The Damage Costs More Than the Bond: How to Claim the Difference From a Former Tenant

The bond authority paid you the full $2,000. The invoices total $6,300: two rooms of carpet, a repaint after the wall-mounted TV came down with the bracket and half the plaster, a bathroom door off its hinges, a skip bin. The tenant has moved interstate and answers nothing.

Landlords are routinely told “the bond is all you get”. That’s wrong. The bond is security, not a cap. The tenant’s obligation to compensate you for damage beyond fair wear and tear is a debt, and every tribunal in the country makes orders for the balance above the bond every week. What you need is evidence, a written demand, and an application filed inside the time limit.

Your rights

The tenancy agreement and the tenancy statute in every state require the tenant to hand back the premises in the entry condition, fair wear and tear excepted, and make the tenant liable for the reasonable cost of repairing damage they, their household or their guests caused. That liability is not limited to the bond. You can also claim rent to the end of the notice period or until re-let (where allowed), cleaning to the entry standard, rubbish removal, and unpaid utilities. Where an item is replaced rather than repaired, the tribunal deducts for age. Where you have landlord insurance, you can claim on it and the insurer may pursue the tenant; but the excess and anything not covered remains your claim.

By state

• New South Wales. Residential Tenancies Act 2010. NCAT hears claims for compensation above the bond. A claim for loss above the bond is made to NCAT within 3 months after you became aware of the breach; an application about the bond itself is within 6 months after it is paid out.
• Victoria. Residential Tenancies Act 1997 compensation provisions. Start the bond claim with the RTBA within 14 days of the agreement ending; bond and compensation disputes go to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria first, then VCAT.
• Queensland. RTRA Act 2008, s 419. Lodge a dispute with the RTA first (Form 16), then QCAT. Claims for compensation must be filed within 6 months of becoming aware of the breach.
• Western Australia. Residential Tenancies Act 1987. The Magistrates Court hears the claim for the balance above the bond (minor case procedure up to $10,000). There’s no short tenancy-specific limit, but file promptly.
• South Australia. Residential Tenancies Act 1995. SACAT hears compensation claims above the bond once the Residential Bonds Online process ends without agreement.
• Tasmania. Residential Tenancy Act 1997. The Residential Tenancy Commissioner decides the bond; the balance above the bond is a Magistrates Court minor civil claim (up to $15,000).
• Australian Capital Territory. Residential Tenancies Act 1997. ACAT hears both the bond dispute and the claim for the balance (civil disputes up to $25,000).
• Northern Territory. Residential Tenancies Act 1999. NTCAT hears compensation claims above the bond (up to $25,000).

The Claim Done document asks your state first and drafts the demand to that state’s compensation rules and tribunal.

What to do right now

1. Reconcile the numbers. Total proven costs, less the bond received, less any depreciation you should apply, equals the demand. Show the working in the letter.
2. Pin down the tenant’s address. The forwarding address on the exit paperwork, their employer, the guarantor if there was one, or the new agent who requested a reference. A demand you can’t serve is no demand.
3. Send the itemised demand. Each item, the entry-report reference, the invoice or quote, the age-based deduction, the bond offset, the balance, 14 days to pay, and the tribunal you’ll file in.
4. File before the deadline. Know your state’s limit (3 months in New South Wales for loss above the bond, 6 months in Queensland); don’t let a negotiation run past it. Everywhere else, file as soon as the 14 days lapse.
5. Enforce the order. A tribunal money order can be registered as a judgment and enforced by garnishee of wages or bank accounts. Ask for the tenant’s employer details at the hearing.

Insurance, guarantors and the “you renovated anyway” defence

Three practical points. If you claimed on landlord insurance, tell the insurer before you demand from the tenant; many policies subrogate and will chase the tenant themselves, and you can’t recover twice. If a guarantor signed the lease, demand from both tenant and guarantor. And be ready for the tenant’s favourite defence: “you were going to renovate anyway”. A repaint of a wall the tenant destroyed is a repair; a full renovation of the kitchen because it was tired is not. Claim the repair cost only, and say so in the letter.

One more evidentiary point: the exit condition report is only as good as the entry report it’s compared against. If your entry report says “carpet: good” with no photos, expect the tenant to say the stains were already there. Where the entry report is thin, lean on the tenant’s own signed acknowledgement, the agent’s routine inspection reports during the tenancy, and any photos from the original listing. Those documents show the state of the premises at points the tenant can’t dispute, and tribunals accept them as the baseline.

Who to complain to

NCAT (New South Wales), Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria then VCAT (Victoria), the RTA then QCAT (Queensland), the Magistrates Court (Western Australia and Tasmania), SACAT (South Australia), ACAT (Australian Capital Territory), NTCAT (Northern Territory). If the tenant gave a false forwarding address, your state’s Fair Trading or Consumer Affairs body may also assist; and a tribunal money order can be listed with a tenancy database in states that permit it.

Demand the balance — $49

Stop reading. Start doing. Claim Done drafts a Landlord Bond and Damage Claim that reconciles every cost against the condition report, applies the bond and any depreciation, demands the balance from the tenant (and guarantor) within 14 days, and names the tribunal you’ll file in.

Demand the Shortfall From My Tenant — $49 →

You review every word before it’s sent.