Before you move out: the four-week prep
Most bond losses are decided in the four weeks before you hand the keys back, not at the end. The agent will compare your move-out condition to the ingoing condition report — so your move-out paper trail has to be as strong as theirs.
Find your ingoing condition report
This is the document you signed (or should have signed) when you moved in. It records the condition of every room. If you can't find a copy, ask the agent — they're legally required to give you one within seven days of move-in. If they never gave one, that's already a strong point in your favour.
Photograph everything before you clean
Then again after you clean. Date-stamped, well-lit, room by room. Particularly: carpets, walls, ovens, bathrooms, windows, blinds, balconies. These are the four areas where bond claims most commonly land.
Clean to a “reasonable” standard, not “professional”
Your obligation under s. 51 is to leave the property in “substantially the same condition” as you found it, fair wear and tear excepted. That doesn't mean professional bond clean — and any clause in your lease that mandates a professional clean is likely unenforceable. Clean it yourself, photograph the result, and don't pay for a $400 bond clean unless the landlord has a specific itemised concern.
Step 1 · Hand back the keys and request a final inspection
Email the agent confirming when you're vacating. Request a final inspection within seven days of move-out, and ask to be present. If they refuse to let you be present, that's noted and challengeable.
Step 2 · Lodge the bond claim form
The NSW Rental Bond Board holds your bond. To get it released, someone has to lodge a claim form — either you (as tenant), the landlord, or both jointly.
If the landlord and agent agree you get all of it back: they should lodge a joint claim form. You both sign. Bond comes back within 14 days.
If they want to keep some of it:they have to lodge a claim form specifying what they're deducting and why. You then have 14 days to either accept the claim or dispute it.
If neither party lodges anything:the bond sits at the Bond Board indefinitely. After 6 months you can lodge a unilateral claim — the Bond Board will write to the landlord, and if they don't respond within 14 days, you get it all back automatically.
Step 3 · If the landlord claims against your bond
Read the claim form carefully. It must specify what they're deducting and roughly why. Vague claims (“general cleaning”, “wear and tear”, “damages”) without itemised reasoning are challengeable on that basis alone.
Then write back to the agent in writing. Be calm, be specific, accept what's fair, dispute the rest.
Template — bond dispute letter
[Date]
[Agent name]
[Agency name]
[Address]
Re: Bond claim against tenancy [property address] — bond reference [if available]
Dear [Agent name],
Thank you for your bond claim form dated [date] proposing deductions of $[total] against my $[bond amount] bond. I've reviewed each item against the condition of the property at move-out and the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW).
I agree to:
[List the legitimate items — e.g. “$200 carpet steam clean — I acknowledged in my email of 12 May that I caused the stain.”]
I dispute the following items:
[For each disputed item, state the item and the reason in one sentence each — e.g. “Wall repainting $700 — fair wear and tear after 3 years of occupancy under s. 51(2). No basis to deduct repainting costs for normal aging.” / “General cleaning $400 — no itemised invoice provided. Under s. 162 a landlord cannot claim bond without proof of expense.”]
I'm requesting return of $[fair amount] directly. If we cannot reach agreement within 14 days, I'll lodge a dispute with NSW Fair Trading and, if necessary, apply to NCAT for orders.
Kind regards,
[Your name]
Template for educational use. Send by email and post. Save read-receipts.
Step 4 · NSW Fair Trading mediation
If the landlord refuses to budge after your letter, lodge a dispute with NSW Fair Trading (call 13 32 20 or use the online form). Fair Trading will contact the landlord or agent and try to mediate. It's free, takes a few weeks, and resolves a surprising number of disputes — agents often back down once Fair Trading is involved because the alternative is a formal NCAT process.
Bring to mediation:
- · Ingoing and outgoing condition reports.
- · Photos from move-in and move-out.
- · All emails and texts about the bond claim.
- · The original bond claim form and your dispute letter.
- · Any invoices the landlord has produced.
Step 5 · NCAT application
If Fair Trading mediation doesn't resolve it, apply to NCAT (Consumer and Commercial Division) for orders.
- · Filing fee: approximately $55, waivable on hardship grounds.
- · Hearing: typically 6-8 weeks after lodgement.
- · What you ask for: orders that the bond be released to you, and that the landlord pay any costs of the application.
- · Onus: the landlord must prove their claim — produce invoices, photos, the cause of damage, the reasonable cost. If they can't, the claim fails.
Renterprise's NCAT case builder generates the full 13-document pack — application form, statement of facts, chronology, evidence index, submissions — ready to file.
Renterprise bond return
Bond claim already landed?
Paste the claim text into the bond tool. We'll give you an Honest Assessment — what's legitimate (accept), what's worth challenging, what to back down on. Plus a drafted dispute letter ready to send.
Try a bond checkThe four most common deductions, and which actually hold up
“Carpet cleaning” ($150-$400)
MaybeA mandatory professional clean clause in your lease is unenforceable. But if you genuinely stained or damaged the carpet, a clean is legitimate. The landlord must provide an itemised invoice for actual work done, not a quote.
“Repainting” ($500-$2,000)
Almost always disputableWall scuffing and faded paint after any meaningful tenancy is fair wear and tear under s. 51(2). The landlord cannot deduct repainting unless there's genuine damage beyond normal use — and even then, depreciation applies. See our fair wear article for where the line sits.
“General cleaning” ($200-$600)
Almost always disputableIf you left the property reasonably clean and there's no itemised invoice from a cleaner, this claim fails under s. 162. Ask for the invoice. If they can't produce one, dispute the whole amount.
“Damage” ($variable)
Case by caseReal damage (holes punched in walls, burnt carpet, broken appliances) is the landlord's to claim — but only at depreciated value, with itemised invoice, and with proof you caused it (not pre-existing damage shown on your ingoing condition report).
Key deadlines
- · Within 14 days of receiving the landlord's bond claim: lodge a dispute via NSW Fair Trading if you don't agree.
- · Within 6 months of move-out: apply for unilateral release if neither party has lodged a claim.
- · Within 3 months of an NCAT order: the Bond Board must release in accordance with the order.
- · Statute of limitations: generally 6 years on monetary claims, but earlier action is always better.
When to back down
Renterprise isn't a tenant cheerleader. If you genuinely damaged something and the landlord wants a reasonable amount with a proper invoice, the right move is to accept the deduction and move on. Disputing a legitimate claim is a fast path to legal costs at NCAT plus a worse reference for your next tenancy.
That's why the bond tool leads with what we call an Honest Assessment— “$200 is fair, $700 is worth challenging, of $900 claimed.” The split lets you focus your energy on the items where you'll actually win, and the landlord sees you're negotiating in good faith.
Written by Mya Bertolini, USYD Law and paralegal at Turks Legal. Educational only, not legal advice. For complex matters — particularly anything heading to a contested NCAT hearing — contact the Tenants' Union of NSW on 1800 251 101.