Bond Deductions in Queensland: What Property Managers Can and Cannot Claim
A tenant vacates on a Friday. The exit condition report shows a stained carpet in the main bedroom, a broken flyscreen on the back door, and kitchen walls that haven’t seen a cleaning cloth in months. Your owner calls Saturday morning expecting full bond. By Monday you’ve submitted a claim — but have you claimed correctly? In Queensland, claiming outside what the legislation permits doesn’t just expose you to a dispute. It can constitute an offence.
The Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (the Act) outlines the rules for collection, management, and refund of rental bonds in Queensland. For property managers, this legislation is the beginning and the end of the conversation. Understanding exactly what you can and cannot claim — and how to substantiate every dollar — is not optional compliance overhead. It is core professional competence.
The Legal Framework: What the Act Actually Permits
Under Section 118 of the Act, property managers can only claim bond deductions for: unpaid rent owing at the end of the tenancy; property damage beyond normal wear and tear; cleaning costs if the property wasn’t left in the same condition as at the start of the tenancy, allowing for reasonable use; and other tenancy breaches causing specific monetary loss.
This is a closed list. It is not a loose framework open to creative interpretation. A deduction that falls outside these categories is a deduction you cannot make, regardless of what the owner instructs you to do, regardless of what the lease agreement says, and regardless of whether the tenant disputes it or not.
A rental bond is used as financial protection for the lessor in case the tenant breaches the terms of the agreement. That definition is the test. At every step of the claims process, ask yourself: is this a genuine loss arising from a breach? If the answer is no, the claim cannot stand.
It is an offence under Queensland tenancy law to knowingly give false or misleading information to the RTA. Property managers acting on owner instructions to overclaim are not shielded by those instructions. You are the licensed professional submitting the claim. Accuracy is your responsibility.
The 2024 Evidence Requirement: A Material Change for Agents
The 2024 rental law reforms introduced an obligation that property managers must understand thoroughly. Rental bonds lodged on or after 30 September 2024 require supporting evidence to be provided to a tenant when a property manager claims or disputes a bond refund request. This must be done within 14 days of the bond claim or dispute. Not providing supporting evidence to a tenant when a claim or dispute is made against a bond is an offence.
From 30 September 2024, rental property owners are required to give renters information to support their claim against the rental bond within 14 days after making the claim, unless they are unable to contact the renter after making reasonable efforts. This information may be receipts, quotes to repair damage, or records of unpaid rent. Breaching this requirement is an offence.
Critically, evidence must be provided to the tenant, not to the RTA. This is a distinction many agents miss. The RTA does not vet your evidence before processing a claim. Your obligation is to the tenant directly — within 14 days of lodging your claim.
Penalties include up to 20 penalty units for failing to provide evidence. At the current penalty unit rate in Queensland, that is a real financial consequence for an individual agent or principal — not merely a technical breach.
What You Can Claim: A Precise Breakdown
Unpaid Rent
This is the most straightforward and most frequently claimed category. Any rent owing at the conclusion of the tenancy — whether from a standard vacate or an abandonment — is recoverable from the bond. The amount must be precise and verifiable. Your ledger is the evidence. Rent in advance paid at the commencement is not a deduction item; it was never a bond contribution.
If the tenant paid partial rent in the final period, you claim the shortfall. If they paid nothing, you claim the outstanding balance up to the vacate date. Do not attempt to claim rent for periods after the tenancy ended — including any period where you were unable to re-let. That is not an unpaid rent claim; it is a break lease reletting cost, which is assessed separately.
Water charges can form part of an unpaid rent claim where the property is separately metered and water-efficient, and the tenancy agreement assigns water consumption costs to the tenant. Unpaid water bills — where the property is individually metered and water-efficient — are among the legitimate deduction categories. Retain the usage invoices as your evidence.
Cleaning Costs
Cleaning costs are claimable if the tenant failed to return the premises to the same level of cleanliness as when they moved in, noting the initial Entry Condition Report. That last clause carries all the weight. The benchmark is not some abstract standard of cleanliness. It is the documented condition of the property at the start of the tenancy.
If the entry condition report (Form 1a) recorded the property as professionally cleaned, you can require the same standard on exit. If it recorded an ordinary domestic clean, that is the standard. If you cannot point to documented entry condition evidence, your cleaning claim is weakened — sometimes fatally so before QCAT.
Standards of cleaning for rental properties are not defined in the Act. The Act states: “At the end of the tenancy, the tenant must leave the premises and inclusions, as far as possible, in the same condition they were in at the start of the tenancy, fair wear and tear excepted.”
There is an important practical point here. Tenants cannot be asked to engage a professional carpet cleaner or to use a particular company to clean the carpets. If any such term is included in the special terms of the tenancy agreement, it is not enforceable and potentially unlawful. Mandatory professional cleaning clauses are a compliance risk for agencies. They do not support a bond deduction — they undermine your position if challenged.
Your evidence for a cleaning claim should include: the signed entry condition report with photographs, the exit condition report with comparative photographs, and a receipt or invoice from a cleaning contractor showing the work done and the cost charged. A quote alone may not satisfy QCAT if the work has not yet been completed.
Damage Beyond Fair Wear and Tear
This is the most contested category in bond disputes — and the one where the line is most often misunderstood, including by experienced agents.
Tenants are responsible for leaving the property in the same condition it was in at the start of the tenancy, less fair wear and tear. Fair wear and tear happens during normal use of a property and through changes that occur with ageing and deterioration over time from exposure to the environment.
Dirt, grime, grease and damage — including damage caused by an approved pet — are not considered fair wear and tear. Pet damage is a consistently misunderstood point. Tenants sometimes argue that damage caused by an approved pet is the owner’s accepted risk. That argument does not hold. Damage is damage, regardless of whether the animal that caused it was authorised.
Fair wear and tear is not defined in the legislation. It is known as deterioration to the property due to ageing and normal use. Many factors are taken into consideration to determine whether the item has been damaged or has changed due to fair wear and tear.
The RTA’s own guidance provides useful examples of context-dependent assessment. If a cracked window pane was due to frames that were old or warped, this may be considered changes that have happened with ageing and therefore the property manager or owner would likely be responsible. However, if the cracks in the window emerged from the tenant slamming the window shut or not taking care with it, then it is more considered to be negligent, and the tenant would be held responsible.
Fair wear and tear basically means the normal deterioration from ordinary, everyday use, taking into account factors such as exposure to the elements, age (time) and day-to-day living. This means the age of the property and the existing condition of fittings at the time of entry are directly relevant to any damage assessment. A claim for replacement of carpet that was already seven years old and showing visible wear at entry will not succeed at QCAT, even if the tenant’s dog made it worse. The claim may succeed in part — for the additional damage traceable to the tenant — but not for the full replacement cost.
Landlords can only claim reasonable repair costs and must account for depreciation to avoid betterment. Betterment is the key concept here. You cannot use a tenant’s damage as an opportunity to fund an upgrade at the tenant’s expense. If a five-year-old fence was damaged, you can claim the cost of a like-for-like repair, not the cost of a new Colorbond fence if a treated pine fence existed at entry.
Examples of fair wear and tear include minor chips and small marks on walls, scuff marks on floors and carpets, wearing away of a tap washer, and faded curtains due to sun exposure. These items are not claimable, no matter how much the owner objects.
What is claimable: holes in walls from improperly anchored furniture, large stains on carpet that cannot be professionally cleaned out, broken blinds and windows where the damage pattern is inconsistent with normal use, burns on benchtops or flooring, and any deliberate or negligent physical destruction of the property or its inclusions.
Other Tenancy Breaches
The Act allows claims for other specific monetary losses arising from a breach of the tenancy agreement. The most common example relevant to bond deductions is early termination. Costs associated with the tenant abandoning the premises or breaking the lease early can be brought as a bond claim, subject to the reletting cost framework and the lessor’s duty to mitigate.
Note that certain costs that agents might assume are claimable from the bond — re-letting fees, advertising costs, and property management fees incurred during a vacant period — are recoverable through a QCAT compensation application where the bond is insufficient, not necessarily as direct bond deductions. If the bond amount does not cover legitimate losses, rental property owners can still use existing mechanisms to recover funds by applying to QCAT for compensation.
What You Cannot Claim
Understanding the negative is just as important as knowing the positive categories.
You cannot claim for fair wear and tear. Fair wear and tear refers to the natural deterioration of a property and its fixtures due to normal use over time. This does not include damage caused by negligence, misuse, or accidents. The Queensland Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act outlines that tenants are not responsible for fair wear and tear, and landlords cannot claim the bond for issues that fall under this category.
You cannot claim for pre-existing damage. If an item was damaged or deficient at the time the tenant moved in, you cannot claim the cost of rectifying it from the tenant’s bond. This is precisely why a thorough, photographic entry condition report matters. Without it, you cannot establish the baseline — and without the baseline, disputed damage claims are extremely difficult to sustain.
You cannot claim for mandatory professional cleaning. As noted above, clauses requiring specific professional cleaning services are unenforceable in Queensland.
You cannot claim for cosmetic improvements. If the property needed repainting after a normal tenancy length simply because of age and ordinary use, that cost sits with the owner. Any damage that is a result of an intentional act or negligent behaviour on the part of the tenant is the tenant’s responsibility — but ordinary ageing of painted surfaces is not intentional or negligent.
You cannot claim for damage caused by third parties unconnected to the tenant. Any damage caused by a third party not directly connected to the tenant or anyone else living on the premises is not the responsibility of the tenant. This would include damage from someone the tenant did not invite into the premises or by an event outside of their control, such as a break-in or storm damage.
You cannot claim for the cost of improvements that exceed like-for-like replacement. The betterment principle applies rigorously.
The Condition Report: Your Evidentiary Foundation
Every legitimate bond deduction claim ultimately rests on the comparison between two documents: the entry condition report (Form 1a) completed at the commencement of the tenancy, and the exit condition report (Form 14a) completed at the end. The entry condition report and the exit condition report go hand in hand. It’s the last step of ending a tenancy before decisions are made and the bond is released.
The lessor or agent must complete a property condition report before the tenant moves in. They must sign the report and give a copy to the tenant. Within three days of moving in, the tenant must sign the copy, mark any parts of the report they disagree with, and return the copy to the lessor or agent.
A condition report completed without photographs, or without sufficient detail in the written descriptions, is a significant liability. Without comprehensive, photographic evidence documenting the pristine state of the property at move-in and the damaged state at move-out, QCAT adjudicators will almost always rule in favour of the tenant and return the bond in full.
That is not an overstatement. It is the consistent pattern of tribunal outcomes. An owner who wants to claim for a damaged bathroom should have room-by-room photographs from the day of entry that show the bathroom was not damaged at that time. Without those photographs, the claim is built on assertion — and assertion does not succeed at QCAT.
Whether something is regarded as fair wear and tear will depend on factors such as the age and type of building materials of the house or unit, the condition of the property at the start of the tenancy, and any repairs carried out during the tenancy to maintain the property. Record maintenance work during the tenancy. If you sent a tradesperson to repair a cracked tile mid-tenancy and the tenant subsequently damaged a different tile, your records should capture both events.
The Claims Process and Timeframes
The property manager must provide supporting evidence to a tenant when making a bond claim or disputing a bond refund request. This must be done within 14 days of the bond claim or dispute. Not providing supporting evidence to a tenant when a claim or dispute is made is an offence. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units.
Once a bond refund request is submitted and a party disputes it, the RTA issues a Notice of Claim. If a party does not agree with the Notice of Claim, a Form 16 Dispute Resolution Request must be submitted within 14 days of receipt of the Notice of Claim.
The RTA’s dispute resolution service is free and confidential and helps tenants and property managers resolve disputes without the need for legal action. Most disputes that proceed to conciliation are resolved at that stage. If no agreement is reached during the dispute resolution process, the RTA will issue a Notice of Unresolved Dispute. The bond refund dispute will then be referred to QCAT.
Once a Notice of Unresolved Dispute is issued, the timeline becomes critical. Once the notice is issued, the disputing party has 7 days to make an application to QCAT and advise the RTA of this application. Seven days — not fourteen, not thirty. If you lodge a dispute, go through RTA conciliation, and it fails — you have 7 days from receiving the Notice of Unresolved Dispute to apply to QCAT. Miss it, and the bond is paid as the other party directed, regardless of the merits of your claim.
This deadline is one that both agents and owners routinely miss. Calendar it the moment you receive the Notice of Unresolved Dispute.
What Happens When the Bond Is Insufficient
In a case where the tenant’s damage or liability exceeds the bond amount, the property manager’s obligation does not end with the bond claim. If a bond isn’t enough to cover costs at the end of a tenancy, rental property owners can still use existing mechanisms to recover funds by applying to QCAT for compensation. A QCAT compensation order can be pursued in parallel with or following the bond process. The bond amount does not cap the owner’s total recoverable loss — it simply represents what is immediately available.
Prepare your owner for this possibility upfront, particularly in long tenancies where damage may have accumulated. Setting realistic expectations and documenting losses thoroughly from the moment the tenant vacates is good property management practice.
What This Means for Queensland Property Managers
The practical takeaway from all of the above comes down to three things: document, claim accurately, and meet your deadlines.
Document from day one. A thorough, photographic entry condition report — signed by all parties — is your entire evidentiary foundation for any claim at the end of tenancy. A weak entry report is the single most common reason legitimate claims fail at QCAT. Every room, every fitting, every inclusion. Photographs with date stamps. This is non-negotiable professional practice.
Claim only what the Act permits. The temptation — particularly under owner pressure — is to include marginal items in a bond claim “and see what sticks.” This approach is legally unsafe. It is an offence under Queensland tenancy law to knowingly give false or misleading information to the RTA. Overclaiming does not serve the owner’s interests. A well-constructed, evidenced claim for legitimate losses is far more likely to succeed — and far less likely to end in a dispute — than a kitchen-sink claim that inflames the tenant and invites a challenge to the entire amount.
Provide evidence to the tenant within 14 days of your claim, every time. When making a bond claim or disputing a bond, the property manager must provide supporting evidence to the tenant within 14 days of lodging a claim or dispute. This obligation applies to bonds lodged from 30 September 2024 onwards, and the transitional period for earlier bonds has now expired. This is a standing compliance requirement, not a one-off obligation. Build it into your end-of-tenancy workflow.
Watch the QCAT deadline. If a dispute goes unresolved through RTA conciliation, the 7-day window to file at QCAT from the date of the Notice of Unresolved Dispute is a hard stop. Systems, checklists, and calendar reminders should be in place at every agency to ensure this deadline is never missed. A legitimate claim lost due to an expired deadline is a client service failure and a reputational risk.
Finally, manage the owner relationship around the fair wear and tear principle proactively. Many bond disputes originate not in the tenant’s conduct but in the owner’s expectation that the bond will fund the refurbishment of a property that has aged through ordinary use. Property managers who educate their owners at the outset — about what wear and tear means, about what the bond can and cannot recover, about the condition of fixtures and finishes at the time of entry — have far fewer post-tenancy conflicts to navigate. Set the expectation at the beginning. It will save significant time at the end.