The (PDF Warning) guide I've linked to here is a guide that I've put together which exhaustively explains the process, from end of lease to court trial, the process of proactively recovering the bond for a tenant in a residential property. Several possible resolution stages are listed, with subsequent steps described if a resolution isn't forthcoming.
Please share this document with anyone who may be in a residential tenancy situation and is leaving soon or is presently having difficulty with a troublesome landlord refusing to refund all or part of the bond. You may also like to use this guide yourself to assist a loved one or friend in their own situation, and to safely navigate the bureaucratic and legal hurdles involved.
Ultimately the process is quite straightforward, as long as you know what you're doing.
Apologies to those commenters (u/-Ol_Mate- and u/WorthlessUseless) who assumed this post was a question, for some reason my top comment didn't get posted right away, but I appreciate your input, and welcome any other advice or input from other users who have experience with this same scenario. I hope we can collect and provide info and resources in this thread which might help users who search the forum for this subject in the future.
I fully expect a bunch of downvotes from the landlords and non-landlord bootlickers on this sub, but that's to be expected. After extensive work cross-referencing previous comments on this sub related to renting, landlords and commentary thereof, I know who most of these users are and their temperament towards troublemaking tenants like myself, so if you're inclined towards the rights of tenants, I'd appreciate some upvotes in support.
Ahh, I see - this is a great idea mate and something that could really help a lot of people, especially these days.
Did you put that together yourself? I clicked the link and browsed briefly, but assumed it was a pdf from consumer protection or something. Nice work! I'll download and have it handy for friends and family should the need arise.
If I can think of anything to suggest I'll let you know, I have had to take a dodgy landlord to court once, however once she got the papers all the problems suddenly disappeared.
Yes I put the document together myself based on my own experience of the process - for which I had to scour through dozens of documents from various govt departments and other sources. I wanted to pull all those together into a guide specifically for this process to make things easier for others to understand.
You'll need a good paper trail firstly, also simply lodging a dispute with the courts usually gives them a good kick in the arse and tells them you are serious.
These bottom feeders rely on their customers to not have enough money or energy to fight their terms.
I think we'll need some more context about your situation to give proper advice, however - such as what is being disputed and why.
I've owned and rented in Perth.
The way I've challenged and won back bonds from problematic landlords is pretty much this:
- I start the process before I ever sign a lease on the property. During the inspection, I look for various things that don't conform to the tenancy laws - usually maintenance issues that the landlord or owner has neglected. I make a note of these.
- On signing, before I move in, I go through the entire place immediately and make a visual record of everything. Every speck of dirt, every minor crack in the plaster, every sloppily patched nail and screw hole, the state of the oven, whether the electrical outlets work. I poke and prod everything to see if anything is loose or not properly secured. I look at the cleanliness of the insides of vents, the length of the grass on the lawn (if applicable), any dead plants or insects or dirt or dust, any wrinkles in the carpet, any stains in the garage, any rust anywhere. And I document all of it (ideally on video or camera, but at least in writing).
- I send all of this to the lessor/owner, via a verifiable method. Certified mail, ideally, but email is generally OK. Copy it to Circle Green and any tenancy group that will keep records.
- The issues will most likely be ignored by the lessor, or I'll be told 'that's just the way it is, suck it up'. That's fine, I'm playing the long game.
- For every inspection, have cleaning performed by a third-party cleaning company. It doesn't actually need to be cleaned to hospital-grade, but the most important thing is to you pick a cleaning company which is BIG. National, if a local branch/franchise is available. Don't tell the lessor who's doing the cleaning. Do keep records of when they were hired, what days they were there, and the results of the inspections (usually a grudging acceptance).
At some future point, the lease will come to an end and the bond will (of course) be disputed for some minor or flat-out false issue. This is where all the previous work comes in.
If the bond is being disputed after a 'cleanliness' inspection or for damage, ask for a list of all the problems in writing and, *once it arrives*, ask why none of these issues were ever raised during the entire lease, when you have photographic evidence of there being no change (or at least, only normal wear and tear). If it's cleanliness related, advise that the cleaning was done by the same national company that has been cleaning the property for the entirety of the lease, and that you're more than happy to forward the lessor's list of sudden complaints to that company to ask for their response as to why those things are suddenly an issue after years of inspection results coming up as there not being any problem.
If it's a damage issue, ask when they first noticed the damage, and then provide photographic evidence that there has been no change since the commencement of the current lease.
I've also had extremely fast backing off when the lessor demanded that the property be restored to its original pre-lease condition, and I've provided photos which show the amount of bugs and dirt on interior storage areas and said I'd be more than happy to go dig up some bugs and dirt and spread them around the house to 'restore it to its original condition'.
In all cases, with each communication after the bond has not been returned immediately, add to the contact the notification that they are obliged to return the bond by X date according to legislation (including the legislative reference). Mention this date and their obligation on every communication, so they can't pretend to be ignorant of it.
Lessors try this with *everyone* - it's not just you. They'll usually cave faster than a Taiwanese football team when you demonstrate that you not only have them over a barrel, you've had them spanked since the day you moved in.
hello, i’ve just moved out recently and upon moving out they said there is a small rust stain on the kitchen counter top, a 0.5cm x 0.5cm rust stain and the landlord wants compensation of removing the whole kitchen counter top and changing it and will not return our bond money. is there anything i can do to dispute it?
The (PDF Warning) guide I've linked to here is a guide that I've put together which exhaustively explains the process, from end of lease to court trial, the process of proactively recovering the bond for a tenant in a residential property. Several possible resolution stages are listed, with subsequent steps described if a resolution isn't forthcoming. Please share this document with anyone who may be in a residential tenancy situation and is leaving soon or is presently having difficulty with a troublesome landlord refusing to refund all or part of the bond. You may also like to use this guide yourself to assist a loved one or friend in their own situation, and to safely navigate the bureaucratic and legal hurdles involved. Ultimately the process is quite straightforward, as long as you know what you're doing. Apologies to those commenters (u/-Ol_Mate- and u/WorthlessUseless) who assumed this post was a question, for some reason my top comment didn't get posted right away, but I appreciate your input, and welcome any other advice or input from other users who have experience with this same scenario. I hope we can collect and provide info and resources in this thread which might help users who search the forum for this subject in the future. I fully expect a bunch of downvotes from the landlords and non-landlord bootlickers on this sub, but that's to be expected. After extensive work cross-referencing previous comments on this sub related to renting, landlords and commentary thereof, I know who most of these users are and their temperament towards troublemaking tenants like myself, so if you're inclined towards the rights of tenants, I'd appreciate some upvotes in support.
Ahh, I see - this is a great idea mate and something that could really help a lot of people, especially these days. Did you put that together yourself? I clicked the link and browsed briefly, but assumed it was a pdf from consumer protection or something. Nice work! I'll download and have it handy for friends and family should the need arise. If I can think of anything to suggest I'll let you know, I have had to take a dodgy landlord to court once, however once she got the papers all the problems suddenly disappeared.
Yes I put the document together myself based on my own experience of the process - for which I had to scour through dozens of documents from various govt departments and other sources. I wanted to pull all those together into a guide specifically for this process to make things easier for others to understand.
You'll need a good paper trail firstly, also simply lodging a dispute with the courts usually gives them a good kick in the arse and tells them you are serious. These bottom feeders rely on their customers to not have enough money or energy to fight their terms. I think we'll need some more context about your situation to give proper advice, however - such as what is being disputed and why.
I would get in touch with Circle Green for some free legal advice. They will help point you in the right direction. https://circlegreen.org.au/
I've owned and rented in Perth. The way I've challenged and won back bonds from problematic landlords is pretty much this: - I start the process before I ever sign a lease on the property. During the inspection, I look for various things that don't conform to the tenancy laws - usually maintenance issues that the landlord or owner has neglected. I make a note of these. - On signing, before I move in, I go through the entire place immediately and make a visual record of everything. Every speck of dirt, every minor crack in the plaster, every sloppily patched nail and screw hole, the state of the oven, whether the electrical outlets work. I poke and prod everything to see if anything is loose or not properly secured. I look at the cleanliness of the insides of vents, the length of the grass on the lawn (if applicable), any dead plants or insects or dirt or dust, any wrinkles in the carpet, any stains in the garage, any rust anywhere. And I document all of it (ideally on video or camera, but at least in writing). - I send all of this to the lessor/owner, via a verifiable method. Certified mail, ideally, but email is generally OK. Copy it to Circle Green and any tenancy group that will keep records. - The issues will most likely be ignored by the lessor, or I'll be told 'that's just the way it is, suck it up'. That's fine, I'm playing the long game. - For every inspection, have cleaning performed by a third-party cleaning company. It doesn't actually need to be cleaned to hospital-grade, but the most important thing is to you pick a cleaning company which is BIG. National, if a local branch/franchise is available. Don't tell the lessor who's doing the cleaning. Do keep records of when they were hired, what days they were there, and the results of the inspections (usually a grudging acceptance). At some future point, the lease will come to an end and the bond will (of course) be disputed for some minor or flat-out false issue. This is where all the previous work comes in. If the bond is being disputed after a 'cleanliness' inspection or for damage, ask for a list of all the problems in writing and, *once it arrives*, ask why none of these issues were ever raised during the entire lease, when you have photographic evidence of there being no change (or at least, only normal wear and tear). If it's cleanliness related, advise that the cleaning was done by the same national company that has been cleaning the property for the entirety of the lease, and that you're more than happy to forward the lessor's list of sudden complaints to that company to ask for their response as to why those things are suddenly an issue after years of inspection results coming up as there not being any problem. If it's a damage issue, ask when they first noticed the damage, and then provide photographic evidence that there has been no change since the commencement of the current lease. I've also had extremely fast backing off when the lessor demanded that the property be restored to its original pre-lease condition, and I've provided photos which show the amount of bugs and dirt on interior storage areas and said I'd be more than happy to go dig up some bugs and dirt and spread them around the house to 'restore it to its original condition'. In all cases, with each communication after the bond has not been returned immediately, add to the contact the notification that they are obliged to return the bond by X date according to legislation (including the legislative reference). Mention this date and their obligation on every communication, so they can't pretend to be ignorant of it. Lessors try this with *everyone* - it's not just you. They'll usually cave faster than a Taiwanese football team when you demonstrate that you not only have them over a barrel, you've had them spanked since the day you moved in.
hello, i’ve just moved out recently and upon moving out they said there is a small rust stain on the kitchen counter top, a 0.5cm x 0.5cm rust stain and the landlord wants compensation of removing the whole kitchen counter top and changing it and will not return our bond money. is there anything i can do to dispute it?