{"id":637723,"date":"2026-04-29T04:55:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T04:55:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/637723\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T04:55:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T04:55:12","slug":"rental-bond-debate-where-should-landlords-draw-a-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/637723\/","title":{"rendered":"Rental bond debate: Where should landlords draw a line?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"styles__StyledImage-sc-17n6uwl-1 hlcJVa size-full wp-post- wp-image-1121505\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1121505\" data-capiid=\"d461728807636490a47d1c3126931e11\" width=\"1280\" height=\"720\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=&quot;http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg&quot; viewBox=&quot;0 0 1280 720&quot;%3E%3C\/svg%3E\"  alt=\"HOUSING GENERICS\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1121505\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The debate about rental bonds and what is fair has erupted online. Picture: NCA NewsWire<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">A landlord who took $60 from a bond for cobwebs has sparked outrage among Aussie renters who say they have faced similar gripes at the end of their own leases despite leaving the property in better condition than when they entered it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">A video shared by UK property expert Jack Rooke details the agitated exchange between a landlord and the tenant after the lease ended.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">A series of text messages reveal the tenant questioning the validity of the bod deduction over cobwebs before the conversation quickly spirals<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">\u201cYou\u2019ve charged me \u00a330 (AUD $60) for cobwebs \u2026 are you joking,\u201d the tenant said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">\u201cYou didn\u2019t return the property in the condition you received it,\u201d the landlord replied.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"styles__StyledImage-sc-17n6uwl-1 hlcJVa size-full wp-post- wp-image-1121502\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1121502\" data-capiid=\"eb335e3b0737b523c5e161e1ce36fc93\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=&quot;http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg&quot; viewBox=&quot;0 0 768 1024&quot;%3E%3C\/svg%3E\"  alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1121502\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The text exchange between a renter and their landlord. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">The tenant tried to argue they had left the property in better condition they received it but the landlord refused to agree.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t spotless when I moved in. The oven was filthy and I cleaned it. I left that place better than I found it,\u201d the tenant said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">\u201cThe inventory lists the extractor fan as greasy and the oven as requires attention. Those are your words, not mine,\u201d the landlord replied.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">The conversation deteriorated further when the tenant took offence to the fact the landlord had booked a professional cleaner for the property before a final inspection had even been conducted.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"styles__StyledImage-sc-17n6uwl-1 hlcJVa size-full wp-post- wp-image-1121503\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1121503\" data-capiid=\"f7ce882fa2cda3a8c6105deb41ead3e4\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=&quot;http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg&quot; viewBox=&quot;0 0 768 1024&quot;%3E%3C\/svg%3E\"  alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1121503\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The text exchange between a renter and their landlord. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">The landlord argued a professional clean was standard between leases but the tenant disagreed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">\u201cSo you booked a cleaner regardless of what state I left it in and you\u2019re taking that out of my deposit,\u201d the tenant said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">\u201cI\u2019ll be raising this with the deposit protection scheme today, they\u2019ll find that very interesting\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">The exchange ended with the landlord asking for the tenant not to escalate things unnecessarily.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">The tense exchange struck a chord with Aussie renters facing similar issues with their own leases.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"styles__StyledImage-sc-17n6uwl-1 hlcJVa size-full wp-post- wp-image-1121504\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1121504\" data-capiid=\"200ea53eb65bc0fd22ec3581e9c4b37f\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns=&quot;http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg&quot; viewBox=&quot;0 0 768 1024&quot;%3E%3C\/svg%3E\"  alt=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1121504\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The text exchange between a renter and their landlord. Picture: Supplied<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">Many were quick to comment that it didn\u2019t matter how clean the property was left, landlords would do anything to take bonds.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">\u201cThere seems to be a trend in landlords expecting properties to be returned or kept in showroom condition and passing on costs related to normal tenancy that should be absorbed by their greed,\u201d one person said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">\u201cI had a rental agent deduct $120 from a bond because there was an outdoor light (above the front door) that was not working (bill said $20 for a bulb and $100 for a handyman to attend and replace). This was the same light that had not been working when I moved in, and I had noted on the condition report when I moved in,\u201d another commented.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Text__Typography-sc-1103tao-0 bjGYxJ StyledP-sc-cebixd-0 bzEerj\">\u201cForget your bond, that is my advice. They will find a way to take some, or all. Is it really worth the stress of going to a big effort and worrying,\u201d said another.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The debate about rental bonds and what is fair has erupted online. Picture: NCA NewsWire A landlord who&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":637724,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-637723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=637723"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/637723\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/637724"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=637723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=637723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=637723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}