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Evidence to support a rental bond claim

All rental bonds are managed online through MyBond

A bond is considered to be in dispute when an owner/agent, tenant, and any Deposit Contributor disagree about a claim. See Disputing a bond. The owner/agent must provide evidence to support their claim.

See below for a list of the evidence an owner/agent should supply for the most common claims against the bond.

Tenants must also supply evidence to support their dispute against a claim.

How to lodge evidence

You can lodge evidence to the Residential Tenancy Commissioner by uploading it to the bond dispute in MyBond.

The following Quick Reference Guides have been developed to help you.

If you cannot access MyBond, contact us.

For more information about how the Commissioner considers evidence see A Guide to the Residential Tenancy Commissioner (PDF, 952.2 KB)

Most common claims

Rental arrears

Rental arrears is the amount of rent owed by the tenant at the date they left the property.

An owner/agent can complete the MyBond claims process and include the lease and a rental ledger. A tenant can provide bank statements or receipts of rent paid.

Rental loss

Rental loss is the amount of rent a tenant would have had to pay if they had stayed at the property until the end of the lease or until it was re-let. This usually occurs after a tenant breaks the lease.

The owner/agent can complete the MyBond claims process and provide:

  • a copy of the lease
  • a copy of the rental ledger
  • the dates they advertised the property
  • the date the property was re-let.

Advertising costs

If a tenant moves out early, an owner/agent can claim the costs of advertising. The owner can complete the MyBond claims process and provide the lease, and the advertising invoice.

If an agent tries to charge you (the tenant) a ‘break lease’ or ‘re-letting’ fees, contact us.

Costs of repairing damage, cleaning, carpet cleaning and gardening

If the tenant has caused damage, or not left the property and garden as clean/tidy as it was at the beginning of their lease, the owner/agent can claim for the costs of having the property repaired and cleaned.

The owner/agent can complete the MyBond claims process and provide:

  • the lease
  • the ingoing condition report
  • the outgoing condition report
  • photographs
  • invoices with the ABN of the business who did the work.

Claiming time

An owner cannot claim for their own time spent completing the work.  They can claim for the costs of items to help them undertake the work, for example cleaning materials.

Carpets

A tenant must have the carpets professionally cleaned if they were at the start of the tenancy. They must not hire a steam cleaner and do it themselves.

Insurance claims

If the damages are extensive and the owner makes an insurance claim, they can claim the insurance excess from the bond.

For more information about tenants’ and owners’ responsibilities, see specific categories of rental ‘repairs’ – whose obligation.

For more information about how the Commissioner considers evidence, see A Guide to the Residential Tenancy Commissioner (PDF, 952.2 KB).

Light globes

Tenants are responsible for replacing accessible, normal light bulbs and tubes during their tenancy.

Owners are responsible for replacing inaccessible and specialist bulbs and tubes.  This includes items such as oven lights, heat lamps, external lights and downlights.

Claims for light bulbs at the end of the tenancy are rarely supported. However, it may be supported if there is evidence that the tenant did something beyond reasonable wear and tear which caused the bulb to fail.  It may also be supported if the tenants took the bulb with them.

Flue cleaning

Claims for flue cleaning are not supported. A claim for cleaning the fire box might be.  To make a claim for this an owner should provide:

  • the ingoing and outgoing condition reports
  • photographs, and
  • an invoice itemising the cost for cleaning the fire box.

Water usage and water meters

During the tenancy, the tenant is usually required to pay for metered water use. This means that any bills passed to the tenant by the owner must be paid if:

  • the lease specifies that water consumption must be paid by the tenant, and
  • the property has an individual meter for the property.

Shared water meters

If the property has a meter that is shared with another property, the owner cannot make the tenant pay for water usage. This is because it cannot be known exactly how much water the tenant has used.

The owner and the tenant should note the water meter reading at the start and end of the tenancy. This should be recorded on the condition report. The owner should pass the water consumption invoice to the tenant as soon as they receive it.

In the case of tank water, if the tank was full at the start of the tenancy, then an owner may charge a tenant the cost of re-filling it at the end.

If an owner claims water usage from the bond, they will need to provide:

  • the lease
  • the water invoice, and
  • a statement that the invoice has not been paid by the tenant.
Last updated: 14 Sep 2022

This page has been produced and published by the Consumer Building and Occupational Services Division of the Department of Justice. Although every care has been taken in production, no responsibility is accepted for the accuracy, completeness, or relevance to the user's purpose of the information. Those using it for whatever purpose are advised to verify it with the relevant government department, local government body or other source and to obtain any appropriate professional advice. The Crown, its officers, employees and agents do not accept liability however arising, including liability for negligence, for any loss resulting from the use of or reliance upon the information and/or reliance on its availability at any time.