Claim against bond money
This form is used for preparing your second negotiation letter as well as the Dispute Report for the conciliation conference. This conference is held with the bond authority or at the Tribunal.
A different form, the Hearing claim details form is used to prepare the Court File for a hearing.
Things can change from the conference to a hearing and depending on your circumstances, we can send a Word doc for you to add the additional information instead of completing the form again.
We have made Categories (About) to assist with logically gathering the details for this conference.
If your information does not fit in the categories, contact us at admin@aussierenters.com.au. We will sort it out for you by either adding a new category or adding it in your document manually.
Here’s how you enter this form
Email = is the unique identifier and we must find you in our master database before we release your documents to you.
Action = list the items (individually) under the relevant category. Our report will show everything the landlord is attempting to claim as well as everything you have spent vacating the property. It is important to present the whole story!
Claiming from bond – record what is being claimed. Each item should be listed individually and note if the landlord has provided you with quotes, invoices or just wrote the amount in an email. Many members have been tempted to release thousands from just receiving an email, no evidence proving they actually have a claim or how they came to the amount. If we sent you an email that said pay Aussie Renters $500, would you?
Tenant expenses – List all of the out of pockets you have paid. This can be a professional bond cleaner and the carpet cleaner. If you replaced the turf because your dog made run marks in the grass, add this to the document. The expenses show your willingness to rectify issues and your willingness to vacate without a dispute. There is an option of uploading an image, you can take a picture of the freshly laid turf or the receipt/invoice. The landlord must attempt to mitigate your outlays/losses as much as the owner’s.
About = are the categories of what the claim in is for being Cleaning, Damages, Financial, Maintenance, Privacy, Rent, Repairs, Replace, Tenancy agreement and Utility charges.
Regarding = a list of rooms appear along with General – exterior, interior and property. If your response is about “other” items, use the General – property response as it covers everything regarding the property.
Response = this is a mixture of items in the property (cupboard, walls etc) and general items (break lease fee, bond and carpet). If you need a different response, please add one of these selections and complete the form, then sync the data and send us an email with the Response you require and we will adjust your data manually as well as adding your new Response to our dropdown list for other members to use.
Claim no = our Bond Dispute Worksheet comes in handy here as you need to assign a number for each entry. The form requires just the number as our system will complete the type and place it before the number. If you have more than 20 claims, keep using Claim 20 and we will sort it out for you, adjusting it to your requirements.
Evidence = this is the most important requirement when a claim is being made. Supporting evidence should be given to you showing the exact amount being claimed. Each state requirements are listed in the legislation however they vary from strong to limited. We believe every state should stipulate evidence is to be provided when claiming your money. Our letters make formal requests for the evidence being relied on however some states allow for it to be provided before you walk in to the court room. Request it at all times then examine what has been provided. Look for anything that may discredit the evidence provided. Tax invoices (ATO) - is the invoice valid?
Tax invoices include GST and an invoice does not claim GST AND all documents must provide ABN, contact details etc. Quotes should contain the same as well as details of what work is to be carried out. Writing “replace the ceramic stove top” is not satisfactory, what is the brand and model? How much does the stove top cost? What are the costs for having it installed? Run a Google search and see what the cheapest price is.
Aussie Renters completed a large claim against a tenant recently were the quote to replace a ceramic stove top was $2,155 due to the tenant accidently cracking it, very small crack on the corner but it still worked. We presented 3 different prices for the stove top that were all a third of what was provided by the landlord and the claim was denied by the Tribunal as it was 15 years old and seen as the landlord’s responsibilty to replace it. Discrediting the amount being claimed (this one was excessive) would have helped if the stove top was newer however insurance companies charge premiums that replace new for old, not tenants!
Amount being claimed = pretty straight forward.
Issue = type in what the issue is. Typing “replace the ceramic stove top” is fine here.
Liability = our system calculates the percentage you believe you are liable for claims only. Your response here is not set in concrete, you can change your mind during the negotiations. The same process for Hearing claims details is used however this is concrete compared to the conciliation conference stage. You may be reasonable at the conciliation stage and change your mind if being taken to the Tribunal.
Additional remarks = allows you to add extra information as to why you feel you are not responsible for the claim. We have added list of reasons, once again send us an email if you want an addition remarks to be amended.
Your notes = we have made this a large memo size text field so you can add your comments here.
Image = screenshots and pictures can be uploaded. If you have a copy of a receipt or you want to show a section of your entry report, take a picture with your mobile phone. Documents are not accepted and can be emailed to us or uploaded in the shared Google Drive folder supplied by us.
Click Save after locating your image and Sync (it will sync itself if left) to prevent your image being detached (if using a web browser). 
Dispute Report
We will merge your data into a report making it easy for you to be organised and the images uploaded will appear in this report. We will also provide a copy of the images, full size and in colour in the same order to show your evidence at the conciliation conference. When the evidence is produced, it can change the outcome of your conference and you are encouraged to supply this information to the other party as the main reason for the conference is to agree and not go to the Tribunal.
Please remember, when showing your evidence at the conference, it can change what is presented at the Tribunal.
Our member was advised that the landlord was claiming for the “self seeding wattle tree” to be removed, nothing was mentioned about the carpet or damages inside the property. Our member showed the images of these trees being cut off at the base, stumps sticking up out of the ground. This resulted in a totally different claim made at the Tribunal and as it was not mentioned on the exit report as well as not being offered an opportunity to re-enter the property to complete any repairs, the tenant had no evidence to back up what the landlord was claiming. This resulted in the claim being accepted as the tenant had no knowledge and nothing to help her dispute the claim. It was a low act but it resulted in the landlord receving the bond money.
We have presented an example of how to enter claims and expenses for the same item.
Carpet replacement and cleaning
The landlord is claiming the carpet to be replaced in bedroom 3 due to it being damaged. The tenant has:
- a receipt proving the entire property was professionally cleaned
- an entry report that states the damage found at entry
CLAIM → Replace → Bedroom 3 → Carpet → No evidence supplied
EXPENSE → Cleaning → General – property → Carpet → Tax receipt (valid)
Evidence gathering form accepts the entry report details showing and will appear in the Evidence Report as well as the the Statement of Evidence document needed for the Tribunal.