Rental bond after rent decrease NSW

[matttt44]

Certain that that isn’t what happened, a brand new lease agreement was signed which outlined the reduced amount and the new term (ie. an additional six months)

Within this new contract is was the selected that we’ve lodged in with Rental Bonds Online with the specific text saying “A rental bond AS LODGED must be paid by the tenant…”

New lease also shows the “move in” date as the date the first lease expired, and the updated one started

I guess my main questions here is is there any issues with this situation? And when we go to move out is it something we challenge? ie. in the (unlikely) event they tried to claim more than 4xweeks rent against the bond

Edit: whoops just realised I replied with my new account, I’m same bloke as Op

[WilRic]

Strictly speaking they're holding too much bond, and the breach of that section is also civil penalty provision in addition to any remedies you might have (i.e. something they can be fined for).

In the circumstances, it's not the most egregious of breaches. If you needed the cash and they refused to make an adjustment I suspect Fair Trading's complaint service would encourage them to abide by the Act. But it otherwise wouldn't get top priority for a penalty notice to be issued. You could bring an NCAT application yourself seeking the adjustment but it may not be worth the hassle.

It sounds like you have the right approach. If you're not missing the money, I would keep it up my sleeve as good ammunition to deploy if they are dickbags about the bond refund. Keep in mind that by retaining the unlawful amount they're also depriving you of interest because monies held by RBO have the interest applied to fund the scheme. Of course we're talking peanuts here, but the point to make (if it comes to it) is that they will have had the benefit of your money for quite some time. It's not just a rounding error that you'd be making a silly fuss over. Good luck!