Back

Claiming a bond

Overseas students and Coronavirus (COVID-19) travel bans

Some overseas students may be unable to travel to Tasmania due to current travel bans and need to cancel their lease or delay moving into rented accommodation. We recommend you read the following information:

All bonds must be managed online through Mybond

Property owners/agents, tenants and deposit contributors must start a bond claim to recover bond monies.  The claim must be approved by all parties to authorise the release of bond monies to the other party.

You can claim a bond at the end of the tenancy, when everyone has moved out and returned the keys. An owner/agent must start a claim in MyBond within 3 days of receiving the keys.

A tenant cannot start a claim in MyBond until three days after returning the keys or until after a reasonable time for the owner/agent to finalise their claim amounts.

There are rules about what can and can’t be claimed from a tenant’s bond. See the Guide to the Residential Tenancy Commissioner (PDF, 952.2 KB).

How to claim a bond

Owner or agent claims

An owner or agent must:

  • start a claim in MyBond within 3 working days of the tenant(s) returning the keys, or
  • advise the tenant(s) why they have not yet lodged a claim and when they are intending to do so.

Once a claim is lodged, the tenant(s) will receive a notification including details of what the claim is for. A tenant can then approve or dispute the claim.

Tenant claims

A tenant may make a claim if:

  • the owner/agent has not made a claim within 3 working days of the tenant handing back the keys or
  • the owner/agent has not indicated when they will make a claim.

A tenant must:

  1. Approve or dispute the claim within 10 days of the owner/agent lodging the claim. If the tenant does not do anything within the 10 day timeframe, the bond may be paid out as claimed by the agent/owner.
  2. Enter their bank account details so that a payment can be made.

View our with Quick Reference Guide – Claiming a bond (PDF, 192.3 KB)

Deposit Contributor claims

A Deposit Contributor can:

  1. Approve or dispute a claim
  2. Start a claim against their part of the bond if an agent/owner has not done so within 10 days of the keys being handed back.

Once a claim is initiated by a deposit contributor, all parties will receive a notification. They will then have an opportunity to approve or dispute the claim.

When a bond payment is made

The Rental Deposit Authority (the RDA) will pay the bond if bank account details have been provided in MyBond and:

  1. The tenant approves the claim - if there is a Deposit Contributor portion they must also agree to the claim before it will be paid, or
  2. The bond amount is awarded in a Determination made by the Residential Tenancy Commissioner (see Disputing a bond claim), or
  3. An agent or owner does not respond to a tenant or Deposit Contributor’s claim.

When a payment is made, allow 3 - 5 days for bank processing times.

If a tenant does not have access to MyBond, they can provide their bank account details directly to the RDA by calling 1300 654 499.

Updated: 17 Mar 2020