Your bond is held by Consumer Business Services (CBS) via Residential Bonds Online (RBO). We work to release the bond (less any outstanding amounts) in an efficient and timely manner. The advice here is provided to help the tenant understand the process so that their money is refunded at the earliest time.

The Vacate Letter:

You will need to carefully and comprehensively follow the guidelines of your ‘vacate letter’, which will be provided to you in advance of your intended departure.

Please take particular note of each item on your checklist and tick it off as you work through its requirements as this approach will aid in avoiding the potential lengthy delays in the bond refund process.

Cleaning standards and expectations – condition of the home:

Upon vacating the premises it should be left tidy and free of rubbish. The state of cleanliness of the property should be of a professional standard. 

The condition of the home of no less a state of repair than when you commenced your tenancy, save only damage or deterioration resulting from reasonable wear and tear. 

We would appreciate you raising with us any issues that in your opinion may or will affect the bond particularly if you are not to attend to them. Advance notice will enable us to resolve these issues in a timely manner.

Please note: If there are further works/cleaning that is required your bond cannot be released until we have obtained quotes/ invoices and the work is completed. 

Vacancy inspection:

We always conduct the vacancy inspection shortly after you actually vacate the property leaving it void of all your chattels. It is only with all personal belongings removed that we will be able to carry out a thorough final inspection. 

Once we have inspected the property we will immediately commence the process of addressing any issues that could possibly effect your bond. 

Please note that the power must remain connected until your final inspection is carried out. 

If the power is disconnected this will delay the process of your bond being released, as we will need to re connect the power to facilitate the final inspection and if necessary, order cleaning which will require a power supply, and sufficient lighting for general cleaning. 

If the power is disconnected, the re connection of power  may result in a further cost to the tenant.

Role of the Landlord:

If there are no issues at the final inspection the process for bond refunds is simple and quick!

All bond refunds and any issues are to be discussed with the owner of the property before advising you of the final outcome. We will then communicate the vendor’s requirements to you along with final calculations such as rent, outstanding water, final water and any other invoices. All will then be provided to you via email.

Matters that are in dispute have the potential to result in frustration. It helps to recognise that it is not the Property Manager who is on control of the position adopted by the Landlord but we are duty bound to advocate and negotiate on their behalf.

Our approach is to maintain a calm and respectful approach to discussions and negotiations. Where and when such discussions descend into abuse from the tenant of the property manager, we work under instructions from our employer to respectfully decline any further verbal negotiations and move to resolve the matter via written correspondence only. This approach may result in delays in arriving at a resolution. 

If agreement cannot be made as to how the bond is refunded, the process from here is to proceed to SACAT as a bond dispute. Please note this will delay any refund substantially.

Process of your online bond refund – CBS RBO 

Once we negotiate and or resolve any outstanding issues that are in dispute, you property manager will activate the bond refund online through RBO. 

You will then receive an email requesting for you to create your account if you haven’t already done so. Once you have created your account you need to activate the request of the refund. If there is any money that is being held, it will appear as a deduction for you to approve or decline.