what to do....

Hi all,

A friend of mine got into a bit of a pickle. He filled out an application for a unit, his wife signed it but not him. He paid bond and deposit to hold the unit.

Now he decided not to move to that unit and he wants to know what he can do. Does he loose the bond, even though he has not signed the form. He would need to move in the unit on 26th November. I told him technically he has not signed anything yet, just filled out application. So I think he will loose the deposit but not the bond?

Am I correct or he will loose the deposit and bond?

Cheers

 

Was the application successful?
If not, why has he paid deposit/bond? (I assume by deposit you mean 1st 2 weeks rent?)
If so, has he received the keys?

It can be a little bit borderline, and varies between states, but I generally take standard contracts law approach. This says: "has the contract been delivered on?" If not, then walk away. And: "If so, then you need to exit the contract subject to its early exit penalties."

So the short answer is, it depends on how far long the contract process he is (ie lease signature, keys) and how lenient/stubborn the PM wants to be.

 

Just checked with him...he did send in application and was successful. He paid one weeks rent to "hold" the unit. He paid the bond, but not the first two weeks of rent yet.

 

If he has not signed a lease an application does not count. Some states have a deposit to be paid for applications but others do not.

I don't think it's binding. Property managers have people pulling out of applications all the time.

Ask for a refund.

 

If lease was signed - different story. Then it is binding.

 

If it is in NSW then he would have paid 2 weeks rent and 4 weeks for bond. Of that, they can only get 1 weeks rent back and the 4 weeks bond.

This is because no lease has been signed so they cannot legally retain a bond and therefore must be refunded. They are only permitted to retain the 1 weeks holding deposit.

 

As has been said, no lease no arrangement. What did your wife sign - an application or a lease? If it was a lease, were both your names on the lease or just hers?

 

That's fantastic - need this law in SA too.

 

Probably best for your friend to call someone like Fair Trading or Tenants NSW - Tenants NSW
to get some specific advise to their circumstance.

 

How about they just ring the PM, might get sorted in 5 minutes.

 

Thanks for everyone's replies... I told him the same thing. Just call the PM and explain the situation. As other mentioned the lease has not been signed so he is getting all the money back.
I think he was panicking for no reason, first time he is renting. I got him to double check and make sure that he is definitively happy on the new place he is signing up for... he can move into new place in 2 weeks.

 

Good stuff, glad it got sorted out fairly painlessly.