Bond
Getting your bond back at the end of your tenancy can be one of the most difficult aspects of share housing.
This is why it is very important that you are clear about your rights about the bond and make sure you do the necessary paperwork when you move in.
You may still have difficulties recovering the bond but at least you will be in a better position if things go wrong.
If you are a tenant covered under the Residential Tenancies Act, the landlord cannot ask you for more than four weeks’ rent as bond.
There is only one bond for one tenancy agreement; the landlord cannot make you pay more bond because the rent has increased under the original Residential Tenancy Agreement.
Lodging a Bond
You can lodge a bond directly with NSW Fair Trading through the Rental Bonds Online (RBO) service.
Your landlord or agent is legally required to offer you the RBO services before accepting your bond.
In order to use the RBO service, your landlord or agent must first send you an email inviting you to open your own RBO account, or log onto your pre-existing account (if you already have one).
Once you have set up your account or logged in, you can pay your bond using a credit card or BPAY.
If you decide you’d rather pay your bond directly to your landlord or agent, they must provide you with a receipt or record the payment details on your lease.
Your landlord or agent will then lodge the bond on your behalf with NSW Fair Trading.
Co-tenants
In a co-tenancy, the rental bond will usually be paid to the landlord by all the tenants and lodged with the RBO under all the tenants’ names.
You should receive a receipt from the RBO with a rental bond number.
If you don’t, contact the RBO and they will follow it up with the landlord.
At the end of the tenancy, if you have not damaged the place and do not owe any rent and have left the premises in a reasonably clean state, you can claim your bond directly from RBO.
If you have damaged the place or are behind in the rent, the landlord can claim part or the entire bond.
If you dispute their claim, you can apply to the Tribunal to decide the matter.
If the landlord makes no claim on the bond, it should be paid in full to the tenants.
In order for the RBO to release the bond, it will need the signature of all the tenants registered with the bond.
If this is not possible, a statutory declaration from the current tenants in the house stating that they are legally entitled to the bond is required.
Problems can arise in share houses if there is a dispute between housemates about how the bond should be divided.
For example, if one of your housemates causes all the damage that results in the landlord taking money out of the bond, you will all lose your bond money, not just the guilty tenant’s share.
The only option you have in this situation is to try to come to an agreement with your housemate to pay the lost bond to you as a debt.
If this doesn’t work, you can take them to the Local Court to try and get the money back.
Going to court can be expensive and time-consuming, so you’ll need to decide if the amount is worth the time and cost involved.
Mediation with a community justice centre might help you reach an agreement without having to go to court.
If you are a co-tenant in a periodic agreement ending your tenancy, but the remaining tenants intend to stay in the premises and continue the tenancy, you are entitled to be paid out your share of the bond when you leave.
You can ask former housemates to pay back your share of the bond, and they are required to pay within 14 days of your request.
If they do not pay, you are entitled to apply to the Tribunal within 28 days of the end of the 14 days to pay.
Your previous co-tenants are entitled to deduct any rent that is outstanding or other reasonable costs associated with the residential premises from your bond.
Once you have been paid out your bond money by the remaining occupants, you will not be entitled to payment of any of the money lodged with Renting Services at the end of the tenancy agreement, when everyone moves out.
You should all keep clear records that the bond has been paid out and lodge a “Change of Shared Tenancy Arrangement” form with the RBO to avoid any difficulties for the remaining tenants when they move out.
If the remaining tenants do not pay the leaving co-tenant their share of the bond money, you can make an application to the Tribunal for an order that your share of the bond be returned to you.
Sub-tenants
If you are a sub-tenant with a written agreement, the head-tenant should lodge your bond with the RBO.
Unfortunately, it’s quite common for head-tenants not to lodge the bond.
This is why it’s very important to get a receipt from the head-tenant for your bond when you first give it to them.
Then if there is a dispute when you are moving out, you have proof that the bond was paid and can apply to the Tribunal for an order for your bond to be refunded to you.
Tell your head-tenant that you will go to the Tribunal if it becomes necessary — this might encourage them to return the bond without having to go to the Tribunal.
The Tribunal can make an order that the head-tenant refund your bond as well as referring the matter to the Commissioner for Fair Trading because your head-tenant failed to lodge the bond.
This could mean they will be prosecuted or fined if the Tribunal finds in your favour.
Boarders and lodgers
If you are a boarder covered by the Boarding Houses Act, the security for your agreement is called a ‘security deposit’ and cannot be more than 2 weeks’ rent.
The proprietor must give you a receipt for the deposit and can’t require you to pay it before you enter the agreement.
The proprietor is not required to lodge the security deposit with RBO.
At the end of your occupancy, the proprietor can withhold some or all of the deposit for any damage to the property, for any rent you owe, for cleaning, and for the cost of changing any locks you replaced.
The proprietor must repay you the security deposit (less any of these deductions, if properly made) within 14 days of your agreement ending.
If you are a boarder or lodger not covered by the Boarding Houses Act, there is no set amount of bond that the landlord can charge.
Ask for a receipt that shows what the payment is for.
What your bond covers will depend on what you and the landlord agreed to, and it does not need to be lodged with the RBO.
Encourage the landlord to lodge the bond in case you have problems getting your bond back.
As a boarder or lodger not covered by the Boarding Houses Act, you generally cannot take your landlord to the Tribunal.
However, if your landlord is ‘in trade or business’ of renting out rooms, you can make an application for a consumer dispute in the Tribunal.
Your landlord could be “in trade or business” if they are running a boarding house or renting out more than one or two rooms.
Seek advice from your local tenants’ advice service to find out what options are available.
See Useful Contacts.
For more information on how to get your bond back, see Moving Out and Looking For A New Housemate.
One tenant in, one tenant out, tenancy agreement the same
In share houses, housemates often come and go without a new tenancy agreement being drawn up.
What usually happens is that the tenant moving in pays the share of the bond of the tenant moving out, either to that person or to the people whose names are on the lease.
If you do this, you should always get a receipt for any money paid.
Importantly, you should also arrange to have the names changed on the bond registration with the RBO.
You can do this easily by completing a ‘Change of Shared Tenancy Arrangement’ form available from Renting Services or from the NSW Office of Fair Trading website.
The person moving out and the person moving in, as well as the remaining occupants and the landlord, must sign the form.
Another common but less formal method is for the person leaving to give you a signed letter saying that you have paid their share of the bond and it now belongs to you.
You will have to show this letter to the RBO when you claim the bond at the end of the tenancy.
If the original signatories to the bond have moved out and you have no proof that you share the bond, you will have to sign a statutory declaration that you are legally entitled to the bond for it to be returned to you.
A letter from the landlord or agent saying that they have been receiving rent from you and recognize you as a tenant will also help to convince RBO that the bond is yours.