Hon Dr Nick Smith
Minister for Building and Housing

5 December 2014

Tenancy bond payments to go online next year

Building and Housing Minister Dr Nick Smith today welcomed the signing of a contract between the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and information technology company Unisys to build a new system that will enable landlords to lodge tenancy bonds online.

“MBIE processes around 400,000 tenancy bond transactions each year, with nearly half of those being bond lodgements. Currently the only way landlords can lodge bond payments is by cheque. Today’s announcements will be welcomed by both landlords and tenants, who have been saying for some time now that they want to be able to complete the process online,” Dr Smith says.

The fully integrated online tenancy bond system which will be built by Unisys will also provide an interface to property management software systems so landlords and property managers can lodge bonds directly from their systems. The system is expected to take about 12 months to complete.

“We are delighted to work with MBIE using modern technologies and approaches, such as online payments and integrated systems to automate what has been a very manual and paper-based process into a convenient online service to improve the experience for New Zealand landlords and tenants,” Unisys New Zealand country manager Steve Griffin says.

“We want to provide a better, more efficient process for landlords and tenants. The new system will streamline the renting process for them and contributes to the Government’s Better Public Services programme of making it easier to transact with Government online,” Dr Smith says.

“This is the latest step in the Government’s practical improvements in tenancy services. It follows the nationwide launch of the FastTrack Resolution service, and the new online system for Tenancy Tribunal applications,” Dr Smith says.

Further information on these latest improvements to tenancy services is available at: www.tenancy.govt.nz.

ENDS

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