My Landlord is Refusing to Give My Money Back

If you want to vacate the apartment or a house you have rented, is your Landlord complaining that you have damaged the place? Is your Landlord refusing to give your Bond Money back? We often have students come to us for help with these problems.
LegalCounsel@CrossCulture gives this advice:

1. When you move into a rented property, always take good, clear photos of every part of the place. Keep these photos. You may need to rely on these for evidence, if your Landlord tries to withhold your Bond Money when you move out. Do this even if you are only moving into a rented room in a Boarding House or into a property that someone else has leased in their name.
2. If there are already some damaged areas, take special close-up photos of the damage.
3. By email, promptly send all your photos to the Landlord, or to the person to whom you pay your rent.
4. Ask that person or the Landlord to kindly acknowledge receipt of your email by email reply.
5. Keep your email and that person’s email reply. You may need to rely on it inevidence if there is a Bong dispute when you move out.
6. If you are signing a Residential Tenancy Agreement, your Landlord must give you a “Condition Report” to fill in and return to the Landlord or Real Estate Agent. It is a sheet of paper with spaces on it to fill in. Your job is to clearly state the actualcondition of each room. You must note down on the Condition Report, all damage that you can see. Don’t forget to include things like: cracks in tiles; paint chips on the doors or the walls; any burn marks in the kitchen; any significant scratch marks on the floors; any buckling or sagging of cupboard shelves in any room; any stains on the bath or shower tiles; anything that is broken; any power points or light fittings that do not work.

If you get into trouble, and need legal help to get back your Bond,
Counsel@CrossCulture is open to everyone.
You don’t have to attend a church to attend Counsel@CrossCulture.

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Pastor Mike Kirkpatrick, Lawyer / Legal Counsellor
BA, LLB, M.Div; T. 9639 3875; 0432 339 582; E. mike@legalcc.net.au

Appointments may also be made online at:
http://appointment.counselcc.net.au.

Photo: xedos4, freedigitalphotos.net