Residential Tenancies Act 1997

A grantor must not require an occupant under an occupancy agreement for premises to pay a security deposit unless—

the agreement is—

in writing; and

for a fixed term of more than 14 days; and

the grantor complies with section 71EB in relation to a condition report.

The maximum amount of a security deposit is—

for an occupancy agreement with a fixed term of more than 14 days but less than 6 months—an amount of no more than the first 2 weeks of any occupancy fee payable under the agreement; or

for an occupancy agreement with a fixed term of 6 months or longer—an amount of no more than the first 4 weeks of any occupancy fee payable under the agreement.

The amount of the security deposit must be stated in the occupancy agreement.

A grantor must not require or accept—

more than 1 security deposit in relation to an occupancy agreement; or

a security deposit from an occupant under an occupancy agreement for premises (the current agreement) if—

the occupant occupied the premises under an earlier occupancy agreement (the prior agreement); and

a security deposit is held in relation to the prior agreement; and

an application for the release of the deposit has not yet been made.

Note An application may be made under div 3.4 (as applied by s 71ED (4)).