clovaRenting
Rental Bonds Explained: How Much, Where It Goes and Getting It Back
A rental bond is money you pay at the start of a lease, usually up to four weeks' rent, held by a government body, except in the NT, where the landlord or agent holds it in trust. When you move out, it comes back to you, less anything you agree or a tribunal decides is owed for unpaid rent or damage.
By MarnixPublished Sources
You've found a place you like, the application went through, and now the agent wants the bond. It's likely the biggest single payment of the whole move, and it's money you won't see again until you leave, which can make handing it over feel like a leap of faith.
There is a set process for holding it and claiming it back. In most of Australia, the bond authority holds it during the tenancy.
What a bond is, and how much it can be
A rental bond is a sum you pay at the start of a lease as security for the landlord. If you leave owing rent, or with damage beyond normal use, they can claim some or all of it. If you don't, it comes back to you.
Each state caps how much a landlord can ask for. Under an ordinary lease that's usually four weeks' rent, or one month's rent in Victoria, with higher amounts possible in a few states for expensive properties. Our guide to moving out of home has each state's limits for bond and rent in advance, and how to plan for both.
Who holds your bond while you rent
In every state and the ACT, the landlord or agent has to pass your bond to an independent government body, which holds it until the lease ends. This is called lodging the bond. Neither you nor the landlord can touch it while you live there. The Northern Territory is the exception: there, the landlord or agent holds it in trust.
Ordinary residential leases. Rooming houses and some other arrangements differ. Each state's rental body, November 2026.
Once your bond is lodged, the authority sends you a confirmation with a bond number. Keep it somewhere safe, because it's how you look up your bond and claim it later. Landlords have a deadline for lodging, such as 10 days in Queensland and 14 in Victoria and Western Australia, so if you've heard nothing a couple of weeks after paying, contact the bond authority.
Victoria adds a step of its own: when the landlord starts the lodgement, each renter gets an email asking them to review and accept it, and it isn't finished until they do. Check the amount and your details before accepting.
The condition report is your evidence
Before you move in, the landlord or agent gives you a condition report, a room-by-room record of the property's state, including anything already dirty, damaged or not working. When you move out, it's what the property is compared against, which makes it the most useful evidence you have if there's a disagreement about the bond.
Go through it carefully, add anything that's missing and return a signed copy by the deadline, which is 5 business days after moving in for Victoria and 2 weeks for the ACT. Photos you take on the first day, with the date on them, back it up. A scuffed wall recorded at the start can't fairly be charged to you at the end.
Getting your bond back
When the lease ends, these steps decide how much comes back to you.
Clean and be at the final inspection
Leave the property in the condition it was in at the start, apart from normal wear. The landlord or agent then inspects it against the condition report, and you can be there for it.
Agree on any deductions
A landlord can claim for unpaid rent, damage and cleaning needed to return the property to how it started. They can't claim for fair wear and tear, the ordinary ageing that comes with living somewhere, such as faded curtains or a worn benchtop. In Victoria they must give you at least 3 business days' notice of a claim, with evidence such as invoices or photos.
Make the claim with the bond authority
Use your bond authority’s claim form, usually online, to say how the money is split. In the NT, request repayment from the landlord or agent. When everyone named on the bond agrees, it's paid quickly. You can also start a claim yourself, and the other side is given time to dispute it.
Take a disagreement to your state's dispute service
If you can't agree, either side can apply to the state tribunal, or in Victoria to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria first. The authority pays out the bond as the tribunal orders. Your condition report, photos and receipts are what the decision is based on.
Sam's made-up Melbourne flat costs $2,000 a month, with a $2,000 bond. He agrees to a $150 oven clean after the final inspection.
Made-up example, Victoria.
In a share house
When several people sign one lease, everyone's name usually goes on the one bond. If you're taking over someone's room, they'll usually ask you to pay them their share. Ask the agent to confirm the amount and put your name on the bond first, and keep a receipt. The share house bills guide covers splitting the other shared costs.
Getting the bond together
A bond lands on top of rent in advance, so it helps to treat it as its own savings goal well before you start applying. A guide to how much rent you can afford is a useful first step, because the bond grows with the rent.
If the bond is out of reach, most states have interest-free bond loans for people on low incomes, such as NSW's Rentstart Bond Loan, Victoria's RentAssist bond loan and Queensland's bond loan. The loan pays a real bond, lodged the usual way. If you're receiving Centrelink payments, Rent Assistance can also help with the rent itself.
In Clova, the budgeting app we're building, the bond can be a goal of its own, sitting beside your rent and bills in each pay's plan.
Keep the lodgement confirmation and condition report; they're the records you'll use when it's time to claim.
A note from us
A bond is a big amount to find at once, usually in the same week as everything else a move costs. We are building Clova with savings goals for costs like your next bond.