Inspect the property at the start of a tenancy

Tenancy Services recommends that tenants and landlords do a thorough property inspection together at the start of the tenancy. They should then complete and sign the property inspection report, which is part of our tenancy agreement template.

Landlord requirements

If you are a landlord you must:

• provide the tenant a receipt for their bond
• lodge the bond with Tenancy Services.

If the tenant has paid the bond to you, you must lodge it within 23 working days of receiving it.

If the tenant is paying the bond to Tenancy Services, you must lodge it within the timeframe that was agreed with the tenant.

Not lodging it within the required timeframe is against the law and you could be required to pay a penalty.

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

Tenant recommendations

If you are a tenant you should:

• contact your landlord to check the bond has been lodged if you did not receive a notification within 6 weeks confirming your bond has been lodged
• budget for a general bond of 4 weeks’ rent or a pet bond of 2 weeks’ rent (this is the maximum amount of bond landlords can charge).

Carrying out the initial property inspection

During a tenancy

Landlord recommendations

If you are a landlord you should:

• regularly inspect the property to make sure it is being kept reasonably clean and tidy and there is no damage
• attend to any maintenance issues promptly
• let Tenancy Services know within 10 working days if your contact details change

• update the bond forms within 10 working days if the landlord, property manager or tenant changes.

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

Updating bond information

Tenant recommendations

If you are a tenant you should:

• let the landlord know as soon as possible if anything needs repairing
• let us know within 10 working days if your contact details change
• complete and sign the change of tenant form if there is a change of tenant that impacts the bond. There are 2 forms that need to be completed. The landlord needs to agree to this and sign both forms.

Updating bond information

At the end of a tenancy

Before the tenant moves out, the tenant and landlord should inspect the property together.

When completing the inspection:

• make sure the final property inspection report (if any) is agreed by both the tenant and landlord
• be open to splitting the bond if there is any unpaid rent, damage or other costs, like cleaning or gardening fees
• complete the bond refund form in full. The bond refund process depends on when the bond was lodged. Find out the process on refunding a bond.

Refunding a bond

Landlord recommendations

If you are a landlord you should:

• make sure the tenant has paid anything they owe you before releasing all the bond or agree for this to be paid to you from the bond amount.

Tenant recommendations

If you are a tenant you should:

• make sure you agree to the amount written on the bond refund form before you sign it
• never sign a blank bond refund form.

Refunding a bond

Leasing residential properties to community housing providers: bond requirements

If the tenancy arrangement is not covered by the Residential Tenancies Act 1986 (the Act), a bond should not be lodged with Tenancy Services for that tenancy.

For community housing providers providing social rental housing or affordable rental housing

We strongly recommend you do not use the Tenancy Services residential tenancy agreement template or the Residential Tenancy Agreement Builder tool for your arrangements with the property owner.

You should instead consider entering a commercial deed of lease with the property owner. This will allow you to agree suitable terms with the property owner in the commercial lease agreement, such as allowing you to enter into a residential tenancy agreement with your clients in the specified property. You should seek legal advice on what other terms should be included. This commercial lease arrangement is not covered by the Act.

If you chose to opt into the Act with the property owner instead of a commercial deed of lease, both parties should seek legal advice about which parts or provisions you are choosing to contract into. As the threshold set by the Tenancy Tribunal for contracting into the Act is high, it is not sufficient to only opt into the bond provisions of the Act.

Once you have entered into a suitable agreement with the property owner that allows you to rent the property to your own social housing or affordable rental housing clients you will then be able to enter into a residential tenancy agreement, signed and in writing. You become the landlord, your client becomes the tenant, and the tenancy will be covered by the Act. Any bond taken must be lodged to Tenancy Services.

For property owners or property agents

If you are looking to enter into an arrangement with a community housing provider where there is an understanding that your property will be occupied by their clients, then we strongly recommend you achieve this by entering into a commercial deed of lease. This will ensure that the rights and responsibilities of all parties are suitable to your arrangement.

Seek legal advice about this arrangement, including what kind of security you can require. Any security funds collected should not be lodged with Tenancy Bond Services (unless opting into the Act).