Process Tenant Refunds

Overview

To refund a tenant, open the Financials menu → Tenant Refunds → click the tenancy that has a refundable balance → pick the tenant under Select a tenant to refund → set the amount in the Refunding column → click Create Payment and confirm, then release it from the Payments page.

Refund a tenant

Open Tenant Refunds

From the left sidebar, open the Financials menu and click Tenant Refunds.

Find the tenancy

The list shows every tenancy that has a refundable balance, with an Overpaid Rent and a Credit Balance column. Use the search box to find one by tenant name or address, then click its row.

Review the tenancy

The Refund Tenant page opens with a summary of the tenancy — its Exit Inspection, Outstanding Invoices, Bond Status and arrears. Click View Tenancy Overview to see the full tenancy overview before you refund.

Select the tenant to refund

Under Select a tenant to refund, click the tenant's radio button. Only one tenant can be selected at a time, and only a tenant who has a bank account on file can be picked.

Set the refund amount

In Refund Amounts, the Refunding column already defaults to the full available Overpaid Rent and Credit. Adjust either figure if you're refunding less, or click Full refund to reset both to the maximum.

Create the payment

Click Create Payment (the button shows the total, e.g. Create Payment $65.00), then click Create Payment again in the Confirm Refund dialog. Keyhook records the refund and returns you to the list.

Note: Tenant Refunds is only available to Finance and Principal users — other team members are redirected to the dashboard.

Add the tenant's bank account first

Spot the blocked tenant

If a tenant's radio is greyed out, their row shows No bank account on file — Keyhook can't pay them until you add one.

Open the add form

Click Add bank account next to that warning to open the popover.

Enter the account details

Fill in the Account Name and the Account Number in the NZ format 01-0123-0123456-00 (both are required).

Save

Click Save. The warning clears and the tenant's radio becomes selectable.

Note: The account number must be a valid NZ bank account number (bank-branch-account-suffix) or the form won't save.

Hold part of the balance instead of refunding it

Enter a holding amount

In the Holding column, type how much of the Overpaid Rent or Credit you want to keep. The matching Refunding figure drops automatically so holding plus refunding always equals what's available.

Refund the remainder

Check Total Refunding, then click Create Payment and confirm to pay out what's left.

Note: You can't hold the full amount from this screen. To retain everything, journal it to the desired ledger instead — the You cannot hold the full amount warning appears if you try.

Pay an already-allocated refund

Find the existing refund

Some refunds are created for you — for example when overpaid rent is clawed back from the owner. These appear under Existing Refunds as a Rent Refund or Credit Refund with a status.

Select the tenant

Pick the tenant under Select a tenant to refund — the Pay buttons stay disabled until a tenant is selected.

Pay it

On an Allocated row, click Pay, then confirm in the Confirm Payment dialog.

Note: A row marked Recovering from owner can't be paid yet — the funds are still being recovered from the owner before the refund can be released.

Pay out the refund

Open the Payments page

Creating the payment queues it but doesn't send the money. From the sidebar, open Financials → Payments and go to the Paying tab.

Open the Tenants tab

Switch to the Tenants tab to see the tenant payments that are ready to go out.

Generate the payment file

Tick the refund payment, then click Generate selected (1) Tenants payments CSV — the number matches how many rows you've ticked. Download the file and upload it to your bank to release the money.

Frequently asked questions

Why can't I select the tenant?

The tenant has no bank account on file, so their radio is disabled. Click Add bank account on their row, enter a valid NZ account, and the radio becomes selectable — Keyhook can't refund a tenant without valid bank details.

Who can access Tenant Refunds?

Only Finance and Principal users. Anyone else who opens the page is redirected to the dashboard with a permissions message.

What's the difference between Overpaid Rent and Credit?

They're the two buckets that make up a tenancy's refundable balance — rent paid beyond what was owed versus a general credit balance. You can refund or hold each independently, and Total Refunding is their combined amount.

Why won't Keyhook let me hold the whole balance?

The refund screen won't hold the full amount — you'll see the You cannot hold the full amount warning. If you need to keep all of it, journal it to the desired ledger instead of refunding.

An existing refund says "Recovering from owner" — why can't I pay it?

That refund is funded by money still being recovered from the property owner. Only rows marked Allocated can be paid; a Recovering from owner row becomes payable once the funds have been recovered.