong:

• It is on top of the normal four-week bond, not part of it.
• Only one pet bond at a time, regardless of how many pets.
• It is lodged with Tenancy Services like the ordinary bond.
• It covers pet-related damage beyond fair wear and tear.

What you cannot ask for

• A "letting fee" or "key money" charged to the tenant. Letting fees to tenants are banned.
• More than two weeks' rent in advance.
• A bond plus a separate "damage deposit" that together exceed four weeks.
• Holding the bond yourself instead of lodging it.

A worked example

Rent is $600 a week. The most you can ask a new tenant for before they move in is:

• Rent in advance: up to $1,200 (two weeks)
• Bond: up to $2,400 (four weeks)
• Pet bond (if a pet, from Dec 2025): up to $1,200 (two weeks)

Maximum at the door, with a pet: $4,800. Without a pet: $3,600. Anything above that is recoverable by the tenant.

For the mechanics of getting the bond into the Bond Centre, see our guide on how to lodge a bond in NZ, what the pet bond means in practice in the pet bond explainer, and how the money comes back at the end in bond refunds.

How RentManager handles this

When you set up a tenancy, RentManager records the bond amount and its BN- reference, flags the 23-working-day lodgement deadline, and tracks how far ahead the tenant has paid so you can see at a glance whether you are allowed to ask for the next payment yet. If you lodge the bond through the MBIE bond integration, the BN- reference is captured automatically and is sufficient evidence for the Tribunal on its own. You can see the bond panel and the rent-paid-ahead position in the live demo without signing up.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much rent in advance can a landlord ask for in NZ?

A maximum of two weeks. You cannot require further rent until that advance has been used up.

How much bond can a landlord take?

Up to four weeks' rent. It must be lodged with Tenancy Services within 23 working days of receiving it.

Can a landlord charge a pet bond?

Yes, from 1 December 2025, up to two weeks' rent, one at a time, on top of the ordinary bond.

Can a landlord charge a letting fee to a tenant?

No. Letting fees charged to tenants are banned.