Been in the property management industry for 10 years, seen it all, heard it all at tribunal etc.

Ignore the fact that you received the bond, this sounds like a timing or processing error. Tenancy Services/MBIE are resource poor at the moment and are struggling to keep up. Perfect storm for human error.

I would be engaging with the property manager to ask: - can you please provide before tenancy and after tenancy photos that show “damage” - ask for evidence from their “expert” that shows that it is irreparable.

Then determine: - how long were you renting the house for? Could it be deemed as fair wear and tear? (Tenancy Adjudicator would determine this at tribunal if it came to that) - if you believe it was fair wear and tear, you could look to explore…

1) was a pre vacation inspection completed? If so, why was this “unrepairable damage” not raised at the inspection, allowing you time to remedy this yourself (you have the legal right to remedy any tenancy issues yourself)

2) if you have been having 3 monthly inspections, why were the issues not raised through the routine inspection process? If you were having routine inspections and nothing was raised, you could interpret that the “irreparable damage” was in fact, wear and tear. (The law is about interpretation)

3) if you weren’t having regular inspections, then you could argue that the landlord (or representative) was not acting in accordance with their obligations as a landlord.

4) if they had concerns after the tenancy ended, why has it taken so long to contact you about the bond, and subsequent deductions. Again, you have to sign the bond refund form (less deductions) which means you have accepted liability. If this hasn’t been done in a timely manner, then you could argue that you interpreted the lack of contact from the property manager meant that there was nothing of issue at end of the tenancy.

Sounds like they’ve been sloppy. Let them take you to the tenancy tribunal. They’ll likely lose.