Rental Bond Claim: How to Get Your Bond Back When the Landlord Says No (Australia)

You’ve moved out, you cleaned the place, and now the agent wants to keep your bond. Carpet cleaning. “Damage” that was there when you moved in. A repaint because of a few scuff marks. You’re searching “rental bond claim” or “how to get bond back” because that’s your money, it’s often several thousand dollars, and you’ve done nothing wrong.

Here’s the news landlords and agents don’t advertise: the bond is yours by default. They have to prove they’re entitled to deduct from it, and the law limits what they can claim.

What a landlord can and cannot claim

Under every state’s residential tenancy legislation (Residential Tenancies Act 2010 New South Wales, Residential Tenancies Act 1997 Victoria, Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 Queensland, Residential Tenancies Act 1987 Western Australia, Residential Tenancies Act 1995 South Australia), the landlord can only claim for:

• Unpaid rent
• Damage beyond fair wear and tear, caused by you or your guests
• Cleaning, only to the standard the property was in at the start (the entry condition report is the benchmark)
• Specific costs allowed by the lease and the Act (for example, breaking the lease early)

They cannot claim for fair wear and tear (faded paint, worn carpet, minor marks from normal living), for pre-existing damage, for “professional carpet cleaning” unless the Act or lease lawfully requires it and the carpet was professionally cleaned at the start, or for improvements that leave the property in better condition than they got it.

The bond process in your state

Bonds are held by a government authority, not the landlord: New South Wales Rental Bonds Online, the Victorian RTBA, the Queensland RTA, the Western Australia Bond Administrator, and Consumer and Business Services in South Australia. Either party can lodge a claim. If the landlord claims without your agreement, you are notified. What you do next depends on your state:

• New South Wales: apply to NCAT within 14 days of the Notice of Claim, then freeze the bond in Rental Bonds Online before the due-for-payment date.
• Queensland: lodge a Dispute resolution request (Form 16) with the RTA within 14 days. If no one responds within 14 days, the bond is paid as the first refund request directed.
• Victoria: if you do not consent to the claim, the landlord applies to VCAT.
• Western Australia: the Commissioner for Consumer Protection decides bond release disputes.
• South Australia: disputes go to SACAT.

Step by step

1. Gather your evidence: entry and exit condition reports, dated photos and videos from move-in and move-out, cleaning receipts, all correspondence.
2. Send a formal bond dispute letter to the landlord or agent. Reject each deduction individually, citing the relevant section of your state’s Act and the condition report, demand release of the full bond within 7 days, and state that you will dispute any claim lodged with the bond authority and defend it at the tribunal, where you will seek costs.
3. Lodge or dispute with the bond authority within the deadline.
4. Tribunal hearing if the landlord persists. Bring your evidence in date order.

Why the letter changes the outcome

Agents claim bonds because tenants often give up. A tenant who sends a letter that cites the Act, references the condition report and makes clear they will turn up at the tribunal is a tenant who is not worth the agent’s afternoon.

DIY vs Claim Done

It’s your money. Get your bond dispute letter drafted for $49. Done in about 5 minutes. You approve it before it is sent.