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HOW TO GET YOUR BOND BACK IN QLD
You’re moving out, and you enjoyed your stay, but it’s time to move on. One of your biggest priorities will be to get your bond back in full. This article will give you a comprehensive guide to getting your bond back in Qld Australia if you’re a renting a residential property. Of course, property manager and landlords want to give your bond back too — all of it. It’s just well, sometimes we can’t. You see, as property managers, the owners pay us to manage their investment property and ensure it’s being looked after. We also understand though the money held in bond is a lot. In fact here in Qld it’s 4 weeks rent. Legally we can’t ask you to pay more.
In this guide, we will outline what you can do to ensure getting your refund of rental bond back in full every single time.
FIRST, WHAT IS BOND?
In Qld Australia, we can legally ask a tenant for up to 4 weeks rent as bond. So if a property is leased for $500 PW, that’s a $2,000 bond. But we legally also need to lodge the bond with the RTA. Just recently, tenants now have the choice to lodge the bond directly with the RTA or have the property manager do it for them.
WHAT IS THE BOND FOR?
It’s to cover any unpaid rent or bills, cover repairs and damage made, and cleaning that the tenant may not have addresses before they leave.
WHY YOU ALWAYS WANT TO GET YOUR REFUND OF RENTAL BOND
Not only should you have a solid understanding of how to get your bond back in Qld, you also need to realise the importance of always getting it back in full. When you apply for a rental property one of the things the property manager will do is ask your past property managers if you got your bond back in full. If the answer is no, even if it’s for the smallest of reasons it will create doubt and cause the property manager to consider other applications where the bond has always been refunded in full. So the idea is you should also want your bond back in full. The moment you ask your property manager to take any late rent, bills or cleaning, etc., “from the bond” you are exposing yourself to the chances of your application on future rental properties not being approved.
TIPS ON HOW TO GET YOUR BOND BACK IN QLD
- Don’t use your bond to pay a water bill or rent still due. As soon as you tell your property manager to “take it out of the bond,” you’ve kinda stuffed things for yourselves. Because when your next reference comes around and the question is asked, did they get all the bond back and the answer is no, it makes it harder to be approved.
- Leave the place better than you found it. What the? Yep go on do it. If you have that attitude, you are bound to get your rent back in full. We can’t legal request this, but it certainly makes sense.
- Get a copy of your entry condition report. Can you remember way back when you moved in? The property manager would have done an entry condition report that you checked and signed. Get a copy of that and have a good long look through it. This is your benchmark of what the property manager is expecting how you will return the property to them.
- Get a bond cleaner guru. Get experts in. Us normal humans can’t clean like specialist bond cleaners do. Have you see the size of the arms on those people. Wow. They have an eye for detail. They will clean the tracks in the windows, make the oven look new and even scrub the toilet with a toothbrush is they need to. It is common for 2 bond cleaners to spend 6 hours on a property to make it shine. That would be like us humans spending 4 days on getting the same result. So yeah, spoil yourself and get in a bond cleaner. You’ll be glad you did.
- Gardeners are a bit like bond cleaners, but that can do the weeds, trim the plants, do the edges for a surprisingly affordable price. You might even need them to throw down some new mulch.
- Air Con Filters need to be cleaned.
- Mould under the eaves needs to be high pressure cleaned. Sometimes even the entire house needs a good wash.
- What about the carpets? Professional carpet cleaners are the way to go. Again they really don’t cost that much. We can’t legally ask that you have the carpets professionally cleaned, but if you’ve had pets or been at the property for some time, it’s the way to go.
- If you have a pet, you also need to do a professional pest spray, which is Qld legislation.
WARNING: Not all bond cleaners are the same. There are many people that say they are bond cleaners and are not.
PROFESSIONALS WE USE AND RECOMMEND:
TIP: Book them, early as they are busy
0412 587 944 Carpet Cleaning – Brigette
0430 059 653 Bond Cleaner – Deb & Dave
0411 723 421 Pest Spray – Katrina
0412 905 500 Paint Touch ups – Kerry
0421 923 845 House & Driveway Clean – Mick
0405 411 717 Removalist – Ross
0456 066 411 Gardens – Emil
Here is a more comprehensive guide that you should follow:
GENERAL CLEANING – HOW TO GET YOUR BOND BACK IN QLD
– Vacuum and clean all sliding door and window tracks. You will then probably have to get a damp cloth to wipe inside them all. Something I also need a screwdriver to get down deep where the vacuum can’t reach.
– Sweep & mop all uncarpeted floors, removing any marks.
– Clean Carpets by registered Carpet Cleaner to Australian Standard. Supply a paid invoice to your property manager.
– Fumigate for Fleas – by registered Pest Company, if pets were kept at the property. Supply a paid invoice to your property manager.
– Clean light fittings – gently remove light fittings, rinse to remove all the insects & clean.
– Clean marks off walls, ceilings, light switches & door handles.
– Clean curtains and blinds. The curtains may need to be dry cleaned. Binds take some time. You need to clean each blade top and bottom and it get all the dust that is around. The strings take time. Usually a damp cloth with frequent rinsing in between is very important.
– Remove all cobwebs and insect marks and nests.
– Clean skirting boards, windows including frames, sills, and tracks, above cupboards, picture rails.
– Architraves and both sides of all doors, all other fittings, and insect/security screens, etc.
KITCHEN CLEANING
– Clean the oven first. Budget for 2 hours, and 2 cans of oven cleaner. Take out all the trays, racks, and side racks. Use steel wool on the racks to remove all fat. Remove the top element to clean the ceiling.
– Replace water filter cartridges.
– Clean inside and outside of all cupboards and doors.
– Clean both inside and outside and around the stove.
– Clean inside, outside and behind refrigerator and dishwasher and microwave space.
– Clean sink, especially drain holes, drainers, and tap ware.
– Range hood exhaust and filter – filter can be removed and cleaned.
– Clean curtains and blinds.
– Clean out insects in lights.
– Replace any broken globes.
– Clean window tracks, window glass.
– Remove and clean fly screens.
– Clean blind or wash curtain.
– Power points and light switches need to be cleaned.
– Remove any spider webs.
BATHROOM
– Vacuum and clean all sliding door and window tracks. Often a brush, wet cloth and flat blade screw driver is needed to get into all the areas.
– Clean all cupboards and drawers internally and externally.
– Clean toilet, under seat, behind the cistern.
– Clean bath.
– Shower recess, remove soap residue on tiles and shower screens
– Use CRL to remove calcium build up on shower head, glass shower screens, drains.
– Tap ware, towel rails need to be wiped and calcium build up removed.
– Around taps clean grime build up.
– Clean water outlet in the shower.
– Clean in wardrobes, shelves, drawers, and mirrored doors. Remove scuff marks.
– Shower curtain washed with bleach or replaced if applicable.
– Exhaust fan. Remove cover and clean dust.
– Mould: Use a mould cleaner to remove any mould from the ceiling & walls.
– Tile grout: Clean dirt and mould front tile grout.
– Power points and light switches need to be cleaned.
– Remove any spider webs.
LAUNDRY
– Clean behind, inside, and around washing machine space.
– Clean equipment and filters if applicable.
– Clean in and out also behind the dryer. Remove lint.
– Clean inside and out of laundry tub, do the same for cabinets, shelves, drawers, tap ware.
– Clean up all walls and floors, ceiling.
– Mould: Use a mould cleaner to remove any mould from the ceiling & walls.
– Tile grout: Clean dirt and mould front tile grout.
– Power points and light switches need to be cleaned.
– Remove any spider webs.
GARAGE, CARPORT, DRIVEWAY
– Sweep out and remove any oil residue from concrete, pavers, paths, driveways.
– Empty Council bins and place bins out on footpath for next collection.
– Close and lock the garage door, if applicable.
– Clean windows.
– Power points and light switches need to be cleaned.
– Remove any spider webs.
VERANDAHS / DECKS / OUTDOOR AREA
– Sweep and mop, clean railings, glass, and light fittings.
– Remove all cobwebs, etc.
– Power points and light switches need to be cleaned.
AIR CONDITIONERS
– Clean all air conditioner units and filters.
GARDENS & LAWNS
– Mow the lawn, trim all edges, weed gardens, general garden tidy, remove all rubbish.
POOL
– Return pool to the condition as per condition report at the start of the tenancy and supply.
– Pool Test Report to agent – report to be completed on the end of tenancy date.
COMPLETE YOUR EXIT REPORT
You can obtain an exit report from the Qld RTA here. You need to fill this in, all tenants on the lease need to sign for it. Then supply it to your property manager. Your property manager will then do an inspection, take many photos, and then compare it against your entry condition report when you moved in.
CHECK YOUR ENTRY CONDITION REPORT
When you moved in, you would have been given a copy of this. But if you can’t find it, ask your property manager for a copy. It’s the ultimate guide on how the property needs to be left, how it was given to you. These look the same as the exit report. Ideally, ask the property manager for a copy of the photos taken too.
BOND REFUND REQUEST FROM THE RTA – HOT TO GET YOUR BOND BACK IN QLD
As of 2020 you can no longer use the old rental bond refund form. Yep, which you can do this here. Now the only solution is doing rental bonds online.
Before you start this online process, you will need the following:
– Your QGov login details (or create a QGov account).
– A bond number for a current tenancy.
– The handover or vacate date.
– Unique email addresses for all tenants.
– Your bank account details.
WHAT IF THERE IS A DISPUTE
Alert, alert, alert. Nasty. You really want to avoid this. We all do. Remember, we do want to give you your bond back. If you claim all your bond with the RTA and your property manager doesn’t agree, then your property manager will lodge a dispute with the RTA. As soon as this happens, reach out to your property manager to see why and see if you feel that’s fair. If the dispute with the RTA proceeds, an RTA mediation meeting will be booked. This is done over the phone with you, the property manager, and the RTA. They will discuss the disputer and try and mediate an agreement with all parties. Remember, these sessions need to be booked, so yep, a delay in getting your bond back has now been created.
Yikes. What’s worse, if an agreement can’t be made in this mediation session, it’s escalated to the QCat claim where you need to attend a court hearing and again further delays. If a property manager disputes your bond refund, they will have a very good reason to do this. Remember, this is their job. They are not trying to rip you off. They want to give you back in full from your rental bond refund, but only if it’s the warranty.
Recently a guy I work with moved out of a large beautiful home managed by another agency. Our advice gets a bond clean. He didn’t, and now he has a bond claim issue that’s dragging out.
PROBLEM AREAS THAT ALWAYS GET MISSED
Ovens – It’s common for a cleaner who has said they are a bond cleaner to say they have cleaned the oven and I then have to do it again. Properly. Ovens take me about 2 hours. You need to buy 2 cans of “easy off”. Remove the trays, racks, and rack sides. You also need to lower the oven element in the roof of the oven. Then spray Easy Off in the oven, inc the ceiling and leave for 30 minutes. While that’s cooking you need to do the same with the trays and racks. Best to do this outside as the fumes are nasty. Leave those for 30 minutes too.
Now I say you need 2 cans of easy off. That’s because often when you wipe all the goo, some will not budge and it needs a second go.
But wait there’s more. Did you know the oven glass comes out. You’ll need to Google instructions for your model, but you need to take the glass out so you can clean in the inside.
Lastly what about the oven door hinge. That’s a hot spot for goo, gunk and crumps. I find with the oven glass off, it allows me to get in and really give it a super clean out. This is why cleaning an oven takes me about 2 hours. You can apply the same process to BBQ’s and microwaves.
Fans – Dust on the top of the blades and pole of fans. You need a ladder, a damp rag and you need to rinse and repeat.
Blinds & Window Frames – Because each blade needs to be cleaned one at a time it’s easy to miss them just take your time and ensure you get around the cords too. Then dust sits in the window ledges so give all those a good wipe.
Air Con Vents – These come out and can be washed in the sink. When out you will also see in the air con around these would have collected dust too, it all needs to be wiped out.
Bathroom Exhaust Fans – These clips off and can also be washed in the basin.
Mould – Surface mould is the tenant’s responsibility it all needs to be cleaned. It can appear on walls like a faint film. It’s very common the bathroom grout and corners of baths and showers.
Tracks – Window tracks and sliding door tracks. I once spent 30 minutes just on one track getting 3 years of dog hair, mud and stuff out of a track, start with a vacuum, then a sweep, then a damp cloth a flat blade screen driver. Put on some Celine Dion and get comfy.
Fly Screens – Take these off the house and hose them.
Gutters & Eves – You are renting the entire house inside and out, get a high pressure cleaner and clean under the eaves and under the gutters, it helps to rub these first with a broom and some cleaning solution first to help with the process.
Weeds – Makes me laugh when I see tenants mow as the last thing they do. What get missed is the weeds are sill there, just shorter, you need to spray the weeds 4 weeks prior to vacate and 2 weeks prior to vacate with a broad leaf weed killer. That’s the way to do it properly.
WARNING: Bond Cleaners with guarantees: When booking a bond cleaner. If they offer a guarantee it has zero value unless they are available to return the day the property manager does the exit report. It’s very common for cleaners to offer a guarantee to return but they are not able to return soon enough, which makes their guarantee invalid.
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