Rental Disagreement with Lease

HereYeeHereYee on 07/11/2019 - 09:46

Hello all,

Question: if there's two people on a lease (tenant and co-tenant) the bond money plus rbo account (NSW) is under the main tenant only. The co-tenant is listed just the co-tenant on the bond site.

So if the co-tenant decides to leave the lease early and wants their bond back. Should they do it before they sign the "change of shared tenancy agreement?" Because half the bond was transferred between the co-tenant and tenant via normal bank transfer.

Should the co-tenant request in writing from the tenant (as paper trail evidence) their bond will be refunded or should they wait until the bond is refunded and then the co-tenant sign the change of tenancy agreement?

Also, because the co-tenant doesnt feel confident enough the tenant will refund the full bond money without making excuses (lack of funds or non-existent issues to the lease?)

Feedback will be much appreciated

Home & Garden

Comments

  • oscargamer on 07/11/2019 - 10:09
    +1

    Maybe ask the NSW tenancy agency? to get the definitive answer….

    • HereYeeHereYee on 07/11/2019 - 10:21
      -5

      Ozbargain advice is better 😉

      • HereYeeHereYee on 07/11/2019 - 10:50
        -1

        Downvoted eh…people have no sense of humour 😒

        • coxjon on 07/11/2019 - 10:53
          +1

          It was the lack of an MS Paint diagram of something.

  • HighAndDry on 07/11/2019 - 10:09

    So if the co-tenant decides to leave the lease early

    Is the co-tenant even allowed to leave the lease early? If not, the bond might just be forfeit anyway.

    • HereYeeHereYee on 07/11/2019 - 10:20

      Yes, the real-estate agency confirmed it (once the change of tenancy form is signed off).

      • Kangal on 07/11/2019 - 11:35
        +1

        The "tenant" is the original signer of the lease/contract, where the first and last fortnight of rent is paid plus bond already.
        When you want someone else living in the house, they do not necessarily need to pay rent or bond, but you must gain approval from the landlord, as that is their right (to vet people living in the property).

        If you decide to take money from the other people, the landlord or agent does not have to know. And the contract terms do not change. As the original tenant you now become responsible for the other parties. If you want the responsibility to be shared, that is you are still responsible for their behaviour, but now they are also responsible for yours, you can proceed to what is called a Joint Tenancy.

        With the Joint Tenancy, you now have their names added to the original contract. Each co-tenant also pays for their share of the rent. You can have the co-tenants lodge their portion of the bond, and request a refund for your portion. That last part is tricky, hence why most people don't do it. Because it means when any co-tenants move out, they will need their bond back, and the owing portion of the bond must now be paid by a new co-tenant or the remaining co-tenants/tenant. See what I mean, messy.

        If your housemate/sharehouse/co-tenant wants to move out, you can exercise certain things:
        - the contract term (they're still responsible to pay until they find a replacement co-tenant)
        - lodge a bond transfer with RTA, and sort out the mess
        - you can pay them out-of-pocket for the bond, and have them forfeit their payment of the bond lodgement to you (trust worthy?)

        • HereYeeHereYee on 07/11/2019 - 12:14

          Cheers mate! Great information to fall back on, much appreciated!

        • HereYeeHereYee on 07/11/2019 - 12:22

          Just to clarify the Tenant has stated to the co-tenant that they won't refund the bond (bank transfer) to the co-tenant until the co-tenant signs the change of shared tenancy agreement..

          that's why it gets sticky as the co-tenant just did the bank transfer to the tenant only while the tenant paid the full bond to the RBO account. (Although the co-tenant is listed listed on the RBO for the lease)

          That's where it gets tricky in terms of trust etc. Because once it's signed off (change of tenancy, the co-tenant waives their rights to the lease) which leads them to exposed not getting the bond money back?

          • Kangal on 07/11/2019 - 12:55
            +1

            @HereYeeHereYee: No, that's good news.
            If the bond is paid in-full by the original tenant, when the bond is returned it will go directly back to the original tenant. So its a much more simple affair now, since the original tenant can pay the co-tenant their bond back out of pocket

            When I was in this situation years ago (I was co-tenant), what I did was to forfeit my bond which was in another's name, and I got my initial bond back by not paying the last couple weeks of the rent. I left the property very clean, and let the real estate agent know by showing proof of my new lease contract and signing a Change of Tenancy form. So now, when the other tenants move, they need to make sure the house is in original condition, rent paid up, cleaned, with allowances for "wear and tear". Otherwise the bond will be reduced, but it will come from the initial bond deposit which is in their name, and any legal course is upon their shoulders as I am not listed on the contract anymore.

            I hope that helps.

    • HereYeeHereYee on 07/11/2019 - 10:20
      -3

      …

      • kolorijo on 07/11/2019 - 10:38
        -2

        ,,,

      • HereYeeHereYee on 07/11/2019 - 10:49

        Not sure why getting downvoted…was a double post so can't delete..

        • kolorijo on 07/11/2019 - 10:55

          maybe mention it there, instead of … as you came across as pushy?

          Downvoted eh…people have no sense of humour 😒

          agreed

          • HereYeeHereYee on 07/11/2019 - 11:28

            @kolorijo: It doesn't sound pushy though? I guess everyone takes it differently with what … is intended for 😅

            • kolorijo on 07/11/2019 - 11:35
              +1

              @HereYeeHereYee: True. It does for me as it was following your earlier comment, hence my attempt on bad joke with ,,, :D which also drew a couple of negs so far.

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