Bond Grant

What Is This Grant?

The Bond Grant is a one-off recoverable advance from Work and Income. It pays the rental bond at the start of a new tenancy when the applicant cannot meet that lump sum from their own resources. Unlike most main benefits, it does not require any other payment to be in place first; it is gated on the housing situation rather than on a primary benefit type.

The grant is renting-only by design. New Zealand rental bonds are governed by the Residential Tenancies Act and are held in a government trust by Tenancy Services. Boarding arrangements sit outside the RTA, so no statutory bond is collected and the grant has nothing to fund. Mortgage holders likewise do not have a bond, so the engine returns ineligible whenever accommodation_type is anything other than renting.

Statutory cap context: under the RTA a landlord can charge a bond of up to 4 weeks rent. The Bond Grant covers the bond demanded by the landlord up to this statutory maximum and no further. This means the upper limit scales with the weekly rent on the tenancy agreement.

Payment flow: Work and Income pays Tenancy Services on the tenant's behalf, not the landlord. Tenancy Services holds the bond in trust for the entire duration of the tenancy. End-of-tenancy refund is the most surprising feature of the grant. When the tenant vacates without damage, Tenancy Services refunds the bond directly to the tenant, not to Work and Income. The Work and Income loan continues to be deducted in parallel until fully repaid. Recipients sometimes do not realise they receive the bond back AND continue paying off the loan, because the two flows are entirely separate.

How Much Can You Get?

The engine evaluates Bond Grant as eligibility-only and flags the applicant for the case manager, who calculates the actual amount based on the signed tenancy agreement.

• Statutory cap: up to 4 weeks rent under the Residential Tenancies Act. For a $400 a week Auckland flat the bond ceiling is $1,600; for a $550 a week house it is $2,200; for a $250 a week regional rental it is $1,000.
• Actual amount: the grant covers the bond demanded by the landlord on the tenancy agreement, up to this statutory cap. If the landlord demands less than 4 weeks (some demand only 3 weeks, or 2 weeks for short fixed terms), the grant covers only the demanded amount.
• Repayment plan: typically deducted at $10 to $25 a week, calibrated to the recipient's main benefit or wage. An $1,600 bond at $20 a week takes about 80 weeks to clear; a $2,200 bond at $25 a week takes about 88 weeks. Longer plans are available where the standard rate would create hardship.
• End-of-tenancy refund: separate from the loan. Bond returns to the tenant from Tenancy Services; the loan keeps running until the principal is fully repaid.

Eligibility Conditions

1. Tenure type: accommodation_type = "renting". Boarding and mortgage are both excluded.
2. RTA tenancy: a formal landlord-tenant relationship under the Residential Tenancies Act. Informal sub-letting and homestay-style boarding do not count.
3. Bond demanded: the tenancy agreement specifies a bond amount payable to the landlord and lodgeable with Tenancy Services.
4. Inability to pay: the applicant cannot meet the bond from their own resources (savings, KiwiSaver hardship withdrawal, or other immediately accessible funds).
5. NZ residency: ordinarily resident in New Zealand and holding citizenship, permanent residence or a qualifying visa.

How To Apply

Channel: Apply through Work and Income, in person at a service centre or by starting the request through MyMSD and following up with a case manager. Many bond requests are time-sensitive (the tenancy start date is fixed), so phoning ahead to flag the urgency is worthwhile.

Evidence to bring:

• Signed tenancy agreement specifying the bond amount, the weekly rent and the tenancy start date.
• Identity document and proof of NZ residency status.
• Bank statements demonstrating inability to pay the bond from your own resources.
• Landlord or property manager bond-lodgement details (their Tenancy Services lodgement reference, where available).

Timeline: Decisions are typically made within 2 to 5 working days. Once approved, Work and Income pays Tenancy Services directly around the tenancy start date, and the repayment plan is agreed at the point of approval.

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Rule-Based Scenarios

Scenario 1 — Bartos, solo renter taking an Auckland flat

Bartos is a Jobseeker Support recipient signing a fixed-term lease on a one-bedroom flat in Mount Roskill at $400 a week. The landlord demands the full statutory cap of 4 weeks rent, so the bond is $1,600. Bartos has $200 in savings after his last bill cycle and cannot raise the rest. The engine flags accommodation_type = "renting" and the case manager confirms the signed tenancy agreement and inability to pay. Work and Income approves the $1,600 Bond Grant, pays Tenancy Services directly on the tenancy start date, and books a repayment plan of $20 a week for around 80 weeks against his benefit.

Scenario 2 — Caetano, family of 4 leaving emergency accommodation

Caetano, his partner and their two school-age children are moving from a motel emergency placement into a 3-bedroom rental in Porirua at $550 a week. The landlord requires 4 weeks bond on the tenancy agreement, totalling $2,200. The household has no savings after months of motel costs. The engine confirms accommodation_type = "renting" under a formal RTA tenancy, and the case manager approves the $2,200 Bond Grant alongside Accommodation Costs in Advance for the first two weeks of rent. Work and Income pays Tenancy Services on the move-in date and sets up a $25 a week deduction running for around 88 weeks.

Scenario 3 — Damaris, boarder applying and declined

Damaris is moving into a private boarding-house room in central Christchurch at $230 a week. The proprietor is asking for a $920 deposit. Because the arrangement is boarding rather than a Residential Tenancies Act tenancy, no statutory bond is collected by Tenancy Services and the engine evaluates accommodation_type as boarding. The Bond Grant rule fails immediately: the gate is renting-only and boarding does not qualify. The case manager declines the Bond Grant request and instead discusses other hardship options for the deposit, explaining that boarding deposits are private arrangements outside the RTA framework the grant is designed to fund.

Common Mistakes

• Boarders applying. Boarding is not under the Residential Tenancies Act, so no bond is held by Tenancy Services and the grant has nothing to pay. Only formal RTA renting qualifies.
• Forgetting the bond returns to the tenant. At end of tenancy Tenancy Services refunds the bond to the tenant, not to Work and Income. The Work and Income loan continues separately until repaid. Many recipients are surprised by both the refund landing in their account and the deductions still running.
• Confusing this with rent in advance. Accommodation Costs in Advance covers the first weeks of rent at the new tenancy; the Bond Grant covers the bond. Most movers actually need both, plus the Moving Costs Grant for transport.
• Bond demanded above 4 weeks rent. The RTA caps the bond at 4 weeks. Landlords demanding more are breaking the law, and Work and Income will not pay above the statutory cap regardless of what the agreement says.
• Applying without a signed tenancy. Work and Income requires the signed agreement specifying the bond amount before paying Tenancy Services. Verbal offers or unsigned drafts are not enough to release funds.
• Misunderstanding the payment recipient. Work and Income pays Tenancy Services (the government bond trust), never the landlord directly. Some applicants ask for cash to take to the landlord; that is not how the flow works.

Related Benefits

• Accommodation Costs in Advance — covers the first weeks of rent at a new tenancy; pairs with the Bond Grant to give a complete move-in package on the day the keys are handed over.
• Moving Costs Grant — covers the physical moving expenses such as truck hire and packing; commonly combined with the Bond Grant when relocating between regions.
• Accommodation Supplement — ongoing weekly rent subsidy that begins after the tenancy starts. The Bond Grant is the one-off front-end cost; the Supplement is the recurring stream that follows.
• Accommodation Security Cover — covers security-related expenses at an existing tenancy (locks, repairs after break-ins). Complementary to the Bond Grant rather than overlapping with it.
• Jobseeker Support — main income benefit for those between jobs; recipients moving home commonly stack Jobseeker with Bond Grant, Accommodation Costs in Advance and Moving Costs Grant.
• Sole Parent Support — main benefit for sole parents; sole parents leaving difficult home situations often combine these housing-establishment grants when relocating with children.