The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (the Act) provides rules for collecting rental bonds in rooming accommodation, such as boarding houses, hostels, and on and off-campus student accommodation in Queensland.

Rental bond

A rental bond is money paid by the resident to the provider/agent at the start of the Rooming accommodation agreement (Form R18), as financial security in case the resident breaches the terms of their agreement. A key deposit is considered a rental bond.

It is not compulsory to charge a rental bond. Where a rental bond is charged, the provider/agent must lodge it with the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) within 10 days of receipt. If the provider/agent receives the rental bond by instalments, different rules apply.

All initial rental bond payments to the RTA must be made with a completed Bond lodgement (Form 2).

If the weekly rent is $500 or less, then no more than four weeks rent can be charged as a rental bond. There is no bond limit where the weekly rent is more than $500. If a rental bond is charged, a Condition report – Rooming accommodation (Form R1) must also be completed.

Rental bond instalments

A provider/agent may receive a rental bond in part payments, or instalments. Once all instalments have been received, the provider/agent must give the rental bond to the RTA within 10 days.

If the agreement is ended before all of the rental bond instalments are received, the provider/agent must give the instalments received to the RTA within 10 days of the agreement ending along with a completed Bond lodgement.

If the agreement has not ended and the provider/agent has still not received the final instalment three months after receiving the first rental bond instalment, the provider/agent must give the instalments received to the RTA within 10 days along with a completed Bond lodgement. Any subsequent instalments received must be paid to the RTA within 10 days of being received along with another Bond lodgement form.

How is bond money refunded?

See below for a chart outlining how the RTA deals with bond refunds.

Dealing with bond disputes

Disagreements may arise between residents and providers/agents about rental bonds.

Residents and providers/agents can usually resolve their disputes by talking to each other and finding out about their rights and responsibilities under the Act. If this does not work, the RTA’s dispute resolution service may be able to help. If the resident and the provider/agent still can not agree after dispute resolution, an application may be made to the Tribunal for a decision.

How the RTA deals with bond refunds (flow chart)

Click to enlarge image

Further information

For more information contact the Residential Tenancies Authority.

Accessing RTA forms

The RTA’s forms can be obtained electronically or in person by contacting us.