About Rental Bonds in the ACT
In the ACT bonds are managed through the ACT Revenue Office.
Phone (02) 6207 0028.
A bond acts as a security for the performance of the tenant’s obligations under a residential tenancy agreement. Lessors are not required by law to take a bond from a tenant, however, if they do receive a bond, they are required to lodge it with the ACT Revenue Office. Bonds can be any amount up to a maximum of four weeks rent. Bonds and security deposits must be lodged by a lessor within two weeks of receipt of the bond or commencement of the tenancy and lessors must give the tenant a receipt as proof of payment of the bond.
Registering for the Rental Bonds Portal
Lessors managing their own properties can access the portal via the ‘Rental Bonds Portal’ by clicking here. This will take you to the portal sign-in page.
Select the ‘Create Account’ button to commence the registration process and follow the on-screen prompts.
Registration should be done by the principal lessor for a property, that is, the person responsible for lodging and managing the bond. The principal lessor will need to supply contact information and bank details to complete the registration process.
Where there are multiple lessors for a property, only the principal lessor needs to register for the Portal. Additional lessors will be identified during the bond lodgement process but will not have access to view the account.
Lodging a bond via the Portal
Bonds must be lodged via the Portal, except for bonds with an ACT Housing Loan. You can refer to the User Guides attached below for step by step instructions on how to set up an account for the portal and complete a bond lodgement online.
You will be required to enter the details of the bond during a single session. You cannot return to the bond to complete the lodgement process at a later stage. Once the bond has been submitted you cannot edit it. If you have made an error, you will need to contact the Rental Bonds Office for assistance.
Please ensure that you have obtained email addresses and mobile phone numbers from each tenant contributing to the bond for the service of documents. Tenants will not be able to use the same contact details.
Information sourced directly from https://www.revenue.act.gov.au/ and correct as at 09/07/21