If you manage a rental, there’s a date worth marking. As of 29 June 2026, bond transactions will go digital and paper forms will be phased out. This follows Tenancy Services’ announcement that after this date, they will be moving remaining bond transactions online through their portal ‘Bond Hub’.

What’s changing?

• Refunds
• Change of tenant
• Change of landlord
• Viewing/updating your details

Registration of bonds moved online in December 2025, paving the way for these other services to follow.

The benefits of these changes

• Faster -  Once all parties agree, transactions can be processed straight away
• Simpler - No paperwork or manual handling
• More reliable - Fewer errors and delays, with easier fixes
• More transparent - Track progress in real time

Instead of waiting weeks for a posted paper refund form, or out of date contact details affecting slow communications, tenancy transactions can be processed quickly online. Both parties can keep a record of bond transactions.

For example, tenants decide to move out, and you are asked for a bond refund. You can complete this process online as agreed, and the money is released quickly, making for a seamless transaction. This will help landlords in those hurried weeks where tenants move out to get everything sorted.

When processing a bond refund, it would be sensible to agree on a bond refund amount before lodging to avoid creating extra work for yourself.

Tenancy Services won’t be processing bulk change of landlord requests going forward. These will need to be registered individually through their self-service function on Bond Hub or your property management software if it supports this. You will need to get registered with Bond Hub if you haven’t already and familiarise yourself with the changes.

You may already be using existing property management software with refund functionality built into its system and wondering how these services will interact. It would be sensible to discuss this with your current property management software provider to understand what these changes mean for you.

What you should do now

• Register for Bond Hub
• Review how you are currently communicating with your tenants
• Complete bond transactions through Bond Hub going forward

What to tell your tenants

• Register for Bond Hub
• Communicate that bond transactions will be completed through Bond Hub going forward
• Encourage tenants to keep their email addresses and phone numbers up to date on Bond Hub
• Ask tenants to keep their tenant number somewhere safe

In the Hawke’s Bay, we know many local landlords handle their tenancies themselves. These changes will have great benefits for you. Getting set up early will help avoid a chaotic few weeks after 29 June 2026.

As with any changes, there’ll be a learning curve. However, the process should be more streamlined once you’re set up.

Our team are happy to guide landlords through the new tenancy processes. If you have any questions regarding your obligations as a landlord, we’re here to help.



Written by: Harry Calcott