This guide covers landlords (or head-tenants) and tenants (or sub-tenants) in a Residential Tenancy. This applies to the majority of share accommodation and residential property rental situations. To confirm it covers your situation visit What is my share accommodation situation?
In Tasmania, ‘Bond’ and ‘Security Deposit’ refer to the same type of payment and is administered by MyBond, a division of Consumer, Building and Occupational Services.
A Bond is the only form of security that a landlord can require or accept from a tenant.
Only one Bond can be charged for a residential tenancy agreement, regardless of the number of tenants or changes in tenants. If there are multiple tenancy agreements for different parts of the one premises, then one Rental Bond can be charged for each of those agreements.
The maximum Bond that a landlord can require from a tenant is the equivalent of 4 weeks rent.
Example: If the weekly rent is $450, then the maximum Rental Bond is $1,800
In share accommodation it is common to charge 2 or 4 weeks rent and some landlords may choose to charge no Rental Bond.
There is no minimum Rental Bond amount and the landlord can choose not to charge a Rental Bond if they wish.
The Rental Bond cannot be increased under any circumstances, including rent increases or damage to the property.
All of the Bond must be paid to MyBond.
Leasing though an Agent
When the tenant is leasing the premises through an agent, the tenant must give the Bond to the agent. The agent must then deposit the Bond with MyBond within 3 working days.
The agent and all the tenants must register with MyBond to complete bond lodgement.
Leasing directly with a Landlord
When the tenant is leasing the premises directly from the landlord, then the tenant must lodge the Bond with MyBond.
The landlord must not receive the Bond and cannot pay the Bond to MyBond themselves.
When there are multiple co-tenants under the one agreement, all co-tenants are jointly responsible for the single Bond. When the co-tenants complete and sign their Bond Lodgement form through MyBond, they must all list their respective contributions to the Bond.
When there is a change in tenancy during a residential tenancy agreement, the outgoing, incoming and continuing tenants as well the landlord must all complete the ‘Tenant Variation Form’. Generally, the incoming tenant will pay the outgoing tenant their contribution to the Bond. The outgoing tenant’s contribution to the Bond will remain with MyBond and be attributed to the incoming tenant.
At the end of the residential tenancy agreement, the Bond should be refunded to either the tenant or the landlord, depending on whether the tenant has breached the terms of the agreement.
A claim from the Bond can only be made after the residential tenancy agreement has terminated—i.e. the tenancy has ended with the tenant(s) leaving the premises.
Duty of Landlord to Start the Bond claim
if there is bond money they wish to claim, the landlord or agent must put their claim in through MyBond within 3 days from the tenant handing over the keys. A claim notification will be sent to the tenant from MyBond, which they can either approve or dispute.
The funds will not be released to the landlord or agent unless the tenant approves it.
Claims by Tenants
If the landlord or agent has not put a claim in within the 3 day time frame, the tenant can apply to have their bond returned to them. If the landlord or agent does not dispute it, the bond will automatically be paid out to the tenant 14 days from the date of bond claim.
If the claim is approved, or a dispute is finalised, it may take up to 3-5 working days for the funds to return to the tenants designated bank account.
Although there is no restriction, landlords will commonly claim from the Rental Bond for:
Transferring money safely
When paying your deposit, bond or rent by cash make sure you get a receipt. With modern phones this can be as simple as an SMS or email confirming the amount, date and what it is for. Keep a copy of this incase you need it later.
Never ever transfer money to a bank account outside of Australia or use a untraceable money transfer system such as WESTERN UNION. If anyone asks you to do this on any website it is likely to be a scam and you are almost guaranteed to lose your money.
If this ever happens on Flatmates.com.au report the member immediately so we can investigate and take the appropriate action.
TAS Condition Reports
TAS Tenancy Agreements
TAS Rental Payments
TAS Holding Deposits
These legal guides provide a brief summary and introduction of the laws and regulations affecting share accommodation. They do not cover all cases in all legal jurisdictions and might not apply in your specific share accommodation situation. It is important that you use this information as a guide only and seek independent Legal Advice or consult the Relevant Acts. We do not accept any liability that may arise from the use of this information.