Rules about bond payment for renting tenants

Tenants cannot be asked or expected to make more than one bond payment when they rent a house, Consumer Affairs Minister Yvonne Henderson said today.

Mrs Henderson was commenting on a report in the Coastal District Times on January 4.

The report said a local real estate agency had been asking tenants to lodge a second bond payment with the National Bank to replace bonds placed with the Permanent Building Society.

"Consumer Affairs inquiries have revealed that the real estate agency did not make such requests," Mrs Henderson said.

"Only new tenants' bonds are being lodged with the National Bank."

Mrs Henderson said the passing of the Residential Tenancies Act in 1989 had provided greater security for tenants' bonds because they had to be put into accounts with joint signatures.

This meant landlords and real estate agents could not withdraw the bond in the event of a dispute, without negotiation with the tenant.