When tenants of any property sign a lease and pay a bond it is considered a promissory note that they are going to uphold their portion of the lease and that damages incurred during their rental period will be paid for at the end of their stay. Sometimes when two people are a part of a lease, but one of the two decides they want to move out, and a new roommate may need to be found. When this happens it is important to either seek a new tenancy or create a change of tenants.
By Brisbane real estate standards, any tenant should notify their landlord of a change in tenants. It is part of most rental agreements that new tenants residing on the premises without the permission of the landlord can be grounds to evict both the original and new tenant. For that reason, as a tenant it is important to follow all the legalities involved when tenants are changing, regardless of what the status of the bond is.
Some landlords will allow a shared bond arrangement, in which the new tenant pays the old tenant for their originally issued bond, thereby continuing the lease merely with a new tenant. This is considered a change of tenants in a shared bond. For this process to be done correctly you must fill out a change of shared bond form, also known as a Form 6, in order for the process to be approved and the original tenant to receive his bond payment.
Brisbane property managers and landlords know that this document must be accompanied by signatures of both the new and old tenants and the landlord or agent that rents the location. All payment arrangements are the concern of the other parties, as the agent merely sends the finalised Form 6 to the RTA (Residential Tenancies Authority). This document should be filled out entirely and with the current information in order to determine the party that receives payment for the bond and the party that owns the bond now. Paying out a tenant for their previously purchased bond should be done before the Form 6 is submitted to the RTA.
As a landlord and as a tenant, it is important to understand that the lease and bond entered into prior to move-in are serious, and that breaking the tenancy agreement without proper documentation is very risky. If there are any questions regarding a shared bond and transferring or beginning a new one, then the Residential Tenancies Authority can help to point you in the right direction.