FAQs for tenants and occupants

Yes, tenants are able create an account to access the Tenant Portal. Instructions on how to set up an account will be sent to you once a bond has been lodged in your name.

Where it is agreed that a tenant should lodge a bond, they should use the Tenant Bond Lodgement form.

Occupants can submit an Occupancy Security Deposit using the Occupancy security deposit form.

Children or any person who has not contributed financially to the bond should not be included on these forms.

ACT Rental Bonds will notify the lessor/agent of a lodgement request, which the lessor/agent is required to lodge in their online portal account. Where a lessor is unable to hold an ACT rental bonds online portal account, the bond will be raised by the ACT Rental Bonds office, who will then provide the bond number and unique payment reference details to the tenant/s for bond payment.

When a payment is made towards a bond, the tenants will receive a payment confirmation email with a bond lodgement receipt attached. This will be emailed to each parties nominated email address and issued the same day the payment is received by the Portal.

Yes, payments may be made in instalments.

If you have organised to deposit the bond, you will need to obtain the bond number and unique payment reference details from the lessor or agency. Each payment should be made using the same BSB and account number provided for the bond. The bond number should be entered as the transaction description.

A payment confirmation email will be sent each time a payment is made, with the bond lodgement receipt attached. The receipt provides a summary of payments made to date and details any outstanding balance.

Yes, tenants may continue to request bond refunds using the Bond Refund form. The completed form should be emailed to rb@act.gov.au.

Once received, the Rental Bonds Office will enter the refund request into the Portal. All parties to the bond will then be emailed a Bond Refund Notice asking if they approve the refund request or if they wish to dispute it. The party submitting the bond refund request does not need to respond to the Notice.

Should the refund request be disputed, the Rental Bond Office will notify the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Any portion of the bond that is undisputed will be refunded at this stage.

If the refund request is undisputed, the bond will be refunded as requested. All refunds are paid by bank transfer.

Tenants who need to change their name must make the update in their ACT Digital Account. The change will then automatically appear in the Tenant Portal and on your rental bond records.

To update your name go to your ACT Digital Account.

Tenants contact details are provided to the Rental Bonds Office by lessors and agencies when completing the bond lodgement process. These contact details are used to send tenants their receipts and Bond Refund Notice.

We use the email address in your ACT Digital Account to contact you. You can add a correspondence email and phone number to your Tenant Portal account if you would like to receive correspondence to a different email address. For instructions go to the tenant user guide on how to add or update your contact details in the Tenant Portal 1.2 MB.

Tenants not using the Tenant Portal, or who do not wish to be contacted via email should submit a Change of rental bonds contact details form, to provide a postal address and opt out of receiving email correspondence.

A co-tenancy is where there is a tenancy agreement with more than one tenant listed on the agreement. Each tenant will be known as a ‘co-tenant’. For example, co-tenancies include share houses as well as couples living together where both members of the couple are on the tenancy agreement.

Further information can be found on the Factsheet Introduction to Co-Tenancies and on the Co-tenancy information page.

The lessor or agent or other tenants have 14 days to object to the approval. Once the approval has been given by the lessor or agent and the tenants, or the 14 days have passed and the tenants have paid the out-going co-tenant directly, the incoming or remaining tenants will be responsible for notifying ACT Rental Bonds of the change in co-tenants listed on the bond.

Co-tenants listed on a bond can be added or removed by lodging a Co-tenant change request form. All tenants including any outgoing tenant must sign this form before emailing to rb@act.gov.au

Refer to Co-tenancy information to learn more.

You can make an application directly with the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Refer to the Factsheet Disputes in Relation to Co-Tenancies for more information.