Who needs to lodge a bond

The landlord must lodge the tenant’s bond or bond top-up payment with Tenancy Services.

If the tenant wants to pay the bond directly to Tenancy Services, they must have the landlord’s approval to do this. The tenant must have an email address. When the landlord lodges the bond, they can nominate the tenant as a payee. The tenant will get an email with a link to pay.

When a bond does not have to be lodged

The bond does not have to be lodged with Tenancy Services if:

• it is a boarding house tenancy, and the bond is 1 week’s rent or less
• the tenancy is not covered by the Residential Tenancies Act 1986.

Bonds on properties leased by community housing providers

There are several issues that need to be considered regarding bonds on properties leased by community housing providers from property owners. For more information, see the section 'Preventing problems with bonds'.

Preventing problems with bonds

Timeframe to lodge a bond

Landlords must lodge (deposit) the bond online with Tenancy Services. The timeframe to lodge the bond depends on who the tenant is paying the bond to.

If the tenant pays the landlord

If the tenant pays the bond to the landlord, the landlord must lodge (deposit) it with Tenancy Services within 23 working days of receiving it.

The landlord must lodge the bond within the required timeframe regardless of whether they lodge the bond in full or in instalments.

Interpretation: working days — Residential Tenancy Act 1986(external link)

The landlord could receive a financial penalty if they do not lodge the bond within 23 working days.

If the tenant is paying Tenancy Services

If the tenant is paying the bond to Tenancy Services, the landlord must:

• lodge the bond request with Tenancy Services, and
• nominate the tenant to pay the bond to Tenancy Services to complete the lodgement.

The bond must be lodged within the timeframe that was agreed between the landlord and the tenant.

How to lodge a bond

There are 2 ways landlords can lodge a bond. They can do this online, using:

• their property management software (PMS), or
• Bond Hub.

Property management software (PMS)

If the landlord uses a PMS that is integrated with our system, they can lodge the new bond using that software.

It is easier to use this software if you are making bulk bond lodgements.

Using property management software to complete bond transactions

Bond Hub

If the landlord does not use software that is integrated with our system, they can use Bond Hub.

In Bond Hub, they can:

• lodge a new general bond
• lodge a new general bond and a new pet bond at the same time, as part of the same tenancy
• add a pet bond to an existing tenancy
• add a general bond or pet bond top-up.

How to lodge a new bond using Bond Hub

How to add a pet bond to an existing tenancy using Bond Hub

How to top up a bond in Bond Hub

Once the bond is lodged

The landlord and tenant will get confirmation the bond has been successfully lodged. Tenancy Services will send confirmation by email or letter, depending on their contact preference.

The confirmation will include details about the bond lodgement. This includes the bond number, Landlord ID (if you are the landlord) and Tenant Number (if you are the tenant).

Tenants should keep their Tenant Number safe and not share it with anyone, not even their landlord.