How to Claim the Bond as a Landlord: Bond Claim Rules in Every State (2026)

Last updated: October 2026

The keys are back, the tenant has gone, and you’ve just walked through the property. Maybe it’s spotless and you’re happy to refund every cent. Or maybe there’s a fist-sized hole behind the bedroom door, a rent payment that never arrived and an oven nobody has cleaned since Easter.

Either way, the bond has to be dealt with, and that’s the moment plenty of self-managing landlords realise they’ve never done a bond claim before. Who do you tell? How long has the tenant got to argue? What can you actually claim?

The process has the same basic shape everywhere. You agree it with the tenant if you can, back any deduction with evidence, and let the bond authority (or a tribunal) settle it if you can’t. The details, the forms and the deadlines change by state, and a couple changed this year. This is how it works in all eight.

What you can (and can’t) claim from the bond

A bond is security, not a bonus. You can claim against it for costs the tenant caused you, and nothing else. The usual list, across the states:

Unpaid rent owed at the end of the tenancy
Damage beyond fair wear and tear, such as holes in walls, burns, broken fittings or pet damage
Cleaning, where the property was left less clean than it was at the start (allowing for fair wear and tear)
Unpaid charges the tenant was responsible for, such as water usage where your lease and state rules allow it
Lost keys or security devices, and replacing locks where that’s the tenant’s doing
Other losses from the tenant breaking the agreement, such as costs from leaving early (see our guide to what you can charge when a tenant breaks the lease)

What you can’t claim: fair wear and tear. That’s the ordinary deterioration that comes with someone living in a home: worn carpet in the hallway, faded curtains, small scuffs, a tired tap washer. It’s your cost as the owner in every state. Your own time spent fixing things isn’t claimable either (Western Australia’s regulator says so in plain words), and you can’t use the bond to cover rent while the tenant is still living there.

Two more limits. Your total claim can’t be more than the bond held. And even for genuine damage, you’re generally owed what the damaged item was worth, allowing for its age, not a brand-new replacement. Damage a carpet that was already near the end of its life and you’re owed its remaining value, not a whole new carpet.

If you’re not sure where the line falls, our guide to the end-of-tenancy condition report has a full fair wear and tear versus damage list.

Bond claim rules by state: one table

This is the one to bookmark. Who holds the bond, how an agreed claim works, what happens when the tenant doesn’t agree, and the deadlines that matter.

State	Who holds the bond	Agreed claim	If the tenant doesn’t agree	Deadlines to know
NSW	NSW Fair Trading (Rental Bonds Online)	Submit a claim in Rental Bonds Online (paper “Claim for refund of bond money” form if the bond was lodged on paper or the tenant has no account)	Fair Trading sends the tenant a Notice of Claim with 14 days to respond. To stop the payout, the tenant applies to NCAT and tells Fair Trading	Give the tenant the end condition report and your quotes, invoices or receipts within 7 days of claiming. Either party can still apply to NCAT within 6 months of the payout
VIC	Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA)	Start the claim in RTBA online; every renter must accept within 14 days	You need an order from VCAT or Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV), then lodge the claim with the order number	Start your claim within 14 days of the agreement ending. Since 13 Oct 2026: tell the renter at least 3 business days before lodging and give them your evidence
QLD	Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA)	Form 4 “Refund of rental bond”, online through RTA Web Services or signed on paper by everyone	Lodge Form 4 on your own. The tenant has 14 days to lodge a dispute (Form 16), then RTA conciliation; if that fails, QCAT	Give the tenant your supporting evidence within 14 days of the claim. Apply to QCAT within 7 days of a Notice of unresolved dispute
WA	Bonds Administration (Consumer Protection)	Security Bond Release Application through BondsOnline, or on the form	The tenant gets a notice and usually 14 days to reply. If they dispute or don’t reply, a delegate of the Commissioner for Consumer Protection decides	New process since 28 Mar 2026. Final inspection and outgoing condition report within 14 days of the tenancy ending. Appeals to the Magistrates Court within 7 days of the decision
SA	Consumer and Business Services (Residential Bonds Online)	Refund request in Residential Bonds Online	Give CBS evidence for your claim. The tenant can accept, counter-offer or go to SACAT; if they don’t respond, CBS assesses your evidence	No set time limit to claim, but a landlord claim made 12 months or more after the tenancy ends goes straight to SACAT
TAS	Rental Deposit Authority (MyBond)	Start the claim in MyBond	The tenant approves or disputes within 10 days. If disputed, everyone gets 10 working days to give evidence and the Residential Tenancy Commissioner decides	Start your claim within 3 working days of the keys coming back (or explain the delay)
ACT	ACT Revenue Office (Rental Bonds)	Request the refund through the Rental Bonds Portal	The tenant gets a notice and 14 days to respond in writing. A dispute goes to ACAT, starting with a conference	Give ACAT and the tenant your list of claims at least 7 days before the conference
NT	You do (security deposit held in trust)	Return the deposit, less any agreed amounts, within 7 business days of the tenant vacating	Give a Notice of Landlord’s Intention to Retain Security Deposit within 7 business days, with the amount, invoices or quotes and a statutory declaration. Disputes go to NTCAT	Miss the 7 business days and you must return the deposit in full

The official detail for each state: NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Queensland RTA, Consumer Protection WA, CBS South Australia, Consumer Affairs Tasmania, the ACT Revenue Office and NT Consumer Affairs.

How to make a bond claim, step by step

The screens differ, but the job looks like this in every state:

Do the final inspection and outgoing condition report straight away. Compare the property against the entry condition report, room by room, with dated photos. Do it before anyone else goes in, so there’s no question about who caused what.
Work out what you’re claiming, item by item. For each one, write down what’s wrong, why it’s beyond fair wear and tear, and what it costs.
Get the evidence. Quotes, invoices or receipts for repairs and cleaning, the rent ledger for arrears, and photos from the entry and exit reports side by side.
Talk to the tenant first. Send them the list and the evidence and ask whether they agree. In Victoria this step is now compulsory: at least 3 business days’ notice, with evidence, before you lodge.
Lodge the claim with your state’s bond authority (or, in the NT, give the retain notice). If you’ve agreed, it’s usually paid within days. If not, follow the dispute route in the table.
Keep to the deadlines. Tasmania gives you 3 working days from the keys coming back, Victoria 14 days from the end of the agreement and the NT 7 business days. Elsewhere there may be no hard limit, but a prompt claim is a stronger one.
If it goes to a tribunal or decision maker, send everything in one tidy bundle: both condition reports, the photos, the costs and your messages with the tenant.

Get the tenant to agree, and most of the work disappears

Every bond authority runs a fast lane for agreed claims. In Victoria the RTBA usually repays within one business day once all renters accept. The Queensland RTA aims to process agreed refunds the same day it receives them. NSW online refunds arrive about two business days after the claim is accepted.

So it pays to make agreement easy. Before you lodge anything, send the tenant a short, friendly message: what you’re claiming, how much, and the photos and quotes behind it. Keep the tone businesslike and assume good faith. A tenant who sees a fair, itemised claim with evidence will often agree, and you’re done in a week. A tenant who first hears about a deduction through an official notice is far more likely to dig in.

Be willing to meet halfway on the grey areas. Arguing over a $90 cleaning charge for three months rarely makes sense, and a tribunal may split the difference anyway.

And write every message as if a tribunal member will read it one day. Sometimes they do.

When the tenant doesn’t agree

If you can’t agree, nobody just keeps the money. The bond authority holds it until the dispute is settled, and the route depends on your state.

NSW

You can lodge the claim in Rental Bonds Online without the tenant’s agreement. Fair Trading then sends the tenant a Notice of Claim (by email and SMS for an online bond, by post for a paper one), with 14 days to respond. Within 7 days of making the claim you must give the tenant the end-of-tenancy condition report and copies of any estimates, quotes, invoices or receipts. If the tenant disagrees, they apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) and tell Fair Trading, which holds the bond until NCAT decides.

It works the other way too. If the tenant lodges first, you have 14 days to agree, negotiate or apply to NCAT. Do nothing and the bond is refunded as the tenant claimed.

Victoria (new rules since 13 October 2026)

Victoria tightened bond claims on 13 October 2026, and it’s the change most likely to trip up a self-managing landlord.

From 13 October 2026, before you make a claim you must tell the renter you intend to claim, at least 3 business days before lodging it with the RTBA, and give them evidence that supports it: invoices, receipts, quotes or photographs. The evidence must not contradict the condition report. It’s an offence to apply to VCAT for a bond claim without supporting evidence, or with evidence that contradicts the condition report.

You can only lodge a claim with the RTBA when you and the renter agree, or once you have an order from VCAT or Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV). Start the claim within 14 days of the agreement ending, unless the renter starts one first.

Renters can also start a claim themselves once the agreement ends. If they do, you get 14 days to contest it by applying to VCAT or RDRV; if nobody contests it, the RTBA repays the bond as claimed. So if your renter beats you to it, don’t sit on the notice.

The full rules are on Consumer Affairs Victoria’s bond claims page (linked above the steps), and our guide to Victorian rental laws for landlords covers the wider changes.

Queensland

Either party can lodge Form 4 without the other’s signature. The RTA pays out any undisputed amount and sends a notice to the other party, who has 14 days to lodge a dispute resolution request (Form 16). You must give the tenant your supporting evidence within 14 days of the claim or dispute. The evidence goes to the tenant, not to the RTA, and not providing it can attract a fine.

An RTA conciliator then contacts both of you to try to reach an agreement, usually by phone. If that doesn’t work, the RTA issues a Notice of unresolved dispute, and you have 7 days to apply to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) and tell the RTA. Miss that window and the RTA pays out under the original request.

Western Australia (new process since 28 March 2026)

WA changed its bond release process this year, so older guides that send every dispute straight to the Magistrates Court are out of date.

Now, anyone on the agreement can lodge a Security Bond Release Application. The other party gets a Notice of Security Bond Release and usually has 14 days to reply, and that can’t be extended. If they dispute it or don’t reply, a delegate of the Commissioner for Consumer Protection decides, and either side has 7 days to appeal to the Magistrates Court. Upload both the ingoing and outgoing condition reports as evidence, and invoices are preferred to quotes.

South Australia

In Residential Bonds Online you lodge your claim and give CBS evidence of why you’re claiming the amount. The tenant is told about the claim and can accept it, make a counter-offer or take it to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT). If the tenant doesn’t respond, CBS assesses your evidence and may release the money to you. If CBS refuses your claim, you can apply to SACAT for a reassessment.

If the tenant claims first and you don’t respond within 14 days, the tenant is paid the amount claimed.

Tasmania

All bonds are managed online through MyBond. Start your claim within three working days of the tenant returning the keys. The tenant then has 10 days to approve or dispute it. If they dispute it, everyone gets 10 working days to provide evidence and the Residential Tenancy Commissioner makes a decision, which can sometimes take more than 90 days. Decisions can be appealed to the Magistrates Court.

ACT

Bond refunds are requested online through the ACT Revenue Office’s Rental Bonds Portal. You must also give the tenant a signed bond release application (the Bond Refund form still does this job). If you claim part of the bond, the tenant is sent a notice and has 14 days to respond in writing. If the tenant disputes it, the Rental Bonds Office refers the matter to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (ACAT) and pays out any undisputed portion, and ACAT starts with a conference. At least seven days before the conference you must give ACAT, and the tenant, a list of claims along with supporting documents such as the ingoing and outgoing condition reports, quotes and invoices.

Northern Territory

The NT has no bond authority. You hold the security deposit in trust, so the process runs through you. Within 7 business days of the tenant vacating, either return the deposit (less any agreed amounts) or give the tenant a Notice of Landlord’s Intention to Retain Security Deposit, with the amount, what it’s for, invoices or quotes and a statutory declaration. If you do neither, you must return the deposit in full. Either party can take a dispute to the NT Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NTCAT).

The NT is also strict about condition reports. Without an ingoing report there can be no claim against the tenant at the end, and if the outgoing report isn’t properly completed, no claim can be made against the deposit.

Evidence that holds up

Whoever decides your claim will compare three things: what the property looked like at the start, what it looked like at the end, and what fixing the difference costs. Give them all three.

The entry condition report, with dated photos. It’s the starting line, and a claim is only as good as this document. If you’re at the start of a tenancy right now, our guide to the entry condition report shows how to do it thoroughly.
The exit condition report, photographed from the same angles where you can.
Photos from routine inspections during the tenancy. They help show when damage appeared, not just that it did.
Costs: invoices or receipts beat quotes. WA’s guidelines point out that a quote doesn’t prove the work was done.
A rent ledger for any arrears claim, showing every payment and the amount owing.
Your messages with the tenant, especially any agreement to deductions.

A fair claim with a few strong items usually does better than a long list that includes wear and tear. Decision makers notice when a landlord is reaching.

Make the end of a tenancy easier on yourself

Most bond disputes are won or lost long before move-out day. A good entry report, regular inspections and a clear rent record turn the bond claim into a quick admin job rather than an argument.

If you’d rather not juggle that on paper, PropertyNow’s rental management software keeps your bond records, digital condition reports and rent ledger together, so the evidence is in one place when the tenancy ends. And when you’re ready for the next tenant, you can advertise your rental on the major portals yourself.

The bottom line

Claiming the bond isn’t complicated once you know your state’s route. The deadlines that bite are the short ones in Victoria, Tasmania and the Northern Territory. Everywhere else, the claim that goes through smoothly is the one the tenant saw first, itemised, with the evidence attached.

It’s a job plenty of self-managing landlords handle themselves every year, and with good records from the start, you can too.

Have the evidence ready before move-out day

PropertyNow’s rental management software keeps your bond records, digital condition reports and rent ledger in one place, so a bond claim is a quick job instead of a scramble.

See rental management software

Frequently asked questions

How long does a landlord have to claim the bond? It depends on the state. In Victoria you must start the claim within 14 days of the agreement ending, in Tasmania within three working days of the keys being returned, and in the Northern Territory within 7 business days of the tenant vacating. NSW has no general deadline, and in South Australia a claim made 12 months or more after the tenancy ends goes straight to SACAT.

Can I claim the bond without the tenant’s agreement? Yes in most states: you lodge the claim, the bond authority notifies the tenant, and they have a set time (usually 14 days) to dispute it. Victoria is different: the RTBA only pays a rental provider’s claim when the renter agrees or there’s a VCAT or RDRV order.

What can a landlord claim from the bond? Unpaid rent, damage beyond fair wear and tear, cleaning where the property was left less clean than at the start, unpaid charges the tenant was responsible for, lost keys and other losses from the tenant breaking the agreement. You can’t claim for fair wear and tear, and the total can’t exceed the bond.

What evidence do I need for a bond claim? The entry and exit condition reports with dated photos, invoices, receipts or quotes for the work, a rent ledger for any arrears, and your messages with the tenant. In Victoria you must give the renter your evidence at least 3 business days before lodging the claim.

What happens if the tenant disputes my bond claim? The bond stays where it is (with the bond authority, or with you in the NT) until it’s resolved. Depending on the state, that’s a tribunal (NCAT, VCAT or RDRV in Victoria, QCAT after RTA conciliation, SACAT, ACAT or NTCAT), a delegate of the Commissioner in WA, or the Residential Tenancy Commissioner in Tasmania.

Can I keep the bond for cleaning? You can claim reasonable cleaning costs if the tenant left the property less clean than it was at the start, allowing for fair wear and tear. Keep the receipt and the before and after photos.

What if the tenant claims the bond first? Respond quickly. In NSW, Victoria and South Australia you have 14 days to respond or contest it, and if you do nothing the bond is generally paid out as the tenant claimed.