Guest irloz Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 Hi all, We are arriving next week in Perth,and am hearing loads of stories from friends who say once you rent you will never get your bond back that that's just the way it works,no matter how clean and perfect you leave the house,they'll find someway to hang on to it.........is this true or have many of you got your money back? Thanks everyone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolac34 Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 Landlords can't just keep it without a good reason. The bond you pay has to be registered by the state of commerce (might be wrong, but something official!) and you get a receipt when you lodge it. Once the tenancy is over and it has been agreed between yourself and the landlords you'll get it back. If there is a dispute then it goes to a tribunal and then they will decide how much if anything to award to the landlord. My brother got caught out when he arrived as he didn't know about the bond lodgement thing and his landlord just kept the cash in their own bank account. When it came to get it back the landlords refused saying they had caused damage. They'd given up until we came along and told him they couldn't do that. So my OH wrote an official letter to them (he's legal) saying we would report them to the commerce people and they could be liable for a large fine if it was known they had kept the bond to themselves. They pled ignorance that they didn't know it had to be lodged somewhere - anyway an agreement was reached and the bond money was returned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen_PFR Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 You're right Nicola, it's the Department of Commerce - here's the website for the part that deals with tenancies:- http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/ConsumerProtection/Content/Property_renting/Renting_and_tenancy/Tenants/index.htm Not all landlords are sharks when it comes to returning the bond! I always tell our tenants that if the property is neat and clean on vacation, with no major damages, then they will get their bond back, no problems. (Regarding damage, the occasional glass or plate breakage doesn't count, this is to be expected - by 'damage' I mean, for example, the tenants that punched a hole through the bathroom door!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted April 14, 2012 Report Share Posted April 14, 2012 When you move into a property and do the initial inspection with the landlord/agent (insist on this), take photo's and point out any damage you see, marks on walls, floors etc., so that you can't be later blamed for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest1337 Posted April 15, 2012 Report Share Posted April 15, 2012 Don't pay the last months rent, that way you have your bond back! Not sure if your credit rating would be affected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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