MRI Palace product update: What’s new, what’s next, and what’s coming soon

We’re officially halfway through 2026, which feels slightly unrealistic, but here we are.

Between unpredictable weather, increasing gas prices, and everyone pretending they’re not already thinking about Christmas, at least one thing remains consistent: MRI Palace, the product for the people, by the people.

Watch Allan Vaifale, Palace product owner, share the latest updates:

MBIE Bond updates 

MBIE have now made updates available for Change of Landlord and Change of Tenant through Tenancy Services. We know this is an important area for our customers, but we won’t be jumping on the bandwagon without doing it properly first. 

Our plan is to review and bring these changes into Palace as part of our July/August update. In the meantime, if you need to complete a Change of Landlord or Change of Tenant, Tenancy Services Bond Hub will remain your go-to place until Palace support is available. 

Palace currently supports the processing of bond transactions through the API, including lodgements, top-ups, and refunds for both general bonds and pet bonds. MBIE recently had an issue affecting some larger client searches and related refund transactions through the API, but we have been advised that this has now been resolved. 

There may still be some refund scenarios where you are directed to complete the process through Tenancy Services Bond Hub instead. This is expected behaviour in certain edge cases, particularly where bond validation rules mean the transaction cannot be completed through the API. 

We also know there have been questions around legacy bond numbers. At this stage, MBIE have not provided API functionality that allows Palace to look up or automatically convert legacy bond numbers to the newer bond number format. If this functionality becomes available, we would absolutely look to support it. 

For now, MBIE’s guidance is that customers will be provided with a list matching legacy bond numbers to the new bond numbers. These will need to be updated manually. 

We are looking at offering a one-off support service to help with this process. This would involve customers providing the bond number list received from Tenancy Services, so we can assist with updating the legacy bond numbers in the background. If offered, this would be treated as a one-off support service and may include a one-off charge. 

Now, onto the good stuff.

In case you missed it

Over the last few months, we’ve released a few updates designed to make Palace smoother, smarter, and just a little less clicky.

One of the big ones was Quick Access, giving you a faster way to get back to the areas of Palace you use most. Whether it’s a screen you visit every day or something you need to jump back to often, Quick Access is there to save you from the classic “where was that again?” moment.

We also introduced Configurable Alerts, giving you more control over where alerts appear and how they behave. Alerts are only helpful when they show up in the right place, at the right time, for the right reason, so this update was all about reducing noise and making alerts more intentional across Palace.

Another key update was around Bond Refunds, continuing our work to improve and modernise bond workflows within Palace. Bonds are one of those areas where accuracy, timing, and clarity really matter, so we’re continuing to chip away at making the process easier to follow and easier to manage.

And, for the sleeper feature fans, we also added Notice Period Merge Fields. It might not be the loudest update in the room, but it’s one of those handy improvements that can quietly save time and make your documents that little bit sharper.

What we’ve been working on

This month, one of our main focuses has been Contact Management.

This work is about improving how contact information is handled in Palace and creating a stronger foundation for how people and organisations are managed across the system. It’s one of those updates that may sound simple on the surface, but under the hood it helps set us up for cleaner data, better workflows, and more flexibility in the future.

We’ve also been working on some important technical updates to Bank Import.

Earlier this year, we completed a technical update to Owner Payments, and Bank Import is next in line for some behind-the-scenes attention. These updates are part of our ongoing effort to modernise key areas of Palace, improve performance, and make sure the foundations are strong enough to support future improvements.

Not every update comes with fireworks and confetti. Some are more “tidy the garage before building the dream workshop” energy. But they matter, and they help us keep Palace moving forward in the right way.

What’s coming next

Looking ahead, there are a couple of exciting things on the radar.

First up, our upcoming UI update.

We’ve been working on refreshing the look and feel of Palace, with a focus on making the system feel more modern, easier to navigate, and more consistent across the board. This isn’t about changing Palace for the sake of it. It’s about improving the experience while still keeping Palace familiar for the people who use it every day.

We’re also planning to bring the Change of Landlord and Change of Tenant updates to the surface as part of our July release work.

As mentioned earlier, MBIE have now made these changes available, and we’re taking the time to review, understand, and implement them properly within Palace. Once released, this will help bring more of the bond change process into your day-to-day Palace workflow.

Wrapping up

The second half of the year is shaping up to be a big one.

We’ve got practical improvements landing, technical foundations being strengthened, and some exciting experience updates on the way. As always, our focus is on building Palace in a way that supports the people who use it every day, not just adding features for the sake of adding features.

Because in the middle of busy portfolios, shifting requirements, surprise weather changes, and the occasional “why is this printer doing this?” moment, Palace is here to keep things moving.