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Getting your bond back in NSW: an end-of-lease checklist for Lane Cove renters

Your bond can be up to four weeks' rent, and the order you do things in on the way out (notice, truck, clean, inspection, claim) is what protects it.

A NSW rental bond can be no more than 4 weeks' rent, which makes it one of the larger sums most renters ever hand over. Getting it back comes down to doing a short list of things in the right order. The order matters most on moving day. Fair Trading's moving-out steps put the final inspection after the place is clean and empty. That means your removal booking has to leave time for both.

Here is how to plan the end of a lease, working back from the day the truck arrives.

Work back from moving day: the order that protects your bond

Timeline from the rental's front door to the kerb: give notice 21 days before moving day on a periodic agreement or 14 days at the end of a fixed term; on moving day move out by the date on your notice; truck leaves and the home is empty; clean to original condition; final inspection and condition report completed; keys and other items returned; lodge bond claim on Rental Bonds Online; landlord or agent has up to 14 days to accept; refund about 2 business days after acceptance if your details are correct; update your address through Service NSW. Front door Kerb Give notice 21 daysperiodicagreement 14 daysend of afixed term Moving dayMove out by the dateon your notice Truck leaves,home is empty Clean to originalcondition Final inspection,condition reportcompleted Keys and otheritems returned Lodge bond claimon Rental BondsOnline Landlord or agenthas up to 14 daysto accept Refund about 2business days afteracceptance, if yourdetails are correct Update youraddress throughService NSW Timeline from the rental's front door to the kerb: give notice 21 days before moving day on a periodic agreement or 14 days at the end of a fixed term; on moving day move out by the date on your notice; truck leaves and the home is empty; clean to original condition; final inspection and condition report completed; keys and other items returned; lodge bond claim on Rental Bonds Online; landlord or agent has up to 14 days to accept; refund about 2 business days after acceptance if your details are correct; update your address through Service NSW. Front door Kerb Give notice 21 days: periodic agreement 14 days: end of a fixed term Moving dayMove out by the date on your notice Truck leaves, home is empty Clean to original condition Final inspection, condition reportcompleted Keys and other items returned Lodge bond claim onRental Bonds Online Landlord or agent has up to 14days to accept Refund about 2 business daysafter acceptance, if yourdetails are correct Update your address throughService NSW
Source: nsw.gov.au

Start with the date on your notice and count backwards. Fair Trading's moving-out steps run in this order: understand your minimum notice period, give notice and move out by the date on it, leave the property clean and empty, do a final inspection, arrange the bond refund, then change your address.

Two things follow for anyone booking a move.

First, the truck is not the last job. Empty rooms still need a clean, and the inspection comes after that.

Second, the bond claim sits at the very end. You can claim before the tenancy ends only with the landlord or agent's written agreement, or if you are directing the full bond to them.

What has to be done before your bond comes back

NSW Fair Trading's getting your bond back page lists what the tenant must have done:

  • paid rent up to the end of the notice period, or the moving date if you are breaking the lease early
  • cleaned the property "to match its original condition"
  • removed all personal things
  • repaired damage beyond fair wear and tear
  • signed off the condition report
  • returned all keys and other items.

None of this guarantees the full bond back. A landlord or agent can still claim against it. They need evidence to do so, which is why your condition report and photos matter so much (more on that below).

How much notice you have to give

SituationMinimum notice
Periodic agreement21 days
End of a fixed term14 days
Co-tenant ending their own tenancy21 days
Other situations (breach, early exit, domestic violence): see Fair Trading's full table

For most renters, two numbers cover it. On a periodic agreement, the minimum notice is 21 days. At the end of a fixed term, it is 14 days. A co-tenant ending their own tenancy also needs 21 days.

Tenants cannot end a fixed term early except in special cases. If your situation is anything other than the two above, read Fair Trading's full table of grounds on the minimum notice periods page, or get advice. Don't guess.

A quick piece of working (ours, not Fair Trading's): 21 days is exactly three weeks, so notice given on a Tuesday makes the earliest move-out date you can name a Tuesday. Fourteen days is two weeks, same weekday again. You can always name a later date. That makes it easy to see early whether your date falls on a weekend or a public holiday, when removal bookings and building access can both be harder.

Book the truck around the clean and the final inspection

Two movers standing at the open tail of a removal truck on a leafy street, straps and moving blankets ready to load
Illustration: an open truck tail with straps and moving blankets, ready to load.

This is where most end-of-lease stress comes from: a move booked for the last afternoon, a clean squeezed into the evening, and an inspection the next morning with no buffer.

A better shape for the day:

  • Move out first. Get the furniture and boxes out early enough that the rooms are empty while there is still light and time.
  • Clean the empty rooms. It is far quicker without furniture in the way, and you can see the marks furniture was hiding.
  • Then inspect. The landlord or agent must give you a reasonable opportunity to attend the final inspection. If you don't show, the report may be filled out without you. Be there.

If you are leaving a unit, your building may also want a lift booking for move-out day. Our guide to booking a lift and loading dock covers what to ask your strata manager, so the lift is not the thing that pushes your clean back.

Fair wear and tear or damage: what moving day can turn into a deduction

ItemFair wear and tearDamage
CurtainsFadedMissing or torn
CarpetFurniture indentations, traffic marksStains or burns
Wooden floorsScuffedBadly gouged
PaintFaded or chippedUnapproved paint job, or paint damaged removing blu-tack or sticky-tape posters
BenchtopWornBurns or cuts
HingesLoose hingesNot listed
Sliding tracksWorn sliding tracksNot listed
GlassNot listedBroken glass

Shaded rows: most at risk on moving day

You must leave the property "as near as possible" to its starting condition, but you are not responsible for fair wear and tear.

"as near as possible" to the starting condition

Fair Trading draws the line with paired examples on its fair wear and tear versus damage page. Faded curtains are wear; torn or missing ones are damage. Furniture indentations and traffic marks in carpet are wear; stains and burns are damage. Scuffed wooden floors are wear; badly gouged ones are damage. Faded or chipped paint is wear; paint pulled off by blu-tack or sticky-tape posters is damage.

Look at that damage column with a removalist's eye. Gouged floors, scraped walls and torn curtains are exactly what a rushed move-out leaves behind. Some general habits that help:

  • Protect the path. Lay blankets or runners along the route from each room to the door, especially on timber floors.
  • Pad the pinch points. Door frames, hallway corners and stair turns take the knocks. In older walk-up blocks and split-level houses around the valley, the stair turn is usually the tightest spot.
  • Lift, don't drag. Dragging a bed base or bookcase is how floors get gouged.
  • Take curtains down or tie them back before large items pass windows.
  • Take posters down slowly, and before moving day, so you are not peeling tape off walls in a hurry.
  • Walk the rooms with your move-in condition report in hand once they are empty, so you know which marks were already there.

One more point from Fair Trading: tenants are not financially responsible for damage caused by domestic abuse if they are not the perpetrator.

Your condition report is your evidence

The condition report is filled in at the start and end of a tenancy, and you should keep your copy. It is the record you returned within seven days of moving in, and it is what your exit gets compared against.

Fair Trading says more detail, including time-stamped photos, makes disputes less likely. So before you hand the keys back, photograph every room once it is clean and empty: floors, walls, benchtops, inside cupboards, window tracks. Match the angles to any move-in photos you took if you can.

At move-out the report is completed by the landlord or agent and tenant in each other's presence, or without one of them if they were given a reasonable opportunity to attend. Another reason not to schedule the inspection for a time you might miss.

How to claim your bond, and how long it takes

How a bond claim moves. Rental Bonds Online: lodge claim, landlord or agent accepts within up to 14 days, refund by direct deposit about 2 business days later if details are correct. Paper form: landlord or agent does not sign, tenant submits anyway, landlord has 14 days to dispute, no dispute means Fair Trading pays after 14 days. Either lane can become disputed: a claim needs evidence, claiming without it breaches the Residential Tenancies Act 2010, complain to NSW Fair Trading. Still unresolved leads to NCAT. Advice: Tenants' Union of NSW. Rental BondsOnline Lodge claim Landlord or agentaccepts withinup to 14 days Refund by directdeposit about 2business days later,if details are correct Paper form Landlord or agentdoes not sign Tenant submitsanyway Landlord has14 days to dispute No dispute: FairTrading paysafter 14 days Advice:Tenants' Unionof NSW DisputedA claim needs evidence. Claiming without itbreaches the Residential Tenancies Act 2010;complain to NSW Fair Trading. Still unresolved NCAT How a bond claim moves. Rental Bonds Online: lodge claim, landlord or agent accepts within up to 14 days, refund by direct deposit about 2 business days later if details are correct. Paper form: landlord or agent does not sign, tenant submits anyway, landlord has 14 days to dispute, no dispute means Fair Trading pays after 14 days. Either lane can become disputed: a claim needs evidence, claiming without it breaches the Residential Tenancies Act 2010, complain to NSW Fair Trading. Still unresolved leads to NCAT. Advice: Tenants' Union of NSW. Rental BondsOnline Lodge claim Landlord or agentaccepts within upto 14 days Refund by directdeposit about 2business days later,if details arecorrect Paper form Landlord or agentdoes not sign Tenant submitsanyway Landlord has 14days to dispute No dispute: FairTrading pays after14 days DisputedA claim needs evidence. Claiming withoutit breaches the Residential Tenancies Act2010; complain to NSW Fair Trading. Still unresolved NCAT Advice:Tenants' Unionof NSW
Source: nsw.gov.au

If your bond was lodged through Rental Bonds Online, you claim it there, and you don't need to wait for the landlord to release the bond. Once you lodge, the landlord or agent has up to 14 days to accept. Once they accept, the refund should arrive in two business days by direct deposit, provided your details are correct. Double-check your bank details before you submit.

Our estimate of the outside case, if the agent takes the full window and then accepts: 14 days plus two business days, so allow roughly two and a half weeks before counting on the money for your next place. It can be quicker. It is not a promise either way.

With a paper form, if the landlord or agent won't sign, you can still submit it. They then have 14 days to dispute it, and if they don't, Fair Trading pays after 14 days.

Sharing a rental? The principal tenant claims on behalf of all co-tenants and distributes the refund, so agree how it will be split before anyone moves out.

If the landlord or agent claims against your bond

A claim against your bond needs evidence. If the landlord or agent claims without your agreement, you get a Notice of Claim with a 14-day notice period to respond, and they must give you a copy of the condition report completed at the end of the tenancy plus copies of any quotes, invoices or receipts within 7 days of making the claim. If a landlord or agent claims without providing it, that is a breach of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010, and you can lodge a complaint with NSW Fair Trading.

If you still can't agree, the dispute can go to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT). For advice on your situation, Fair Trading says to go to the Tenants' Union of NSW for legal advice. This article is a planning guide, not legal advice: talk to them before you decide what to do.

After the keys go back, change your address

The last step on Fair Trading's list is updating your details through Service NSW: driver's licence, vehicle registration, e-toll, electoral roll, concession cards, Opal card and pet registration. It takes a few minutes and is easy to forget once the boxes are unpacked.

Your next step

Once your notice is in, you have a fixed date to plan around. Send Lane Cove Removals your move-out date, both addresses and when your final inspection is booked through our quote page. Your enquiry goes to our partner removalist, who quotes for your move, and that callback is the place to settle a moving time that leaves room for the clean before the inspection. If you are moving out of a unit, read the lift and loading dock guide at the same time.

Sources

The next step

Tell us about both doors

Five minutes of form beats a week of phone tag. Two addresses, the size of the place, the access story at each end: from that our partner removalist sizes the crew, names the hourly rate and rings you back with the day already sketched.

Get a quote Plan both ends first