How to get your bond money back: David Airey

If you are renting a residential property the landowner will require the tenants on the lease to pay a security bond which is usually the equivalent of four weeks’ rent.

The purpose behind the bond is to provide the land owner with the means to cover any losses that might be caused by the tenants, including damage to the premises or a failure to pay the rent.

The bond must be paid by the tenant to the property manager or landlord, who in turn is required to promptly lodge it with the bond administrator, which is a specific government-managed trust account. There are severe penalties for landlords or agencies which fail to comply with this.

When your tenancy comes to an end or is terminated, then the owner or their property manager will inspect the property to ensure it has been left in the same state and condition it was at the commencement of the lease.

Naturally, they must take reasonable wear and tear into consideration.

Sometimes there might be a disagreement between the departing tenant and the owner in terms of what exactly constitutes ‘fair wear and tear’, and where this happens may result in a disagreement as to how the bond money is disbursed.

If, after a final bond inspection it is revealed, for example, that the tenant has damaged a bench top or failed to properly clean the carpets, then the tenant may be given the opportunity to address this but the owner is under no obligation to grant further access to the property.

Alternatively, the tenant may acknowledge those issues and simply leave them to the owner to address and is happy to have the costs of making those things made good deducted from their bond.

Occasionally however, agreement cannot be reached over the manner in which the bond is disbursed and this results in a dispute.

In these situations the property condition report (PCR), which had its contents agreed to by both the owner and the tenant at the start of the lease, is relied upon to determine whether any damage was caused during the tenancy.

It’s possible that some damage may have occurred prior to the tenancy, but if this is not correctly noted in the PCR, then it’s impossible for the tenant to disprove responsibility.

In the end, the Magistrate’s Court will decide on the allocation of bond monies where there is unresolved dispute.

To avoid this situation, it’s always best for tenants to ensure the PCR is accurate at the commencement of their lease and return the property to the owner in the best possible condition at the end of the tenancy. This should ensure a full refund of the bond.