Battle of the rental bond

[MotherBear]

Landlords and tenants fight battle of the bond
5:00AM Sunday July 13, 2008
By Andrea Milner

Landlords want the cap on the amount of bond tenants must pay removed, saying it is not enough to compensate for damage done to rental property.

The amount of bond landlords can legally require from tenants is capped at four weeks' rent, but president of the Property Investors Federation Martin Evans says this is often not enough.

"Especially with furnished houses, four weeks' rent doesn't really cover theft - it really only covers rental arrears."

The federation is lobbying for a change to the Residential Tenancies Act Amendment Bill, which would remove the cap on bond amounts and instead allow landlords to apply for more in some circumstances.

But Helen Gatonyi of the Tenants Protection Association doesn't agree. "Four weeks' rent is, in all cases, a lot of money up front."

More here.