How To Get Your Rental Bond Back In Adelaide?

Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, is known for its historic churches, Aboriginal artefacts, stunning botanical gardens and majestic parklands on the River Torrens. People are drawn to these charming attractions and warm climate of this cosmopolitan city and are migrating to Adelaide in large numbers. With over 41% of people moving from other states to this city, it is important to be aware of Adelaide’s rental laws and agreements. This includes your rental bond, a written agreement between you and your landlord that acts as a security deposit. Once you understand these rental bond terms, you will have a better idea of how to get your bond back by doing a detailed end of lease cleaning Adelaide. Therefore, you must first note these important features of rental bonds in Adelaide to understand how the process works:

What Is A Rental Bond

A rental bond is a security deposit that you, as a tenant, pay to your landlord or property manager. In Adelaide, a rental bond has to be lodged with the Consumer and Business Services (CBS) by the landlord or property agent. Your landlord has two weeks to lodge this bond online on the Residential Bonds Online (RBO) system or can fill out a manual form and submit it to the CBS. On the other hand, an agent has four weeks to lodge a rental bond and can only submit it online on the RBO system.

What Is The Rental Bond Amount

Before your landlord or agent lodges your bond, you must mutually agree upon the amount and sign an agreement. In Adelaide, your rental bond can be:

Four weeks’ worth of rent if your rent amount is $250 or less

Six weeks’ worth of rent if your rent amount is $250 or more

Two weeks’ worth of rent if you have a rooming house agreement

In Adelaide, the median price for renting a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home is $490. This means you will only have to pay a maximum of $2940 as your rental bond for a three-bedroom home in Adelaide. Important Note Your landlord can only increase your rental bond after two years and has to send you a notice of the change six months in advance.

What Happens When You Lodge a Bond

Once you and your landlord have agreed to the bond amount and lodged this with the CBS, your landlord should give you a receipt within 48 hours that includes the following:

Payment Date

Bond amount

Tenant’s name

Address of the tenant

You will also get an email from CBS to activate your residential bond online account (RBO) to keep a check on your bond amount and resolve any disputed claims. You must first verify your identity using the official Document Verification Service to use your RBO account. Your identification cards must be from Australia and can include any of the following:

Driver’s licence

Birth certificate

Passport

Health card

Marriage certificate

Travel visa

Medicare card

What Are Bond Guarantees

You can contact Housing SA for a bond guarantee if you don’t have funds to pay the bond. This guarantee should be signed by you and your landlord and must be lodged with the CBS. If your landlord collects this guarantee at the end of your tenancy, you will owe the housing SA this amount. Besides your rental bond, if you want to know more about your tenancy obligations and duties, you should look at these rights as a tenant in Adelaide. Now that you have an idea of how rental bonds work, you must see how you can claim a refund at the end of the tenancy and why your landlord might dispute this claim.

How To Claim Your Bond Back

If you want to get your bond back at the end of your tenancy, you must file a refund claim with the CBS. You can make a joint claim signed by you and your landlord or file an uncontested claim to get your bond back with your landlord’s approval. However, your landlord can also file a dispute claim without your consent to hold back a part of your bond. This can be due to several reasons:

Breach of rental terms

Rental payments in arrears

Damage to the property

Lack of proper cleaning and maintenance

You can dispute this claim with the CBS and provide evidence to ensure you get your bond back. However, if you fail to respond within ten days, CBS will refund the amount to your landlord. Therefore you must check your RBO account constantly and contact CBS to see whether your bond is still lodged with them. You can also ensure that you get your bond back from your landlord by paying your rent on time and repairing any damages. You should also ensure you pass your landlord’s inspection by doing a proper end-of-lease cleaning in Adelaide using the following tips:

Get Your Rental Bond Back

1. Inspect And Follow Your Conditional Report At the beginning of your tenancy, your landlord must have handed you a conditional report which described the current state of your home. You must keep photos and videos of how your home was so that you have evidence of any previous damages. You should also follow this conditional report when doing an end-of-lease cleaning in Adelaide, as it will help you concentrate on the areas that need extra care. To further help you out, here are 8 important areas to note when doing a vacate cleaning. 2. Hire Professional End Of Lease Cleaners If you have left your vacate cleaning to the last minute and have too much to do, you should hire professional end-of-lease cleaners in Adelaide to help you. These experts can spruce up your entire home in 3 to 5 hours, wipe and dust even the toughest stains off your walls, and remove mould and mildew. You can ask your property manager or landlord for recommendations so that your end-of-lease cleaners know what your landlord expects. 3. Clean The Most Difficult Rooms First When doing an end-of-lease cleaning in Adelaide, you should make a cleaning checklist and start with the most difficult rooms first. You should start with your kitchen and bathroom and then move on to your other rooms. Tackling your difficult rooms first will help you deep clean them properly and will make you feel less overwhelmed. 4. Wipe Off Tough Stains From Your Walls The main area most tenants forget to clean during an end-of-lease cleaning are your walls. This is the first thing your landlord will notice, and if your walls are full of dirty smudges and grease marks, your bond amount might be deducted. Thus, make sure you use microfiber sponges with baking soda to scrub dirt off your walls, and avoid using water-based acids that can damage your walls. If you have wallpaper, you must only use dry cleaning solutions so that the liquid does not damage your walls. 5. Get Rid Of Grout From Your Floor Tiles You must also ensure that you do a deep scrubbing of all your floor tiles with baking soda and vinegar to remove grout stains and marks. If you cannot remove the grout, it is better to book expert end-of-lease cleaners in Adelaide for this job, as they will use advanced techniques to clean your floor tiles. You can also use the latest cleaning gadgets to help you get rid of these grout and dirt stains from your home. 6. Make Sure You Ventilate Your Home If you have been cleaning for hours and used a variety of liquids and solutions, you must ensure you properly dry your home. This will prevent the formation of damp spots that can lead to mould and mildew. It is a good idea to ventilate your home and allow fresh air so that there are no musty or foul smells when your landlord comes for an inspection.

Wrapping Up

The above tips will help you maintain a clean home at the end of your tenancy and pass your landlord’s inspection. If there are any disputes regarding the cleanliness, you can file a claim with the CBS and provide enough evidence to help you get your bond back via direct deposit or cheque. Therefore, it is important to do a proper end-of-lease cleaning and follow all your tenancy agreement rules to help you get your bond back.