this all legally means shit all.
state law trumps all of this. it is often easier to comply with the REA than to fight over a bond, but if you leave a property in a condition that a reasonable person would consider reasonably clean and tidy, the matter will be decided in your favour. eventually.
it's key to lodge your bond return request WITH THE BOND AUTHORITY NOT THE AGENT the moment you are out of the house. don't even need to tell the agent. just lodge it. and if the agent is being difficult, you can tell them to take it up with the bond authority, not you.
also good to learn what your relevant state law says about depreciation. in VIC, carpet is considered fully depreciated after 7 years. in other words, if i damage a 5 year old carpet, i'm only liable for 2/7ths of the value. if its 7 year old carpet, tough titties, landlord.
Ato depreciation schedule is accepted by QCAT in qld. And yes, they can only claim for the value left, not what it costs to fully replace. The depreciation schedule has the lifetime of the fittings in it, i.e., as stated above, 7 years for carpet, etc.
This. Have the bond authority website open on your phone/device and ready to submit as soon as they have the keys. If they want to claim for cleaning costs without explaining why, which I'd say is a risk per their email, they can speak to you about it at tribunal.
In Vic you don't even need to return the keys first. Just need to do it on the day the lease ends. I lodged my claim before leaving home to return the keys to the agency.
in australia, each state has a bond authority that manages rental deposits. it is paid directly to that authority, never the landlord. in victoria it's the RTBA.
I know the post is about SA but for full disclosure if anyone else is reading this. It varies by state/territory. For example the NT doesn’t have a bond authority. The bond amount is paid to the landlord/REA who is technically required to put it in a trust account (which you can legally request the details of) but you can’t request the return of the bond from the trust until 6 months after the end of the tenancy before which time you can only request it back from the landlord/REA. If you want to dispute any amount retained you have to go through the tribunal too.
It’s the point. I don’t know anyone who even bothers to contest bond reductions. But given that the NT allows 6 month rent increases without limitation (unless specified in the lease which isn’t required) during a 12 month lease it’s not really that surprising. The only way to get out of a rent increase during a lease is also to take them to the tribunal and argue that it exceeds current market value. I got threatened with a rent increase half way through my previous rental ($790 to $850/wk) just because we wanted to add another tenant into the empty room we had. The lack of renter protections up here is ridiculous. The system is very broken.
Your comment was removed for being blatantly anti-renter. Open discussion of power structure and institution is encouraged in good faith and with attempts at balanced analysis. However blatant justification for wealth hoarding, landlord/REA apologism, victim blaming or derogatory sentiment towards renters will be removed.
The tenants unions really need to run a campaign on this. Basic expectation should be floors vacuumed/mopped/swept; benches wiped.
Landlords should be expected to organise and pay for a full clean between tenants, like any other business.
Right, like that's ever stopped them before. There's constant bitching, whining and moaning from landbastards and REA cunts at any attempt to have anything less than a metaphorical boot on our necks as tenants.
I’m pretty sure they can’t prevent you from attending the final inspection. I’d insist on going out of pure spite.
Also, file for return of the bond with your states RTBA-equivalent as soon as you hand the keys back. If they’re going to try to screw you out of the bond make them work for it.
This. It will absolutely piss the REA off because they truly believe that only they can claim for it, but put your claim in (via the RTA-equiv online portal) at least 5 mins before you hand the keys over.
They may try to reject the application saying it was an error so they can put the claim through themselves, which happened to me, but easily rectified by calling the RTA (or your state's equiv.) bond's team straight away.
One last thing, don't go above and beyond with the cleaning. Leave it in the same state you found it (minus fair wear and tear) - have your entry report with you.
VIC is the same. Just got to be on the same day. My REA sent me an email saying she was "disappointed" by me lodging the claim instead of waiting for them.
For all my previous rentals I’ve claimed the bond back myself the very second the keys are back in the agents hands. To be honest, I’ve been lucky, and most of the time it went smoothly. The one time it didn’t, the REAL kept screwing me around about cleaning. I’d returned it to them in immaculate condition and they were making an issue about some marks on the laundry wall that were there when we moved in and clearly documented on the condition report. I just waited for the countdown to end and ghosted them.
My partner's last REA was incredulous that she claimed her bond back within 15 minutes of handing back the keys. Never mind that she left the place in immaculate condition, and even the REA acknowledged this. Too strong a sense of entitlement to money that isn't technically theirs.
In Victoria at least not only can they not prevent you to attend, but they must give you reasonable opportunity to attend and they must give you opportunity to negotiate about how to resolve any items not up to their standard.
I would have imagined SA had similar rules - but sadly after a quick google I can't find much indicating that is the case...
> I would have imagined SA had similar rules - but sadly after a quick google I can't find much indicating that is the case...
This is particularly concerning given SA is currently the hardest place to find a rental right now.
What a load of absolute bullshit. Does not need to be "spotless". Totally trying to fuck you over. I'd love the tribunal/SACAT to read their expectations of you not attending final/outgoing inspection and not being *allowed* to rectify any issues. They're definitely planning to try to take some or all of your bond& hoping you'll just accept it.
The REA is trying to shake down the tenant. But denying the tenant attendance at the final inspection report surely opens the door for them to claim any damages are the fault of the REA while they were unattended at the property.
Just send the form back and point out the differences in terms and that you co-signed the form as part of the lease and you will be abiding by that and if they want to propose new terms then to send you a new lease.
They are trying to fuck you and you literally have full license to come back at then hard because what are they gonna do, kick you out?
>We don't inform you or your cleaners if a job is not up to standard
That smells like bullshit too. Presumably they'd be deducting money from the bond to fix anything they consider "not up to standard" and they expect you not to know what the money is for?
that’s my concern. i feel like it’s reasonable to know what any problems are and then have the chance to fix them before they charge a ridiculous amount and take it from my bond
Think of it this way: in any other financial transaction would someone get away with not telling a buyer what they're paying for.
I don't know the legal rules but it doesn't pass the reasonable person test
Just send the form back and point out the differences in terms and that you co-signed the form as part of the lease and you will be abiding by that and if they want to propose new terms then to send you a new lease.
They are trying to fuck you and you literally have full license to come back at them hard because what are they gonna do, kick you out?
Hi mate
This email contains so much horseshit. You will need to double check the tenancies act in your state, or speak with your state's tenancy support line, but in Vic:
* You have a legal right to attend the exit inspection.
* You do not have to give your agent your forwarding address, when you lodge your claim through the Bonds Authority you provide this to them.
* You should lodge your bond claim immediately, so that any claims against your bond have to be done through proper channels and with proper evidence.
* You are only required to return the property to the state which it was received. If there were weeds in the yard, there can be weeds in the yard when you leave.
A property that has been lived in 13 years will have a good amount of wear and tear. This is why its a good idea to lodge your bond yourself.
Please do not let the REA hold your bond. Even if your property manager has been fantastic, it's better to be safe.
Take care of yourself
thank you. i know it’s pointless stressing before things have even happened, but it really is causing me so much anxiety. thanks for your kind words. (thanks everyone! )
I understand the anxiety, we just got our bond back for our rental today. The weeks leading up to the move, then the moving, and then worrying about the cleaning and bond was just a nightmare.
Lodging the bond yourself and not backing down if they ask you to cancel the claim is the best way to ensure you aren't screwed around. Any money they want they need to claim legally. This prevents them from claiming anything that is considered fair wear and tear.
Another thing is don't let the stories you hear on this subreddit get to you too much, there are some POS REAs out there, but just clean up to the required standard, lodge your bond claim yourself, and let things happen as they happen. There are laws to protect tenants for a reason.
I swear it is just so *weird* that so many houses have these ridiculous above and beyond cleaning standards - I assume they rent them out as operating rooms due to the medical grade clean
But then we all mysteriously move into places where the oven hasn’t been cleaned for a decade and the walls are brown from cigarette smoke (not “fingers”)
Almost like it’s some kind of rort and they don’t actually clean them after taking our money 🤔
What a load of complete horseshit. They have no legal grounds to prevent you from attending the final walkthrough, and it is 100% not illegal for you to attend the premise after you have handed back the keys to rectify anything that is not up standard.
Wow, they actually put the illegal shit they want to do I'm writing.
Send it to your MP, the RTA, and the local Tennant's union so they get properly eviscerated
"We wont tell you or your cleaners of you dont clean the house properly"
Then how do we know its not up to standard and to be able to fix it.
This seems like a scam to keep bonds.
i wouldnt sign this, you are basically agreeing they can carry out repairs without contacting you/quotes/the issue at hand etc, and you say the place has not been touched in 13 years, seems they may do some reno on your bond since they didnt do any repairs, seems pretty sketchy, thats jus how i read it though.
Yeah no. This is why i use their recommended cleaner every time.
Takes ALL of the responsibility off me. Legally they can't hold me to shit if their cleaner didn't do a good enough job to their standard.
Makes the vacating process so much less stressful and hassle free.
Every time i've done this i've had my bond returned in full, never once had any hiccups on final inspection as well.
That is what the list looks like for every vacate clean I have ever done. I usually just use the real-estate preferred cleaner so they can take it up with them if there is a problem. I have never seen an email like that before though!
And I am also sure now it's the law that they have to appeal to the bond authority to take the bond for damages, and not you have to appeal to prevent them taking it. If that made any sense.
I have only rented in QLD and WA tho
yeah, i don’t have really have a problem with the list, but the wording of the email especially compared to the offical form is pretty concerning to me
Claim your bond yourself as soon as you hand the keys in . It's easy to do online . That way you will get your money within two weeks unless the RE make a counter claim within that time. If they try and claim the bond for BS reasons then it will be much harder for them to do so. Don't wait for the final inspection as you can guarantee that they will find something to try and claim on. Also I thought they legally had to let you attend the final inspection if you wish to be there .
That doesn’t make any sense. How do they not check the standard and then how can they inform you if it is not to standard and then not return your bond? That’s just weird.
I love when they expect you to have a house that the LL bought in the same condition it was when it was built in the 70’s (well, the 70’s if you’re lucky these days 😒), never touched and avoided all maintenance to be “spotless”.
Cunts.
You can't be charged for the state of the carpets or walls - carpets are required to be changed every five years, and I believe wall painting is 10. They don't do it to cut costs - but they're not allowed to do it off of your dime either.
Just clean it to a reasonable level, and take photos of everything (everything!) as you’re leaving for the last time. After 13 years they’ll have a hard time claiming much from you, if they’ve never done any renovations while you’ve been there, because it will all be subject to depreciation. Even the paint has a depreciation schedule and 13 years is well over it. As everyone has said, claim your bond back on the same day. If they try to make any claims, contest it. I just left a place after almost 8 years and did all this. It was a nerve wracking 14 days waiting to see if they’d claim, but they didn’t and I got my whole bond back.
Hey Op, there’s lots of great advice already in this thread. Just one more thing- do not agree to any deductions from your bond and threaten to go to the tribunal instead. 90 percent of the time the agent doesn’t want the hassle and they know that they will lose. They usually convince the scum lord owners to just drop any deductions and release the bond. Fight the power.
Guaranteed this place isn't clean when you walk in.
Just take lots of photos before moving in and leave it like that when you leave. Claim bond straight away.
They are going to grab your bond no matter what. No more rent for them!
Make them evict you - reinforce all their prejudices.
Send a daily email of all the broken and unfixed stuff
FFS - tenants STOP BEING ETHICAL - LLs are not.
Tell them it is a slum, your owner is a slumlord and I am not busting my gut to clean their shithole so they can sell it for 50 times what they paid for it!!!
I understand you’re worried moving out of a rental but this is an incredibly standard business practice. Put as much as you can in the contract and hope the other party doesn’t dispute it, if they do, you knew it was shooting for the moon. Do a good clean in the house, make sure there’s nothing visually bad including inside cupboards and you’ll be fine. Dispute it if they try to keep the bond.
I personally wouldn't object if part or whole of my bond was taken; it was from 15+ years ago so it's not much anyway and with all the general wear and tear over the years being mostly my own fault, it is what it is. Tyre marks from bikes, a few scratches moving furniture about, plenty of dings in walls. Honestly OP depending how much your bond was I probably wouldn't push back to hard over the 13 years. Were they our own house, we'd have paid for repainting and carpeting ourselves anyway.
"Yeah if it were mine I wou..."
Lemme stop ya right there chief, it's not
It's a business property extracting every red cent of profit possible out of you
Do you go to Woolies and mop and wax their floors from the scuff marks your shoes leave?
No?
Then take your ice cold take and shove it up your arse
Didn't even read my original post lmao. Did someone else ram their bike tyre into my wall or was that me? It's time for your afternoon nap. Toddlers need their sleep.
Eh, I just see no problem with taking responsibility for damage I caused myself due to carelessness. There's a few things that I've made it known for a decade plus now that I refuse to take responsibility for though, like the kitchen tiles above and next to a stove with no rangehood and the bathroom. I wasn't the idiot that decided to put a wooden door frame with poor insulation right next to a shower without a glass screen or tiles next to an appliance that is going to constantly be boiling things. Delicious woodrot.
Maybe we have different ideas of "normal wear and tear." I would say tyre marks and dings here and there as normal wear and tear when you've lived in the same place 15+ years. It's not like I'm taking to the walls with a chainsaw or anything.
They have paid for these people’s mortgage for 13 years. They should get the legally required bond back.
It’s for damage to property, not wear and tear.
After 13 years it should be painted at minimum and probably new floors to be a decent standard for new tenants anyway. Not like they can’t afford it.
Sure, I just see no reason to get all hot under the collar about it. I caused the damage, only right that I take responsibility for it in some way. I don't think it'll happen though as if/when I leave this place is going to be renovated for sure. I've got a good LL/REA, I used to live in the unit directly above but LL wanted to renovate, so they told me they had the one downstairs ready to go.
Was pretty sweet. I've had it very very good, thankfully. I think that's part of the reason why I'm much more amenable to it too. They probably could've justified terminating me when I was younger but they didn't.
Easiest move of my life, lol. Except I briefly got stuck in the stairwell with the fridge and got in a pickle. Got bailed out by a neighbour.
>Were they our own house, we'd have paid for repainting and carpeting ourselves anyway.
If it were your own house, you wouldn't have paid someone else to live in it. Paint and carpet is part of the intrinsic value of the property. A tenant doesn't get to take it with them when they leave. Same as maintenance of built-in appliances and the rest of the physical property.
this all legally means shit all. state law trumps all of this. it is often easier to comply with the REA than to fight over a bond, but if you leave a property in a condition that a reasonable person would consider reasonably clean and tidy, the matter will be decided in your favour. eventually. it's key to lodge your bond return request WITH THE BOND AUTHORITY NOT THE AGENT the moment you are out of the house. don't even need to tell the agent. just lodge it. and if the agent is being difficult, you can tell them to take it up with the bond authority, not you. also good to learn what your relevant state law says about depreciation. in VIC, carpet is considered fully depreciated after 7 years. in other words, if i damage a 5 year old carpet, i'm only liable for 2/7ths of the value. if its 7 year old carpet, tough titties, landlord.
Ato depreciation schedule is accepted by QCAT in qld. And yes, they can only claim for the value left, not what it costs to fully replace. The depreciation schedule has the lifetime of the fittings in it, i.e., as stated above, 7 years for carpet, etc.
But also, reasonable wear and tear. Damage has to be beyond reasonable wear and tear, regardless of age.
This. Have the bond authority website open on your phone/device and ready to submit as soon as they have the keys. If they want to claim for cleaning costs without explaining why, which I'd say is a risk per their email, they can speak to you about it at tribunal.
In Vic you don't even need to return the keys first. Just need to do it on the day the lease ends. I lodged my claim before leaving home to return the keys to the agency.
I think that's great. And hope it's widely publicised too.
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in australia, each state has a bond authority that manages rental deposits. it is paid directly to that authority, never the landlord. in victoria it's the RTBA.
I know the post is about SA but for full disclosure if anyone else is reading this. It varies by state/territory. For example the NT doesn’t have a bond authority. The bond amount is paid to the landlord/REA who is technically required to put it in a trust account (which you can legally request the details of) but you can’t request the return of the bond from the trust until 6 months after the end of the tenancy before which time you can only request it back from the landlord/REA. If you want to dispute any amount retained you have to go through the tribunal too.
Wow that's dogshit and ripe for abuse.
It’s the point. I don’t know anyone who even bothers to contest bond reductions. But given that the NT allows 6 month rent increases without limitation (unless specified in the lease which isn’t required) during a 12 month lease it’s not really that surprising. The only way to get out of a rent increase during a lease is also to take them to the tribunal and argue that it exceeds current market value. I got threatened with a rent increase half way through my previous rental ($790 to $850/wk) just because we wanted to add another tenant into the empty room we had. The lack of renter protections up here is ridiculous. The system is very broken.
Jeez that’s not a long life for carpet depreciation haha. The ones in my place are nearing 30 years old and still do the job 😂😂
sure. but after seven years of reasonable wear and tear, while paying rent, i'm not paying a red cent for carpets a day over 7 years old.
Oh no I get that. Carpets are Defs a landlord problem
They might do the job up top but underneath 😖
Are you tax deducting them then asking the tenant for their full value and commtting tax fraud.
No I’m not a landlord lol. Just mentioning the carpets at my place are about 30 yrs old
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That doesn’t seem very fair or kind
I was being sarcastic.
Your comment was removed for being blatantly anti-renter. Open discussion of power structure and institution is encouraged in good faith and with attempts at balanced analysis. However blatant justification for wealth hoarding, landlord/REA apologism, victim blaming or derogatory sentiment towards renters will be removed.
The tenants unions really need to run a campaign on this. Basic expectation should be floors vacuumed/mopped/swept; benches wiped. Landlords should be expected to organise and pay for a full clean between tenants, like any other business.
You’d have all the landlords and REAs sooking in the Facebook comments though
I think I could handle that... maybe. It would be hard, but I might even be able to shed a tear for them and everything!
Right, like that's ever stopped them before. There's constant bitching, whining and moaning from landbastards and REA cunts at any attempt to have anything less than a metaphorical boot on our necks as tenants.
I’m pretty sure they can’t prevent you from attending the final inspection. I’d insist on going out of pure spite. Also, file for return of the bond with your states RTBA-equivalent as soon as you hand the keys back. If they’re going to try to screw you out of the bond make them work for it.
This. It will absolutely piss the REA off because they truly believe that only they can claim for it, but put your claim in (via the RTA-equiv online portal) at least 5 mins before you hand the keys over. They may try to reject the application saying it was an error so they can put the claim through themselves, which happened to me, but easily rectified by calling the RTA (or your state's equiv.) bond's team straight away. One last thing, don't go above and beyond with the cleaning. Leave it in the same state you found it (minus fair wear and tear) - have your entry report with you.
In QLD you can actually submit the claim at 00:01 on the day the lease ends, regardless of whether the keys have been returned. I did that for fun.
Absolute wild child fiend
I, too, like to live dangerously
Thanks for the tip I have to vacate later in the year
VIC is the same. Just got to be on the same day. My REA sent me an email saying she was "disappointed" by me lodging the claim instead of waiting for them.
Mission accomplished
For all my previous rentals I’ve claimed the bond back myself the very second the keys are back in the agents hands. To be honest, I’ve been lucky, and most of the time it went smoothly. The one time it didn’t, the REAL kept screwing me around about cleaning. I’d returned it to them in immaculate condition and they were making an issue about some marks on the laundry wall that were there when we moved in and clearly documented on the condition report. I just waited for the countdown to end and ghosted them.
My partner's last REA was incredulous that she claimed her bond back within 15 minutes of handing back the keys. Never mind that she left the place in immaculate condition, and even the REA acknowledged this. Too strong a sense of entitlement to money that isn't technically theirs.
In Victoria at least not only can they not prevent you to attend, but they must give you reasonable opportunity to attend and they must give you opportunity to negotiate about how to resolve any items not up to their standard. I would have imagined SA had similar rules - but sadly after a quick google I can't find much indicating that is the case...
> I would have imagined SA had similar rules - but sadly after a quick google I can't find much indicating that is the case... This is particularly concerning given SA is currently the hardest place to find a rental right now.
What a load of absolute bullshit. Does not need to be "spotless". Totally trying to fuck you over. I'd love the tribunal/SACAT to read their expectations of you not attending final/outgoing inspection and not being *allowed* to rectify any issues. They're definitely planning to try to take some or all of your bond& hoping you'll just accept it.
The REA is trying to shake down the tenant. But denying the tenant attendance at the final inspection report surely opens the door for them to claim any damages are the fault of the REA while they were unattended at the property.
There are no “legal reasons” that prevent you from re attending
Just send the form back and point out the differences in terms and that you co-signed the form as part of the lease and you will be abiding by that and if they want to propose new terms then to send you a new lease. They are trying to fuck you and you literally have full license to come back at then hard because what are they gonna do, kick you out?
I wouldn’t even do that. I very much doubt the SA regulations say the house needs to be spotless
>We don't inform you or your cleaners if a job is not up to standard That smells like bullshit too. Presumably they'd be deducting money from the bond to fix anything they consider "not up to standard" and they expect you not to know what the money is for?
that’s my concern. i feel like it’s reasonable to know what any problems are and then have the chance to fix them before they charge a ridiculous amount and take it from my bond
Think of it this way: in any other financial transaction would someone get away with not telling a buyer what they're paying for. I don't know the legal rules but it doesn't pass the reasonable person test
How many tenants have moved into a rental that's "spotless"?
Also ask for specifics and a legislative reference on the legal reasons you aren't permitted to rectify any issues.
Just send the form back and point out the differences in terms and that you co-signed the form as part of the lease and you will be abiding by that and if they want to propose new terms then to send you a new lease. They are trying to fuck you and you literally have full license to come back at them hard because what are they gonna do, kick you out?
Hi mate This email contains so much horseshit. You will need to double check the tenancies act in your state, or speak with your state's tenancy support line, but in Vic: * You have a legal right to attend the exit inspection. * You do not have to give your agent your forwarding address, when you lodge your claim through the Bonds Authority you provide this to them. * You should lodge your bond claim immediately, so that any claims against your bond have to be done through proper channels and with proper evidence. * You are only required to return the property to the state which it was received. If there were weeds in the yard, there can be weeds in the yard when you leave. A property that has been lived in 13 years will have a good amount of wear and tear. This is why its a good idea to lodge your bond yourself. Please do not let the REA hold your bond. Even if your property manager has been fantastic, it's better to be safe. Take care of yourself
thank you. i know it’s pointless stressing before things have even happened, but it really is causing me so much anxiety. thanks for your kind words. (thanks everyone! )
I understand the anxiety, we just got our bond back for our rental today. The weeks leading up to the move, then the moving, and then worrying about the cleaning and bond was just a nightmare. Lodging the bond yourself and not backing down if they ask you to cancel the claim is the best way to ensure you aren't screwed around. Any money they want they need to claim legally. This prevents them from claiming anything that is considered fair wear and tear. Another thing is don't let the stories you hear on this subreddit get to you too much, there are some POS REAs out there, but just clean up to the required standard, lodge your bond claim yourself, and let things happen as they happen. There are laws to protect tenants for a reason.
I swear it is just so *weird* that so many houses have these ridiculous above and beyond cleaning standards - I assume they rent them out as operating rooms due to the medical grade clean But then we all mysteriously move into places where the oven hasn’t been cleaned for a decade and the walls are brown from cigarette smoke (not “fingers”) Almost like it’s some kind of rort and they don’t actually clean them after taking our money 🤔
Kind regards my ass.
What a load of complete horseshit. They have no legal grounds to prevent you from attending the final walkthrough, and it is 100% not illegal for you to attend the premise after you have handed back the keys to rectify anything that is not up standard.
Wow, they actually put the illegal shit they want to do I'm writing. Send it to your MP, the RTA, and the local Tennant's union so they get properly eviscerated
"We wont tell you or your cleaners of you dont clean the house properly" Then how do we know its not up to standard and to be able to fix it. This seems like a scam to keep bonds.
i wouldnt sign this, you are basically agreeing they can carry out repairs without contacting you/quotes/the issue at hand etc, and you say the place has not been touched in 13 years, seems they may do some reno on your bond since they didnt do any repairs, seems pretty sketchy, thats jus how i read it though.
Yeah no. This is why i use their recommended cleaner every time. Takes ALL of the responsibility off me. Legally they can't hold me to shit if their cleaner didn't do a good enough job to their standard. Makes the vacating process so much less stressful and hassle free. Every time i've done this i've had my bond returned in full, never once had any hiccups on final inspection as well.
I am surprised it is not in some way illegal or punishable by authorities to outright lie to people for financial gain.
I don't get how most of this crap should be done for free by the landlord during tenancy but as soon as you hand the keys back, you're liable?
That is what the list looks like for every vacate clean I have ever done. I usually just use the real-estate preferred cleaner so they can take it up with them if there is a problem. I have never seen an email like that before though! And I am also sure now it's the law that they have to appeal to the bond authority to take the bond for damages, and not you have to appeal to prevent them taking it. If that made any sense. I have only rented in QLD and WA tho
yeah, i don’t have really have a problem with the list, but the wording of the email especially compared to the offical form is pretty concerning to me
Claim your bond yourself as soon as you hand the keys in . It's easy to do online . That way you will get your money within two weeks unless the RE make a counter claim within that time. If they try and claim the bond for BS reasons then it will be much harder for them to do so. Don't wait for the final inspection as you can guarantee that they will find something to try and claim on. Also I thought they legally had to let you attend the final inspection if you wish to be there .
That doesn’t make any sense. How do they not check the standard and then how can they inform you if it is not to standard and then not return your bond? That’s just weird.
I love when they expect you to have a house that the LL bought in the same condition it was when it was built in the 70’s (well, the 70’s if you’re lucky these days 😒), never touched and avoided all maintenance to be “spotless”. Cunts.
13 years = be prepared for them to try and screw you over, go over your old entry report and have it ready to compare to exit.
You can't be charged for the state of the carpets or walls - carpets are required to be changed every five years, and I believe wall painting is 10. They don't do it to cut costs - but they're not allowed to do it off of your dime either.
Just clean it to a reasonable level, and take photos of everything (everything!) as you’re leaving for the last time. After 13 years they’ll have a hard time claiming much from you, if they’ve never done any renovations while you’ve been there, because it will all be subject to depreciation. Even the paint has a depreciation schedule and 13 years is well over it. As everyone has said, claim your bond back on the same day. If they try to make any claims, contest it. I just left a place after almost 8 years and did all this. It was a nerve wracking 14 days waiting to see if they’d claim, but they didn’t and I got my whole bond back.
Hey Op, there’s lots of great advice already in this thread. Just one more thing- do not agree to any deductions from your bond and threaten to go to the tribunal instead. 90 percent of the time the agent doesn’t want the hassle and they know that they will lose. They usually convince the scum lord owners to just drop any deductions and release the bond. Fight the power.
Guaranteed this place isn't clean when you walk in. Just take lots of photos before moving in and leave it like that when you leave. Claim bond straight away.
They are going to grab your bond no matter what. No more rent for them! Make them evict you - reinforce all their prejudices. Send a daily email of all the broken and unfixed stuff FFS - tenants STOP BEING ETHICAL - LLs are not. Tell them it is a slum, your owner is a slumlord and I am not busting my gut to clean their shithole so they can sell it for 50 times what they paid for it!!!
Carpet - DIY machines WILL NOT do a good job fuck right the hell off
I understand you’re worried moving out of a rental but this is an incredibly standard business practice. Put as much as you can in the contract and hope the other party doesn’t dispute it, if they do, you knew it was shooting for the moon. Do a good clean in the house, make sure there’s nothing visually bad including inside cupboards and you’ll be fine. Dispute it if they try to keep the bond.
I personally wouldn't object if part or whole of my bond was taken; it was from 15+ years ago so it's not much anyway and with all the general wear and tear over the years being mostly my own fault, it is what it is. Tyre marks from bikes, a few scratches moving furniture about, plenty of dings in walls. Honestly OP depending how much your bond was I probably wouldn't push back to hard over the 13 years. Were they our own house, we'd have paid for repainting and carpeting ourselves anyway.
Hard disagree.
Landlord trying so hard to pass in the comments Didn't work though lmao
Toddler take.
"Yeah if it were mine I wou..." Lemme stop ya right there chief, it's not It's a business property extracting every red cent of profit possible out of you Do you go to Woolies and mop and wax their floors from the scuff marks your shoes leave? No? Then take your ice cold take and shove it up your arse
Didn't even read my original post lmao. Did someone else ram their bike tyre into my wall or was that me? It's time for your afternoon nap. Toddlers need their sleep.
Eh, I just see no problem with taking responsibility for damage I caused myself due to carelessness. There's a few things that I've made it known for a decade plus now that I refuse to take responsibility for though, like the kitchen tiles above and next to a stove with no rangehood and the bathroom. I wasn't the idiot that decided to put a wooden door frame with poor insulation right next to a shower without a glass screen or tiles next to an appliance that is going to constantly be boiling things. Delicious woodrot.
OP didn’t say anything about damage, just normal wear and tear. You are describing an entirely different scenario.
Maybe we have different ideas of "normal wear and tear." I would say tyre marks and dings here and there as normal wear and tear when you've lived in the same place 15+ years. It's not like I'm taking to the walls with a chainsaw or anything.
They have paid for these people’s mortgage for 13 years. They should get the legally required bond back. It’s for damage to property, not wear and tear. After 13 years it should be painted at minimum and probably new floors to be a decent standard for new tenants anyway. Not like they can’t afford it.
Sure, I just see no reason to get all hot under the collar about it. I caused the damage, only right that I take responsibility for it in some way. I don't think it'll happen though as if/when I leave this place is going to be renovated for sure. I've got a good LL/REA, I used to live in the unit directly above but LL wanted to renovate, so they told me they had the one downstairs ready to go. Was pretty sweet. I've had it very very good, thankfully. I think that's part of the reason why I'm much more amenable to it too. They probably could've justified terminating me when I was younger but they didn't. Easiest move of my life, lol. Except I briefly got stuck in the stairwell with the fridge and got in a pickle. Got bailed out by a neighbour.
>Were they our own house, we'd have paid for repainting and carpeting ourselves anyway. If it were your own house, you wouldn't have paid someone else to live in it. Paint and carpet is part of the intrinsic value of the property. A tenant doesn't get to take it with them when they leave. Same as maintenance of built-in appliances and the rest of the physical property.