Bond disputes at the Tenancy Tribunal: the documents to gather

How a refund becomes a dispute

A landlord must lodge the bond with Tenancy Services within 23 working days of receiving it, and give the tenant a receipt. At the end of the tenancy, a correctly completed refund form signed by both parties is processed within about 10 working days. The dispute starts when one party will not sign, or when one party applies for the refund alone. If the tenant has not agreed, they should tell Tenancy Services in writing that the bond is not to be released, so a one-party claim is not paid out while the argument continues.

Either party can then apply to the Tenancy Tribunal. Tenancy Services usually arranges mediation first. If mediation fails or is refused, an adjudicator hears the matter.

What the Tribunal can do

• Hear residential tenancy claims up to $100,000, bond money included. Unit title disputes have a lower limit.
• Order the application fee to be paid by the other party. The fee is small ($29 at the time of writing) and the applicant has to ask for it when applying.
• Order a penalty where a bond was not lodged. An unlodged bond is a claim in its own right, and the penalty can reach $1,000.
• Restrict representation. Parties usually appear for themselves, and lawyers appear only in limited situations. Much of a lawyer's work on a bond dispute is building the file the client will present.

The documents that decide it

• The tenancy agreement, including any clauses about cleaning, carpets, pets and the garden.
• The bond lodgement receipt, or the bond number from Tenancy Services.
• Entry and exit inspection reports, and every photo taken at the start and end of the tenancy, with the dates they were taken.
• The rent ledger or bank statements showing what was paid and when.
• Messages and emails about the damage, the cleaning or the arrears, in order.
• Invoices or quotes the other party relies on, and comparable quotes if the amounts look high.
• Any 14-day notice to remedy and the reply to it.

Reading the file like an adjudicator

Hearings are short and less formal than a court, and the adjudicator wants to know three things: what the property looked like at the start, what it looked like at the end, and what the agreement says about the difference. Fair wear and tear is not the tenant's to pay for; damage is, unless the landlord's insurance position changes that. Arrange the photos in pairs, room by room, start beside end, and label each pair. Witnesses are better in person than on paper.

At intake

Ask for the end date of the tenancy, whether a refund form has gone in, the bond number and the inspection reports, in that order. The client intake checklist has the tenancy list to send the client. A client who reaches the firm through a Sidqo link uploads the agreement and the photos from their phone, and the case file arrives with the documents named and sorted.