Ms Pippen suggesting tenants to download their own refund of bond form and lodge it without the landlord or agents signature is poor advice. By doing this, it leads to at least a 14-day response period by the landlord or agent and this starts from when the form is processed by Rental Bonds and this could be weeks!
The delays agents and landlords are experiencing with the Rental bonds office are the worst it has been in years. Up to 8 weeks for bond lodgements to be acknowledged & 4 weeks + for tenants to get their bond refunded. I think this is an area of concern. In other states, NSW for example, bonds are all lodged and refunded online. The tenant can get their bond refund back in 48 hours. Why can't the ACT get on board with this system?
A recent example of the tardiness of the bond office, a recent tenant vacated on the 5th of February . The refund of bond form was sent to Rental Bonds on that day. No deductions coming from the bond, bank details provided on the form and yet as of today 23rd February , they still have not received the $2000…….
I have worked directly in the property management industry for over 15 years in Canberra, the industry as a whole has moved in leaps and bounds. Agents are accountable to specified legislation, ongoing training requirements, regularly attend conferences and training events. Property Management as an entity is now a more recognised profession and, in the ACT, we have some of the countries leading Property Managers.