• Rooming accommodation information
  • Terms used and their meanings
  • Information for providers of rooming accommodation
  • Starting an agreement
  • During an agreement
  • Ending an agreement
  • Renting rooming accommodation in Queensland
• Rooming style student accommodation
  • FAQs for providers
  • Useful links for students
• All rooming accommodation forms
• Fact sheets
  • Power to remove a resident fact sheet
• Frequently asked questions
• Contacts for people in rooming accommodation
• Order RTA forms for rooming accommodation

Rental bonds

Some providers ask for a rental bond so they can cover their costs if:

• the resident leaves without paying their rent, or
• the resident damages any property.

A bond is any money in addition to rent that is paid at the beginning of the resident's stay.

A bond may be called:

• a security deposit
• a key deposit
• a linen deposit, or
• any other extra fee that isn't rent.
  But it is still a bond.

The laws are very clear about what happens with bonds.

Bond money must be lodged with the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) by the provider/agent. It is money that the resident may get back at the end of their stay.

If the resident can't afford to pay the full bond

The resident can:

• ask the provider/agent if they can pay the bond in installments
• go to their local Department of Communities (Housing and Homelessness Services) office and apply for a bond loan.

When a bond is paid

Not all providers/agents ask for a bond. If the resident does pay a bond the following things must happen.

The provider/agent must:

• Fill out a Bond Lodgement - form R2 (PDF 106kB) and ask the resident to sign it.
• Send the signed bond lodgement form and the bond money to the RTA within 10 days of receiving it. If the resident is paying off the bond in installments, the rules are different. Check with the RTA if you would like to know more.
• Give the resident a receipt for the bond money they have paid.
• Complete and sign a Condition Report - form R1 (PDF 51kB)) and give the resident a copy. The resident must return the report (signed and with comments) to the provider/agent. The provider/agent must then return a copy of the completed and signed report back to the resident within 14 days. This report describes the condition of the room and furniture when the resident moved in.

The resident must:

• Sign the Bond Lodgement (form R2).
• Keep the bond receipt in a safe place. If the resident is paying their bond off in installments, they should request a receipt each time a payment is made. All and other paperwork associated with renting the room should be kept in a safe place. These are important records which may be needed later.
• Complete their section of the Condition Report (form R1).
  After the resident gets the report, they have three days to fill in their section. The resident can say whether they agree or disagree with the provider/agent about certain items on the report. The resident must then sign it and give back the original to the provider/agent.
• Keep a copy of the condition report for their own records. They may need it at the end of their stay when they want to apply for their bond to be returned.    

More information

• What happens to the bond when the resident leaves?
• Rental bond fact sheet