Disputing bond and compensation claims

The community housing provider must make sure your rented home is reasonably clean on the day you move in. You are then expected to keep it reasonably clean.

When you move out, you should leave the property in the same condition as when you moved in. The community housing provider cannot ask you to leave it cleaner than when you moved in.

You are not responsible for fair wear and tear, like traffic marks on the carpet. If the community housing provider wants these removed, it has to pay for the cleaning work.

It is a good idea to take photos when you move in and when you move out, so you have evidence of the condition of the property. Also look at the condition report from when you moved in and when you moved out. Find out more on this website about condition reports.

For more on cleanliness, including what ‘reasonably clean’ means, see our page on the Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines. These are official guidelines that set out how renters and rental providers (like community housing providers) must follow the rental laws.

Professional cleaning

If the community housing provider insists you use professional cleaners or get the carpets steam cleaned, you don’t necessarily have to, even if your lease (officially called a rental agreement) says so.

Some leases dated after 29 March 2021 include a term about professional cleaning, or cleaning to a professional standard. This only applies if:

• The property was professionally cleaned, or cleaned to a professional standard, immediately before you moved in, and the community housing provider told you this had been done, or
• Professional cleaning, or cleaning to a professional standard, is needed to restore the property to the same condition as when you moved in, taking into account fair wear and tear

If your lease says anything else about professional cleaning, like having to get the carpets steam cleaned, you can argue that this is not valid under the law. The law says you must leave the property reasonably clean, and you cannot be asked to do more than the law requires. Find out more about what can be included in leases on our page about rental agreements (leases).

Amount claimed for cleaning

If you agree that you didn’t do all the cleaning you should have done, but think the community housing provider is claiming too much to get it done professionally, get evidence to show this. For example, contact cleaning companies to see how their rates compare with what the community housing provider is claiming.

Your community housing provider can only claim costs for damage if you or a visitor damaged your home either intentionally or through negligence. The community housing provider should give you the opportunity to explain how the damage happened. If needed, you can back up your explanation with statements from support workers, medical practitioners, witnesses, the police and others.

If damage is due to fair wear and tear from everyday use, it is not your responsibility. For example, if the carpet has become worn over time by people walking on it, this is fair wear and tear. If the community housing provider wants to replace anything that has worn out, it has to cover the cost.

You also don’t have to pay for damage caused before you moved in or after you moved out and returned the keys. You can use condition reports, photos and statements from witnesses as evidence of what the property was like when you moved in and when you moved out. As a precaution, you could ask someone you know to check the property when you move in and again when you move out, in case you need a witness statement

For more on the difference between damage and fair wear and tear, see our page on the Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines. These are official guidelines that set out how renters and rental providers (like community housing providers) must follow the rental laws.

Amount claimed for damage

If you agree you caused damage but think the amount the community housing provider is claiming is too high, get evidence to show this. For example, if the claim is to repair or replace something, get your own quotes from shops or tradespeople to show that the claim is for too much.

The community housing provider’s claim must be in proportion to the damage caused. For example, it cannot claim for the cost of repainting the entire house if paintwork is damaged in just one room.

The claim must also allow for ‘depreciation’, which means the older something gets, the less it is worth. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has a rental properties depreciation guide with information on depreciation over time, including a table of common household items. VCAT uses this guide when looking at claims.

For example, carpets installed before 1 July 2019 have a life span of 10 years, meaning they decline in value by 10% every year. If your loungeroom carpet was installed 7 years ago at a cost of $1000, and the community housing provider wants you to replace it, you would only be responsible for $300, which is the remaining 3 years of value left in the carpet. If the carpet is more than 10 years old, the value is zero.

In some situations, you may be exempt from a community housing provider claim. Exemptions can be based on Victoria’s rental laws or on the community housing provider’s own policies (rules).

The law will reject your community housing provider’s damage claim if:

• The damage is considered fair wear and tear. For more about fair wear and tear, see our page on the Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines
• Previous repairs completed by the community housing provider did not meet the required standards
• The damage was caused by someone else’s criminal actions, and it was beyond your control to stop it happening
• The damage was caused by natural disasters, such as storms or floods
• The property is vacant and it is not clear who is responsible for the damage

The community housing provider will also consider your individual and household’s circumstances when assessing whether to make a claim. Some circumstances may reduce the amount you are asked to pay or may mean a claim is not made at all. These circumstances include:

• Family violence – for example, you had to leave the property at short notice because of family violence and were unable to clean before you left or to take all of your belongings
• Disability or health conditions – for example, you have a physical disability that made it difficult for you to scrub the bathroom, or your wheelchair damaged the floor
• Mental health conditions – for example, you had an acute psychotic episode during which you damaged the property
• Children with a disability such as difficulty with mobility or emotional regulation

Your community housing provider may meet with you to develop a plan to minimise the risk of damage or uncleanliness happening again.

Each community housing provider has its own policies on bond and compensation claims. We recommend you check your community housing provider’s website for its policies or ask for a copy to be sent to you. Find out more on this page about checking your community housing provider’s policies.

If you are not satisfied with your community housing provider’s decision, you can make an appeal or a complaint.

Your community housing provider can apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) to claim some or all of your bond. If it wants more than your bond amount, it can make a claim for your bond plus compensation.

Under Victoria’s rental laws, rental providers (such as community housing providers) can claim up to $40,000 in a single bond and compensation application.

It is important to remember that a large claim does not mean your community housing provider will succeed. If you do not reach an agreement at RDRV, it must prove its losses at a formal VCAT hearing. For example, if it claims $30,000 but cannot provide proper evidence of its losses, VCAT could reject its claim entirely or reduce it to a much smaller amount.

Sometimes community housing providers make unfair or exaggerated claims against renters. This can happen when the community housing provider doesn’t take into account normal wear and tear or depreciation, or assumes that any repairs needed after you move out are for damage you caused. If your community housing provider is being unreasonable and you cannot reach an agreement at RDRV, it is okay to let the dispute go to a formal VCAT hearing so that an independent decision can be made on what is fair.

If your community housing provider makes a large claim, this page has information on where to get help.

You do not need to agree to pay just because the community housing provider wants you to.

If you accept that you are responsible for damage or cleaning costs and agree on the amount with your community housing provider, make sure you get the agreement in writing.

The agreement should clearly say:

• What you have agreed to pay for – specifically, the extent of damage or cleaning you agree you are responsible for
• How much you have agreed to pay
• How it will be paid, such as through a joint bond claim to the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA)
• That the community housing provider will not make any further claim against you for this issue in the future

You have 2 payment options:

• Pay the amount in full, or
• Enter into a payment agreement to pay the amount off in weekly or fortnightly instalments that you can afford

You should get a receipt for any payment you make to the community housing provider.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, seek financial advice before entering into any payment agreement. Find out about free financial counselling on our page on financial hardship.

If you do not agree you are responsible for any of the claim, or do not agree on the amount of the claim, the community housing provider will need to apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) to resolve the dispute. Find out more on this page about next steps if you do not agree you are responsible for costs.

If you think the community housing provider’s claim is not in line with its own policies (rules), you may wish to request an ‘internal appeal’ or make a complaint.

Community housing providers are required to have processes for internal appeals and complaints. To find out how to appeal against a decision or make a complaint, check your community housing provider’s policies.

Generally, if you request an internal appeal, your community housing provider should not apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) until after it has made a decision about your request.

If your community housing provider has already applied to RDRV, you should ask for an explanation of how the claim against you aligns with its policies. You can also raise its policies at RDRV to show that the claim against you does not align with them. You can still request an internal appeal, even if the dispute goes to RDRV.

If the dispute is not resolved at RDRV and is referred to VCAT before your community housing provider has made a decision about your appeal, you should ask VCAT to reschedule (adjourn) the hearing until your community housing provider has made a decision. In most cases, your community housing provider should agree to having the hearing adjourned.

If you need legal advice or are having difficulty getting your community housing provider’s policies, see the information on this page about how to get help.

If your community housing provider applies to RDRV, it must give you a copy of the application and any documents or evidence attached to it.

An RDRV resolution coordinator will contact you to find out your perspective on the dispute, and may then invite you to participate in dispute resolution at RDRV. For more on the RDRV process, see our page about going to RDRV (Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria).

If you think further negotiation won’t help or that your community housing provider is being unreasonable, you can choose not to participate in RDRV. You can tell the resolution coordinator that you want the dispute to go straight to a formal VCAT hearing.

If your community housing provider wants your bond after you applied to get it back from the RTBA

If you apply to the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA) to get your bond back, and your community housing provider applies to RDRV for part or all of your bond within 14 days of your RTBA application, the RTBA will hold your bond until you and your community housing provider reach an agreement at RDRV, or VCAT makes an order about how the bond should be paid. Find out more on our page about bonds.

If you have experienced family or personal violence

If you experience family or personal violence during the tenancy, and your community housing provider applies to RDRV, let the resolution coordinator know as soon as possible. They should refer the application directly to VCAT for a formal hearing.

Generally, the RDRV process of discussion or mediation is not considered appropriate in circumstances of family or personal violence.

Family violence is committed by a relative, partner or former partner, or someone who is like family. Personal violence is committed by someone who is not family. Violence may also include financial, emotional and other types of coercive control.

If the matter goes to VCAT, the VCAT family violence team can support you. Find out more on the VCAT website about family violence support.

If you experience family or personal violence during your tenancy, it may help to tell your community housing provider. Your community housing provider may have internal policies that mean you are eligible for a ‘waiver’ (which means you won’t have to pay the claim amount) or that the amount you have to pay is reduced. Your community housing provider may also be able to offer extra support or connect you with specialist services.

There is also more information on our page about family violence.

Get together any evidence that will help you dispute your community housing provider’s claim.

This may include:

• Condition reports from when you moved in and when you moved out
• Photos of the property at the time you moved in and, if you have moved out, at the time you left
• Receipts for any cleaning you may have done, or arranged to be done
• Your own quotes for cleaning, repairing or replacing items, if you want to show that the amount the community housing provider is asking for is unreasonable
• Any statements from witnesses that support what you are saying
• Any communication you have had with the community housing provider about the claim

The resolution coordinator will let you know if you need to provide further documents or evidence at Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV). Your community housing provider may also ask you to provide evidence during an RDRV session, and you can ask it to do the same.

For more on providing documents and evidence at RDRV, see our page about going to RDRV (Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria).

This example about a claim for damage to a carpet shows how you can approach collecting evidence for Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) or a formal VCAT hearing.

The community housing provider’s claim

After you move out, your community housing provider makes a claim for the full replacement cost of new, high-quality carpet throughout the property because there is a small stain on the carpet in one of the rooms, caused while you were living there. It says that if the carpet is replaced in that room, it won’t match the carpet in the other rooms, so the entire place needs to be re-carpeted.

At the time you moved in:

• The property had the original carpet from when it was built 20 years ago
• The carpet did not appear to be of high quality as it showed signs of wear in high-traffic areas and was worn through in some places
• There were several small pre-existing stains on the carpet throughout the property
• The condition report when you moved in noted stains and marks on the carpet due to wear
• Photos you and the community housing provider took show that the stains and marks were there before you moved in

Your community housing provider needs to show that:

• It has suffered financial loss or property damage
• The loss or damage happened because you breached your lease (officially called a rental agreement) or Victoria’s rental laws, the Residential Tenancies Act 1997
• The amount it is claiming is reasonable

Has the community housing provider suffered property damage?

A small stain might be considered property damage, but it may also be seen as minor or not enough to justify replacing all the carpet in the property. It could also fall under normal wear and tear, especially if it is a worn patch rather than a stain.

Has the community housing provider suffered financial loss?

Even if there is property damage, you can argue that the community housing provider has not suffered financial loss because:

• The carpet has no financial value as its age means it has fully depreciated according to the Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO’s) rental properties depreciation guide
• It has not spent any money changing the carpet

Is the amount reasonable?

You can also argue that the community housing provider’s claim is not reasonable because:

• Asking for the carpet to be replaced throughout the entire property because of a small stain in one room is not in proportion to the damage caused
• There are methods other than replacing the carpet that could deal with the stain, such as cleaning or repairing the existing carpet, which cost less
• The replacement quality of the carpet the community housing provider is claiming for is not reasonable compared to the lower-quality carpet that is there now
• The carpet was old, stained and worn before you moved in, and should be replaced as part of the community housing provider’s duty to maintain the property in good repair, regardless of any stain caused while you were living there

Your evidence for RDRV or VCAT

Your evidence for RDRV or VCAT could include:

• Condition reports from when you moved in and when you moved out
• Photos of the property from when you moved in and when you moved out
• Quotes for cleaning or repairing the carpet
• Quotes for new carpet of a similar quality to the existing carpet to show that what your community housing provider is asking for is not reasonable
• Any communication you have had with the community housing provider about the damage

Even if VCAT decides that the damage was your fault and you have to pay, well-prepared evidence can help reduce the amount to a cost that is reasonable.

If the community housing provider delayed repairs or caused you loss or damage in some other way while you were living at the property, you can also apply to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) with your own compensation claim. Make sure you give the community housing provider a copy of your application and any supporting evidence.

Making a counter claim can give you leverage in negotiations and help encourage the community housing provider to reach an agreement.

If you don’t reach an agreement through RDRV, VCAT will be able to hear both claims together and make one decision. This may involve VCAT ‘offsetting’ the claims. For example, if the community housing provider owes you $800 but you caused $1200 in damage, only $400 may be taken from your bond.

Find out more on our page about claiming compensation.

After the resolution coordinator has spoken separately with you and your community housing provider, they may organise a facilitated discussion through Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV), where you can both try to negotiate an agreement.

The facilitated discussion usually takes place by phone, videoconference or email. The resolution coordinator may bring you and your community housing provider together to talk, or they may act as a go-between, passing on claims, offers and options so you don’t need to speak to each other directly.

If the resolution coordinator believes a more structured, face-to-face meeting might be the best option to resolve the dispute, they may invite you both to a formal mediation session.

Because the resolution coordinator cannot give legal advice, it is important that you understand your legal rights before going into a discussion or mediation session at RDRV. You can also organise for a lawyer or advocate to represent you. Find out more on this page about getting help.

For more on what happens at RDRV and tips for participating in dispute resolution, see our page about going to RDRV (Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria).

If you reach an agreement at RDRV

If you and your community housing provider reach an agreement at RDRV, you should put it in writing to make sure everyone follows through on their commitments.

You can ask for your written agreement to be formalised in a consent order issued by VCAT, which is a legal document to confirm an agreement between parties. Or you can write a private settlement agreement, which is a contract between yourselves.

If the written agreement or VCAT consent order says how your bond is to be paid out, it can be given to the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA) to pay out the bond.

For more on what to do if you reach an agreement and tips for drafting agreements, see our page about going to RDRV (Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria).

If you do not reach an agreement at RDRV

You do not have to reach agreement at RDRV. If you and your community housing provider cannot resolve all the issues through RDRV, or if either side does not wish to continue with RDRV, you can ask the resolution coordinator to refer the dispute to VCAT for a formal hearing at any time.

VCAT will let you know the time, date and location of the hearing. The hearing may take place in person, by phone (teleconference) or by videoconference.

Hearings about bond and compensation claims are usually held within 4 weeks of the community housing provider applying to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV).

If you don’t go to the hearing, VCAT can still make a decision about the claim. For this reason, it is good to attend the hearing if you can. If you are there to tell your side of the dispute, you may get a better result.

Request to change the hearing date

If you cannot attend the hearing, you may be able to change the date. Call VCAT on 1300 018 228 or use VCAT’s application form to change a hearing date.

Request to attend the hearing by phone or video

If the hearing is going to be in person but you would prefer to attend by phone or video, you can request this using VCAT’s:

• Telephone attendance request form – for requesting a phone hearing
• Application to use technology – for requesting either a phone or video hearing

You will need to provide reasons for your request. Make sure you submit the request form several days before the hearing date, otherwise VCAT may reject your request.

If you and your community housing provider tried to resolve the dispute at Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) before going to VCAT, anything that was said or done at RDRV cannot be used as evidence at VCAT unless everyone agrees in writing. For example, if you admit during an RDRV discussion that you caused a problem, or if the community housing provider admits that a charge is too high, these statements cannot be used as evidence at VCAT.

Anything said or done during an RDRV session can be used as evidence at the VCAT hearing if both sides agree to this in writing.

If you submitted documents, photos or videos as part of your evidence for RDRV, you will not need to submit these again to VCAT. However, you may need to provide further documents or evidence for the hearing.

Before the hearing, the community housing provider must make sure you have a copy of any documents or evidence it will use. If it presents evidence at the hearing that you have not seen, you can ask VCAT to reschedule (adjourn) the hearing so you have time to look at the new evidence.

You should also make sure the community housing provider and VCAT have a copy of any documents or evidence you will use at the hearing. In some situations, the resolution coordinator may help to ensure your documents are ready for the hearing.

See more on this page about the types of documents and evidence you might use to dispute a bond or compensation claim. You can also see our example of evidence for disputing a damage claim. The VCAT website has more tips on preparing evidence.

To prepare for the hearing, get all your evidence together and make a few brief notes outlining what you want to say. Being organised is the key to presenting a good case. For more information on getting ready, see our page about going to VCAT.

Protecting your personal information

In some circumstances, it may be necessary to share personal information relating to issues like trauma, family violence or your mental or physical health, or that of another household member. If this applies to you, you can raise this with VCAT and ask that the information be restricted under the Open Courts Act 2013. This usually means that your personal information will be anonymous and not made public. It will be up to VCAT to decide if this is appropriate.

If you have any concerns about providing personal information to VCAT after going through RDRV, raise them with the resolution coordinator.

At the hearing, your community housing provider must prove to VCAT why it should get compensation or any part of your bond. It must show that:

• It has suffered financial loss or property damage
• The loss or damage happened because you breached your lease (officially called a rental agreement) or Victoria’s rental laws, the Residential Tenancies Act 1997
• The amount it is claiming is reasonable

You can tell VCAT your side of the story. If you disagree with what your community housing provider is claiming, or you think the claim is for too much money, you can say why and give any evidence to support your reasons.

VCAT may consider:

• Whether you took all reasonable steps to meet your duties under Victoria’s rental laws and your lease
• Whether the community housing provider consented to, or contributed to, any failure to meet your duties
• What the community housing provider did to minimise its losses or stop things from getting worse. For example, if you reported damage but the community housing provider did nothing to prevent further loss
• What you did to fix things. For example, repainting a marked wall or patching a damaged plaster wall. Even if the work is not perfect, VCAT can consider these efforts when deciding if the amount claimed by the community housing provider is reasonable
• Whether you have already given the community housing provider money or any other form of compensation to resolve the issue
• Whether the community housing provider refused any fair offers from you to resolve the issue
• Whether the damage was caused by an accident or actions that could not be reasonably prevented – for example, you (or a member of your household) have a disability or mental health condition or are experiencing family violence
• The Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines on maintenance, cleanliness, damage and fair wear and tear. These are official guidelines that set out how renters and rental providers (like community housing providers) must follow the rental laws. See our page on the Consumer Affairs Victoria guidelines

VCAT makes decisions based on Victoria’s rental laws. It doesn’t take into account your community housing provider’s internal policies (rules).

For bond claims, the community housing provider must have applied to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) no later than 14 days after your lease ended. If it applied any later, you can ask VCAT to dismiss its application. However, your community housing provider can also ask VCAT to allow the delay, and VCAT may grant the extension.

For compensation claims, the community housing provider can apply to RDRV before or after you move out. It has up to 6 years to apply after the loss or damage occurred. If it applies while you are still living at the property, it should give you a ‘notice of breach of duty’ first. Find out more on our page about renter breaches.

VCAT usually makes a decision, called an order, on the day of the hearing. At VCAT the person who hears and decides the case is called a member. The member will give the order in writing either on the day or soon afterwards. If you don’t understand the order on the day, you can ask the member to explain it to you again.

For bond applications, VCAT makes an order about how the bond is to be paid out by the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA). Find out more about the RTBA on our page about bonds.

For compensation applications, if VCAT makes an order that you have to pay compensation to the community housing provider, you will need to consider how and when you will pay it. You have 2 options:

• Pay the amount in full, or
• Enter into a payment agreement with the community housing provider to pay the amount off in weekly or fortnightly instalments that you can afford

You should get a receipt for any payment you make to the community housing provider.

If you are experiencing financial hardship, seek financial counselling before entering into any repayment plan. Find out about free financial counselling on our page on financial hardship.

Even after VCAT has made the order, you can still negotiate the amount to be paid. You can also ask the community housing provider for a ‘waiver’, which means you don’t have to pay, if it was not aware of your circumstances. For example, if the community housing provider and VCAT were not aware you were experiencing family violence at the time the compensation order was made.

If a VCAT hearing happens without your knowledge, and orders are made, you can apply to VCAT to reopen the order. You generally need to do this within 14 days of finding out about the order.

If the application was for your bond and it has already been paid to the community housing provider, you can ask VCAT to hear the matter again. If VCAT allows the matter to be reopened, and decides you are entitled to all or part of your bond, it can order the community housing provider to repay you.

Because applications to Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (RDRV) and VCAT can be made after you have moved out, give the community housing provider your forwarding address or contact information. Otherwise, you could find out about a bond or compensation claim after it has gone to VCAT.

Tenant databases, sometimes referred to as ‘blacklists’, are run by private companies that collect information about renters and give it to rental providers (such as community housing providers), real estate agents and renters, usually for a fee.

When you apply for a rental property, rental providers are not allowed to ask about your bond history or past legal disputes. But they may check tenant databases to see if you have been ‘blacklisted’ as a renter by previous rental providers.

Most Victorian community housing providers rarely, or never, use tenancy databases, because their focus is on housing stability and support, not exclusion.

If your community housing provider proposes to list you on a tenant database for any reason, seek advice. This page says where you can get help.

You can also find out more on our page about tenant databases or ‘blacklists’.

If you need support disputing a bond or compensation claim, help is available.

There are step-by-step guides and other resources to assist you with disputing bond and compensation claims.

The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is Victoria’s main law for renting. It describes the rights and duties of renters and rental providers (like community housing providers) in numbered sections.

The sections in this list relate to bond and compensation claims in community housing. Click on a link to see more about the section.

• Section 27C – Professional cleaning
• Section 61 – Renter and visitor must not damage premises or common areas
• Section 62 – Renter must notify of damage
• Section 63 – Renter must keep and leave property reasonably clean
• Section 64 – Modifications to rented premises
• Section 72AA – Renter must report damage or breakdown of facilities
• Section 78 – Rental provider may give repair notice
• Section 79 – Rental provider may do repairs and renter liable for costs
• Section 208 – Breach of duty notice
• Section 209 – Application for compensation or compliance order for a breach of duty
• Section 210 – Application for compensation order on other grounds
• Section 211A – Matters to be considered by VCAT in a compensation matter
• Section 211B – Director’s guidelines to be considered by VCAT in a compensation matter
• Section 419A – Application to VCAT for bond
• Section 447 – Limits of jurisdiction of VCAT

The Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021 provide more detail and definitions, and specify updates to the Residential Tenancies Act.

The Limitation of Actions Act 1958 also applies to bond and compensation claims in community housing: Section 5 – Contracts and torts.