Bond lodgement (Form 2)

Section 116 of the Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld) requires anyone who receives money to be applied to a rental bond to pay it to the RTA within 10 days and give the RTA a notice about it in the approved form. Form 2 is that notice (the RTA's online Bond Lodgement Web Service is the electronic alternative). Failing to lodge is an offence with a maximum penalty of 40 penalty units. The RTA holds the bond for the tenancy and sends a written acknowledgement to the lessor and tenant (s 120). The maximum bond is 4 weeks' rent for houses, units and rooming accommodation, and 2 weeks (or 3 weeks where electricity is in the lessor's name and individually metered) for long-term moveable dwellings (s 112).

When you need it

• A property manager, owner or rooming provider has received a bond, or part of a bond, from a tenant or resident.
• The bond is being topped up after a rent increase.
• A tenant who has paid the bond wants to lodge it directly with the RTA together with the property manager or owner.
• The lessor holds instalments (for State-assisted lessors and rooming providers, ss 117, 118) or other financial protection in place of a bond (s 119); those sections set their own 10-day deadlines.

1. 1

   New or existing bond and the property

   Tick new bond or enter the existing rental bond number. Enter the property address (with room number for rooming accommodation), the agreement start and end dates, number of bedrooms and type of dwelling.

2. 2

   Items 5 to 7: management and payment

   Tick the type of management, then give the property manager's or owner's name, ABN, RTA ID if known, address and contact details, sign and date. Choose the payment method for a paper form: cheque or money order, or BPAY (the RTA emails or posts a payment reference).

3. 3

   Item 8: rent and bond

   Enter the total bond, weekly rent and the amount paid with this form. Answer whether the tenant receives a rent subsidy from an employer-lessor, the date of the last rent increase, whether the lessor is exempt, and whether the property was bought within 12 months before the tenancy began (with the purchase date).

4. 4

   Item 9: each tenant who paid bond

   For each contributing tenant give full name, the amount they paid, date of birth, contact details, a unique email address (not shared with anyone else), and their signature and date. The individual amounts should add up to the bond paid.

5. 5

   Copy the details to page 2

   Repeat the bond number or 'new bond' and the property address at the top of page 2 so the pages can be matched if separated.

• Lodge online through the RTA's Bond Lodgement Web Service (credit card, debit card or BPAY), or post the signed original form with a cheque or money order payable to Residential Tenancies Authority to RTA, GPO Box 390, Brisbane QLD 4001. Do not email the form.
• Lodge within 10 days of receiving the bond money (s 116). It is an offence not to.
• The RTA issues an Acknowledgement of rental bond to everyone listed on the bond (s 120). Keep it; the bond number is needed for the refund.
• Property managers lodging several bonds at once can use the Bulk Bond Lodgement Web Service.

• A lessor or agent must not ask for or accept more than the maximum bond (s 146). For a house or unit that is 4 weeks' rent.
• Only tenants who have actually contributed to the bond should be listed. The RTA records each contributor's share, and may assume equal shares if the amounts are not stated (ss 113, 115).
• Tenants should check that the acknowledgement arrives. If it does not, contact the RTA, as an unlodged bond is an offence by the person who received it.
• Since 6 June 2024 the date of the last rent increase must be included on the form, subject to the exemptions the RTA lists.