Disposal of a bond
Information on releasing a security bond
At the end of a tenancy, bond money will only be paid out if:
- the tenant or tenants and the landlord agree;
- a court order is obtained from a magistrate for a residential tenancy agreement; or
- an order from the State Administrative Tribunal for a residential parks long-stay tenancy agreement.
Residential tenancy bond
Where a bond relates to a residential tenancy agreement, if there is no dispute over the condition of the property on handing it back to the landlord, or all parties have agreed how the bond money should be divided to pay for any damage etc, a Form 4 Joint Application for Disposal of Security Bond as prescribed in the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 and the Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989 must be signed by them and given to the bond holder.
The Bond Administrator has developed the following version of the prescribed Form 4 Joint Application for Disposal of Security Bond (PDF 45kb). If a financial institution holds the bond, the financial institution may have their own version of this form. Agents are required to pay out the bond money within seven days of receiving a signed Form 4.
Residential parks long-stay tenancy bond
Where a bond relates to a residential parks long-stay tenancy agreement, if there is no dispute over the condition of the property on handing it back to the landlord, or all parties have agreed how the bond money should be divided to pay for any damage etc, an application for payment should be lodged with whoever holds the bond for disposal of the bond.
If the bond is held by the Bond Administrator a Form 4 Joint Application for Disposal of Security Bond (PDF 45kb) will need to be lodged.
If the bond is held by a financial institution they may have their own version of this form. As per Section 18(2)(a) of the Residential Parks (Long-stay Tenants) Regulations 2007 the Commissioner has approved that an application for payment of a security bond as a minimum must contain the following elements and format:
- signatures of all parties to the agreement;
- the particulars of the agreed premises for which the bond was paid;
- the tenancy end date;
- the full name, daytime telephone number and new postal address of each tenant, to whom a refund (If applicable) should be paid;
- the amount to be paid to each tenant; and
- the amount to be paid to the owner(s)/agent, including the Department of Housing (if applicable).
Documents lodged with all the above items are considered to be in an approved form.
Signatures
As a bond account is a joint account all currently recorded signatories to the account - all tenants and owners (or the owner's agent) - must sign the application for payment form or otherwise indicate by their signature on a note their agreement with the proposed pay out.
The form should also show the amount to be returned to the tenant or tenants and/or the landlord (or to be refunded to the Department of Housing (previously Homeswest) if the tenant received bond assistance from the Department of Housing).
Important: Landlords and tenants should make sure the form is filled in correctly before signing it. NEVER sign a blank or partially completed form.
If a signature is missing - for whatever reason – the Bond Administrator or financial institution that holds the bond cannot legally pay out a bond, and there is no point trying to argue the case with them.
If people cannot agree how the bond should be paid out or if there is a missing signature it will mean that a court order (residential tenancy) or tribunal order (residential parks long-stay tenancy) will be required. The Bond Administrator or financial institutions cannot hear arguments about who is right or who is wrong, or give consideration to special circumstances such as missing signatories.
Only a magistrate has the power to settle such matters in a residential tenancy matter or the State Administrative Tribunal in a residential parks long-stay tenancy matter. Further information about dispute resolution and bond disposal is available here: Can’t agree or having other problems.