A bond is a payment that rental providers (previously called landlords) can request at the start of a rental agreement (lease). It is held in trust during an agreement by the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA).
Bonds cover damage and other costs rental providers may have to pay when the renter moves out.
The bond and rent are separate payments. Bond cannot be used to pay rent.
Maximum bond amount
In most cases, a bond cannot be more than one month’s rent. A rental provider can only ask for a higher bond when either:
the weekly rent for the property is more than $900
OR
VCAT has set a higher bond for the property. They might do this because of the character of the property or the quality of the fittings and furniture.
How and when bonds are paid
The law does not state a timeframe for when to pay the bond, but most rental providers will ask for it before renters move in. The rental provider may give the renter a notice to vacate if they do not pay the bond as required under the agreement. During a rental agreement, bonds are held by the RTBA, an independent government body.
Bonds are held in trust so that renters and rental providers have an equal say in how bonds should be repaid at the end of a rental agreement.
First, renters pay the bond to the rental provider. Then, rental providers must lodge the bond with the RTBA.
How to lodge the bond in VIC
Sign in to RTBA Online. To lodge a bond, you must ensure that the correct amount of funds are available in the nominated trust account. Use the search function in 'Manage your bonds' to check if the bond has already been lodged.
Select the ‘Lodge a bond’ tab.
Select ‘No’ if the loan was not provided by the Director of Housing, and ‘Electronic’ for your transaction method, then ‘Enter property details’.
If the loan was provided by the Director of Housing, select the 'Present a DoH Voucher tab and enter in the voucher number.
Fill in the rented property details. If your address is not listed or has details missing, you can enter these manually through the links to the right of the online form.
Fill in the tenancy and bond details.
Property manager details will be filled in automatically.
Select ‘Enter tenant details’ and fill in their details. If you have multiple tenants, select ‘Add a tenant’. Each tenant must have a unique email address
Select ‘Confirm details’ and review lodgement details to ensure they are correct. If you need to change any information, select ‘Back to tenant details’. If all details are correct, select ‘Submit lodgement’.
You will now see a confirmation page. Record the transaction number as you can use it to track your transaction.
Each renter will be sent an email with a link to confirm the lodgement. If a mobile number was provided, renters will receive both an email and a text message with a link to confirm the bond lodgement. If a renter requests changes to the lodgement, you will be notified via email.
If the renters do not respond to the link within seven days, all parties will receive a reminder.
If the renters do not respond within 14 days, the lodgement will be cancelled and all parties will be notified.
Once all renters have confirmed, the lodgement will be finalised, the bond will be debited from your nominated trust account and a confirmation email will be sent to all parties.
Note: Payment is only debited from the trust account when a bond lodgement is initiated by a property manager registered to your agency’s RTBA account, and all renters then agree to the bond lodgement.
To manage pending transactions, select ‘Manage your Electronic Transactions’.
For help or further information:
Visit RTBA Online or call 1300 137 164 for more information
Information sourced directly from https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/ and is correct as at 12/07/21