In NSW your rental bond is held by NSW Fair Trading, not by your landlord or agent. Once you have moved out, you claim it through Rental Bonds Online. If the landlord or agent agrees with your claim, the money usually reaches your bank account within two business days.

Most bond problems come from the steps before that claim: the cleaning, the condition report and the keys. This guide walks through each step in order, using the rules published by the NSW Government.

Bond refund timeframes at a glance

Step 1: Finish your end of tenancy tasks

Before you claim, NSW Fair Trading expects you to:

• pay rent up to the end of your notice period (or to your moving date if you are breaking the lease)
• clean the property to the condition it was in when you moved in
• remove all your belongings
• repair any damage beyond fair wear and tear
• sign off the condition report with the landlord or agent
• return all keys, remotes and anything else you were given at the start

Not sure what counts as damage? Our guide to fair wear and tear vs damage in NSW explains the difference with examples.

Step 2: Check your ingoing condition report

Your ingoing condition report is the benchmark for the final inspection. Read it again before you clean, and look at any photos you took when you moved in. Marks that were already there should be noted on it, and you are not responsible for fixing them.

Take your own dated photos of every room after the final clean too. If there is a disagreement later, these photos are your best evidence.

Step 3: Clean to the right standard

The Tenants’ Union of NSW says the property needs to be returned “reasonably clean”, judged against how it was when you moved in. That does not mean perfect or spotless. You are not legally required to hire a professional cleaner, and many renters clean the property themselves.

There is one common exception. Since 19 May 2025, if you keep a pet that lives indoors, the landlord can make professional carpet cleaning at the end of the tenancy a condition of approving the pet, and professional fumigation if the pet is a mammal. These conditions must be in the landlord’s written response to your pet application, and they apply even if the carpets look clean.

A professional end of lease clean is worth considering when you are short on time, the property is large, the oven and bathrooms need heavy work, or you would simply rather not risk a re-clean request. If you hire cleaners, keep the receipt. Our end of lease cleaning checklist lists what property managers usually check.

Step 4: Lodge your bond claim

You can claim the bond as soon as you have moved out and handed back the keys.

• Online: log in to Rental Bonds Online. If your bond was lodged online and the tenancy has ended, you can start the claim yourself without waiting for the landlord.
• Paper form: if you do not have an online account, use the Claim for Bond Refund form. If the landlord or agent does not sign it, you can still submit it. They then have 14 days to dispute it, or Fair Trading pays you.

The landlord or agent has up to 14 days to accept an online claim. Once they do, the refund is usually paid within two business days.

Step 5: If the landlord claims part of your bond

If the landlord or agent lodges a claim first, you will get a Notice of Claim by email and SMS, and you have 14 days to respond. Common reasons for a claim include:

• unpaid rent or a lease break fee
• cleaning that falls short of the standard at the start of the tenancy
• keys not returned, so locks had to be changed
• damage beyond fair wear and tear
• unpaid water usage, if requested within 3 months of the bill

If the landlord claims without your agreement, they must give you the final condition report and the quotes, invoices or receipts behind their claim within 7 days. You can then:

1. accept the claim in Rental Bonds Online if it is fair
2. negotiate with the landlord or agent, for example by offering to fix a small cleaning item
3. tell Fair Trading you dispute the claim before the due date, which freezes the bond, and apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT)

Even if the bond has already been paid out, you can still apply to NCAT within six months of the payout. The Tenants’ Union of NSW and local Tenants Advice and Advocacy Services give free advice if you need help.

Moving out in Western Sydney?

If you would rather hand the cleaning over, NET Cleaning Services does end of lease cleaning across Western Sydney, the Hills District, South West Sydney and the Blue Mountains. We work through the real estate checklist room by room, and if your property manager raises a cleaning issue we come back and re-clean it at no extra cost.