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More than 100,000 Queenslanders are owed a collective $52 million in outstanding rental bonds, and the state's residential authority is urging people to collect their money.
- There's currently more than 114,000 unclaimed bond payments across Queensland
- Almost half of the bonds are worth more than $300, with the largest valued at $25,796.09
- The suburbs with the most forgotten bonds are Surfers Paradise, Southport and South Brisbane
The Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) has today launched a state-wide campaign calling for people to claim their outstanding bond payments, currently held by the Queensland government statutory authority.
New figures show the RTA is holding more than 114,000 unclaimed bond payments on behalf of tenants, property managers and owners in Queensland, as of June 2023.
Almost half of the bonds are worth more than $300, with the largest outstanding bond being $25,796.09.
In a bid to make the process easier for people to claim their outstanding bonds, the RTA has launched a new online form on its website for people to check their records and claim the bond back.
The local government areas (LGAs) with the most forgotten bonds are Brisbane (39,991), followed by the Gold Coast (15,440) and Moreton Bay (6,330).
The suburb with the most forgotten bonds is Surfers Paradise (1,814) followed by Southport (1,420) and South Brisbane (1,012).
RTA chief executive officer Jennifer Smith said the average value of an outstanding bond payment was $454.99.
She said in most cases, when a tenancy ends, the RTA issued a bond refund to relevant parties using the bank details provided, but sometimes the payments were not successful due to missing or incorrect customer details.
"We're trying to reconnect Queenslanders, or anyone who has ever rented in Queensland, to their forgotten rental bond monies," she said.
Ms Smith said the number of forgotten bonds represented a small percentage of the total bonds the RTA holds — more than 620,000, valued at $1.13 billion.
"In terms of the monies that we hold, we would really love to get them back into the rightful owner's pocket," she said.
"Most people these days have busy lifestyles and a form that's on our website is accessible 24 hours seven days a week, so they can go on — it's very simple, you don't have to be technically savvy to get to our website and click on the link."
The form can be filled out online, or be printed and mailed to the RTA. People without access to the internet can contact the RTA via telephone.
The unclaimed bonds range from tenancies in the past year to those than ended more than 30 years ago, with the oldest dating back to 1990.
The RTA's campaign also involves an extensive marketing campaign, as well as working with stakeholders to ensure outstanding bonds are claimed.
Tenants Queensland chief executive Penny Carr said if anyone was concerned that they might have an outstanding bond, they should check the RTA's website.
"These are actually bonds where there's been a claim on the bond by one or more parties and the RTA hasn't been able to deliver the money to either party," she said.
"Bonds are tenants' money, and every little bit counts at the moment."
10 most-affected LGAs | Number of unclaimed bonds |
|---|---|
Brisbane | 39,991 |
Gold Coast | 15,440 |
Moreton Bay | 6,330 |
Sunshine Coast | 5,861 |
Logan | 5,347 |
Townsville | 5,076 |
Cairns | 5,013 |
Toowoomba | 4,042 |
Ipswich | 3,969 |
Mackay | 2,460 |
Top 10 suburbs with outstanding bonds | Number of unclaimed bonds |
|---|---|
Surfers Paradise | 1,814 |
Southport | 1,420 |
South Brisbane | 1,012 |
St Lucia | 1,012 |
Toowong | 836 |
Brisbane City | 799 |
Robina | 760 |
West End | 689 |
New Farm | 645 |
Fortitude Valley | 586 |