How to Record a New Brunswick Security Deposit by e-Transfer
A New Brunswick landlord workflow for recording an e-Transfer security deposit, provincial remittance, certificates, transfers, returns, and claims.
If a New Brunswick landlord accepts a residential security deposit by Interac e-Transfer, the payment method does not change the provincial deposit process. Confirm the completed transfer, give the tenant a clear receipt, and submit the deposit to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office within 15 days. Keep the tenant payment and the provincial remittance as two linked events.
The province holds the security deposit and issues a Certificate of Deposit. Do not leave the e-Transfer in an operating account, treat it as rent, or assume the incoming notification proves that the provincial remittance was completed.
What Are New Brunswick's Security-Deposit Rules?
The Government of New Brunswick's security-deposit guidance says the maximum depends on the lease:
- Up to one week's rent for a week-to-week lease
- Up to one month's rent for a month-to-month, year-to-year, or fixed-term lease
- Up to three months' rent for a mobile-home-site lease
A landlord may ask for the first month's rent and a security deposit, but not the first and last months' rent. Keep rent and the deposit separately identified even if the tenant sends one combined e-Transfer.
A tenant may pay a deposit to the landlord or directly through the provincial process. When a landlord receives the money, the provincial guidance requires the landlord to submit it to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office within 15 days. The office then provides the landlord and tenant with a Certificate of Deposit. The certificate's Tenancy Number is the identifier to use for later deposit questions, transfers, returns, or claims.
The government page lists the current remittance methods and points landlords to its e-Landlord service. A tenant-to-landlord e-Transfer is not itself the remittance to the provincial office.
What Should a New Brunswick Deposit Ledger Include?
Keep one tenant-level record for every payment, remittance, transfer, return, or claim. A practical ledger includes:
- Legal names of every tenant
- Rental-unit address and lease type
- Lease start date and rent used to check the deposit limit
- Amount required, amount received, and any remaining balance
- Name displayed for the e-Transfer payer when different from the tenant
- Notification date, final status, and Interac reference when available
- Date the receiving bank account confirmed settlement
- Receipt date and copy of the receipt given to the tenant
- Date, method, amount, and confirmation for the provincial remittance
- Certificate of Deposit date and Tenancy Number
- Any transfer to a new unit or new tenant
- End-of-tenancy date, tenant return application, agreement, or landlord claim
- Final amount released and the closing evidence
Keep the lease, incoming notification, bank entry, tenant receipt, provincial remittance confirmation, certificate, condition records, correspondence, and any claim documents connected to the ledger. The e-Transfer record shows the first movement of money; the provincial records show that the landlord completed the statutory process.
How Do You Record the Deposit From Receipt to Closing?
1. Confirm the lease type and maximum
Calculate the maximum from the actual lease term. Do not automatically use one month's rent for a weekly lease, and do not apply the three-month mobile-home-site limit to an ordinary rental unit.
Record first month's rent separately from the security deposit. If one transfer contains both, preserve the original payment total and document the allocation supported by the lease and the tenant's written instructions.
2. Capture the e-Transfer without assuming settlement
Record the displayed payer, amount, date, status, and reference. Then open the financial institution through its known website or app and confirm that the funds reached the intended account.
A request, sent notice, reminder, deposit confirmation, cancellation, and replacement can describe stages of one transaction. Count only the completed movement. If the transfer remains pending, expires, or is cancelled, follow the e-Transfer status reconciliation workflow and leave the deposit balance unpaid until settlement.
When a third party sends the money, keep that person's displayed name while recording which tenant and unit the payment satisfies. Do not assume the payer is automatically entitled to the eventual return.
3. Give the tenant a specific receipt
The provincial guidance says a tenant paying a deposit to a landlord should request a receipt. It says the receipt should show the amount, the rental-unit address, and that the payment is a security deposit.
Also identify the landlord, tenant, receipt date, payment method, and any allocation when practical. A screenshot of the e-Transfer notification may support the payment trail, but it is not the landlord's receipt or the provincial Certificate of Deposit.
For the wider evidence distinction, read when an e-Transfer counts as proof of payment.
4. Submit the deposit within 15 days
Create a second linked event when the landlord submits the deposit to the Tenant and Landlord Relations Office. Record the submission date, amount, method, tenant, unit, and any confirmation.
Use the province's current Security Deposit Remittance form or e-Landlord process as applicable. Check the government page before submitting because methods, addresses, and forms can change.
The incoming tenant e-Transfer and the provincial remittance should reconcile to the same deposit amount. Do not count the remittance as a second rent payment or business expense.
5. Reconcile the Certificate of Deposit
The province says it sends a Certificate of Deposit to both the landlord and tenant. Compare the tenant names, unit address, amount, and Tenancy Number with the lease and ledger.
If the certificate does not arrive within the period stated by the province or contains an error, use the current contact instructions on the government page. Keep the corrected certificate rather than silently changing the ledger.
6. Preserve the tenancy and condition evidence
Keep move-in and move-out condition records, dated photographs, repair invoices, rent balances, utility obligations, late-fee notices, and tenant correspondence separately from the payment record. These documents explain a later claim; the e-Transfer notification does not prove damage, cleaning cost, or unpaid rent.
Track ordinary monthly rent in a separate rent register. The rent e-Transfer tracking workflow explains how to match recurring payments to tenants, units, rental periods, receipts, and the bank account.
7. Close the deposit through the provincial process
The government page tells tenants to apply for the return after moving out. All tenants named on the certificate apply for their portions, and the office processes the application after the tenancy ends.
If the landlord seeks an amount for unpaid rent, unpaid utilities, unpaid late-payment fees, cleaning, or repairs, the province says the landlord must submit a claim within seven days after the tenancy ends. Its current Security Deposit Claim form and instructions explain the filing process and state that the office may request supporting documents during its investigation.
Record the application, agreement, claim, evidence request, decision, and final release as separate events. Do not edit the original incoming payment to make it look returned or retained.
Which New Brunswick Deposit Edge Cases Need Extra Care?
Several tenants or several payments
Keep every completed e-Transfer with its own payer, amount, date, and reference, then allocate the combined total to the correct deposit balance. Make sure the names submitted to the province agree with the lease and later certificate.
The deposit moves to another unit or tenant
New Brunswick provides processes to transfer a deposit to another rental unit or to another tenant. Preserve the old certificate, transfer application, signatures, confirmation, new unit or tenant details, and replacement certificate. A ledger note alone does not complete the provincial transfer.
One e-Transfer includes rent and the deposit
Split the payment in the tenant ledger according to the lease and written instructions. Submit only the deposit portion to the provincial office, and apply the rent portion to the correct rental period.
A tenant disputes a claim
Keep the original deposit, claim amount, evidence, tenant response, and final decision visible. The province says the tenant must be prepared to explain the disagreement and provide supporting evidence. Do not resolve a legal dispute by changing the bookkeeping history.
A payment or notice looks suspicious
Verify the deposit in online banking without using an unexpected email link. Contact the financial institution through a known channel when a payment is missing or disputed. TransferLog organizes supported notifications; it does not establish whether a transfer or tenancy claim is genuine.
How TransferLog Helps Organize Deposit Notifications
TransferLog organizes transaction details found in supported incoming and outgoing Interac e-Transfer notification emails from connected Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud inboxes. Property managers can review the records, search and filter them, assign categories, and export CSV or PDF.
Use the export to organize the notification side of the deposit file, then reconcile it with the bank entry, tenant receipt, provincial remittance, Certificate of Deposit, and tenancy records.
TransferLog does not access bank accounts, submit deposits to New Brunswick, calculate legal maximums, issue receipts or certificates, prepare claims, or decide who receives the deposit. It is an organized starting point for the supported notification evidence.
Official Sources
- Government of New Brunswick: Security deposits
- New Brunswick: Security Deposit Remittance form
- New Brunswick: Security Deposit Claim form and instructions
- New Brunswick Residential Tenancies Act
- Interac e-Transfer FAQ
This article provides general record-keeping information, not legal advice.
Organize supported rent and deposit e-Transfer notifications with TransferLog. Start free, then reconcile the export with the provincial deposit file and bank records.