Rental payments and records these days are generally electronic. However, if rental payments are made when there is no other record available e.g. a bank statement, then the landlord must provide a written receipt to the tenant with all the relevant information including the address of the tenancy. http://www.assetmanagers.co.nz

1. Written Receipts for Cash or In Kind Payments Essential to Protect Both Parties
Keeping accurate records and ensuring that customers of the business get proof of purchase
is fundamental to running a successful business, and property management is no exception.
Records are kept to assess the performance of the investment in the business, for taxation
purposes and to keep track, on a regular basis, of the profit or loss situation. For tenants,
keeping records of their tenancy arrangements and their payment record is prudent, in case
they have a dispute with a landlord and the records are needed for a formal review, or even
legal action in extreme cases. Rental payments and records can be electronic or paper-
based, as long as they can be retrieved if needed.
There are specific requirements for keeping records of rental payments under government
legislation. Information about those requirements is readily available for tenants, landlords
and property management Christchurch agencies. Anyone in property management should
make sure they have up to date information and understand what the instructions mean, so
they can manage their involvement in the rental property market, whatever that may be.
Written receipts must be provided when there will be no other record available to the
tenant. There are some exceptions and these involve other methods of showing that rent
was paid and by whom. For example, when the rent is paid by automatic payment through
the bank or with a non negotiable cheque from the tenants cheque account, legally no
receipt is required. This is because the bank statements provide a legally accepted written
record of the financial transaction.
Similarly, if the rent is paid by the tenant directly into a landlord account that is just for the
tenancy, a receipt is not required, or if it is paid directly from the tenant’s pay into the
landlord’s bank account. In both cases, again there are bank records, and in the second
scenario, the tenant’s payroll records i.e. pay slip, which should show the rent as a payroll
deduction.
The purpose of a receipt is to identify what the payment is for, so it must contain certain
information that fulfils that requirement. The date the payment was made, the amount of
the payment, and what is was for specifically i.e. the address of the rental property, stating
that it is for rent, and the dates applicable, all clearly specify what the payment was for. The
receipt should also be signed by the person or their Christchurch real estate agent.
When cash changes hands for any transaction, the only proof the payee has that they have
handed over the funds is to get a receipt, and a prudent person would not walk away until
they had a receipt in their hands. Without that assurance, it is a case of one person’s word
against another if the transaction is disputed later.
http://www.assetmanagers.co.nz