Hello
We left WA on 17 November and were present at the final inspection of our flat. The property manager agreed everything looked perfect however since she was new I pointed out that the marble in the bathroom was stained and that the owner of the property was aware of this. (It was a new flat when we rented it and the owner told me a cleaner had used an incorrect product).

The property manager told me she was aware of this as the owner had also spoken to her about this.

Fast forward a week and we get an email saying that the owner was going to get quotes for the resealing to take place and our bond to be adjusted accordingly!

I have sent an email reminding them of the situation and that the situation was all documented at the time ( email and photographs ) yet at today's date I still have not had a response.

What do I do next? How long do they have to return our nearly $4 deposit?

$4k deposit of course!

Bastards They should have given you a copy of your rental agreement with contact details in case of a dispute about the bond. Hang on, I'll see if I can find it for you. No WAY should you have money deducted from your bond for this!

Not sure if you're still in Oz, but there's this http://www.murdoch.edu.au/School-of-...ern-Australia/

and this
http://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/Consum...ewRTALaws.html

Good luck.

Not sure about WA but in Vic they cannot relet a property while a bond is still held...check your WA bond regulations and if it is applicable, advise them of this...they often 'forget'.

Hope you manage to get your money back

I'm dreading this, we have our bond clean a week on tues which is costing over $1000 and because the agent has changed our move in date to the new house last minute we've struggled to get a new bond cleaner so we've got to pay an extra weeks rent on the old place because no bond cleaners are available that week, (we had removals and bond clean booked but had to cancel last min as agent rang to say we couldn't move in when they said we could).

One of the houses i viewed when we were looking for somewhere new was having a final inspection done whilst i was looking around and the agent was on the floor with her eye on the floor looking for marks, she then pulled the ex tennant to one side complaining the worksurfaces weren't clean enough, i was shocked, i couldn't see anything wrong with them, he looked annoyed and i was totally put off taking the house with a property manager like that.

I'm hoping we will get our bond back, but if they get on their hands and knees we may not :/ Its a shame they don't pay a bond to the tennants to ensure a half decent service, although i doubt they'd ever get it back!

Not sure how they can come back and claim issues after the final inspection?!
Also, re-sealing is something that the property owner (estate agent) should take care of, not you! Surely that comes under wear and tear? We had a number of issues with the taps and sink in our rental (old 1960's vanity) and we always had the estate agent get a plumber to try to fix them.

We had our final inspection for our last rental just 2 weeks ago. The property agent was VERY thorough and despite two of us spending the guts of 2 days scrubbing the place to within an inch of it's life and painting over scuff marks, she still found issues (light dust on parts of the skirting boards from behind furniture), speck of dust on shelving which required a re-clean of the cupboards etc. She had a bag of cleaning supplies so gave them to me to finish things off so I was on my hands and knees for a bit. It was rather hard to take but I really wanted every cent of our deposit back.

When she gave the all clear, she signed the bond return document (as did I) and she said that once the water usage was paid, we'd be reimbursed. I paid the water rates that day and we received our full bond returned about 4 working days later.

Scrudu - you're right. How can they claim issues after a final inspection. I'm getting angrier about this by the day.

The agents are being really stupid because if they try to screw us I will feel totally within my rights to spread the word about them. The internet can be a powerful tool. I have written documentation about this issue.

Answer to avoid withheld bonds--

Don't pay the last months rent in advance and settle up when you move out --

To the OP: Sorry about your frustrating situation. Read page 26 here, hopefully it'll be a help.

To another rental ? ... with a rental history that includes not paying the rent on time and having part of your bond withheld ?

Good luck with that

This is Australia--either you manage them or they screw you--your call.

Once you've "managed them" and shown them who's boss...how do you repair your rental record ?

It never gets stuffed in the first place.

You said earlier....

"Don't pay the last months rent in advance and settle up when you move out"

And you feel that doing this won't affect your rental record ?