You can transfer your bond money from your current rental property to your new one, instead of paying the new bond upfront.
This means you won’t be out of pocket by having to pay a new bond while waiting for your previous bond to be refunded.
Eligibility for transferring a bond
You are eligible to transfer your bond if:
- your previous bond is unclaimed and held with the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA)
- your previous bond isn’t suspended and doesn’t have pending transactions against it
- the same renters are listed on both the existing and new bond
- both rental properties are in Victoria
- all renters listed on the bond agree to the Terms and Conditions.
Exclusions
Your bond is not eligible for transfer if:
- renters in a share house are moving to different properties
- you live in a rooming house, caravan park or Part4A dwelling (residential park)
- your bond is funded by a Homes Victoria loan
- you owe money to the Victorian Government for a previous bond transfer.
You can check if your bond is eligible to transfer by looking at your Bond Summary on the RTBA website.
How to transfer your bond
- Tell your rental provider or estate agent at the new property that you’ll pay the bond directly to the RTBA.
- Once your rental provider lodges the bond request, you will get an email from the RTBA asking you to review and complete your bond lodgement.
- If you’re eligible, you need to opt in, agree to the Terms and Conditions and pay a $25 application fee to transfer the bond. If your new bond is higher than your current bond, you’ll need to pay the difference.
Bond claims and disputes
There is no change to the standard RTBA bond claim process or to the dispute process for bond claims.
If you do not agree with the bond claim made by your previous rental provider, you can dispute it through Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria or VCAT.
After a bond has transferred under the Portable Rental Bond Scheme, the rental provider for the first property may still make a bond claim. If this happens and the claim is successful, the Government will pay out the claim for the first property to the rental provider on your behalf, up to the total bond amount. That amount then becomes a bond repayment owed by you as the renter to the State.
Bond repayment options
If you owe money on a previous bond transfer, we will notify you about repayment options. If you’re experiencing financial hardship, payment plans are available.
Standard terms include 8 weeks to pay the claim with reminder notices sent after that period. Renters that have money owing on a previous transfer are not eligible to use the scheme.
No action is needed from the rental provider.
Read more about the State Government’s:
Bond closure
The RTBA will close the bond when the balance is $0 after the bond has been claimed or transferred.
Resources
Download:
Updated