Victoria bond payments changed: records property managers should keep

Victoria's bond workflow is back in the rental news after reports on 10 September said rental providers and agents now face a new offence if they refuse to enter a rental agreement because the renter elected to pay the bond directly to the RTBA.

The official Parliament record for the Consumer Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 says clause 79 creates that offence under section 405B of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997. Consumer Affairs Victoria's current bond guidance also says renters have the option to pay the bond directly to the RTBA during a lodgement, using BPAY, direct debit or credit card.

There is one detail worth keeping clear. Consumer Affairs says renters cannot start a bond lodgement by themselves. The rental provider, property manager or real estate agent starts the lodgement. The renter then reviews and accepts it, and can pay the RTBA directly where that method is used.

Do not turn the payment method into a selection issue

The simplest compliance habit is to keep the application decision separate from the renter's bond payment choice. If an applicant is approved, the file should not leave room for a later argument that the agreement was delayed, withdrawn or refused because the renter wanted to pay the RTBA directly.

For agencies, that means noting the actual approval reason, the agreement sent date, the renter's bond payment preference, and any operational follow-up. Keep the note plain. It does not need to sound legal. It just needs to show the payment method was treated as an admin choice, not a reason to refuse the renter.

Start the lodgement cleanly

Consumer Affairs says the lodgement includes details such as the bond amount, rental property address and renters' contact details. Every renter on the bond receives an email notification to review and accept the lodgement, and each renter needs their own unique email address recorded.

That makes the setup details worth checking before the lodgement is submitted. Keep a record of the renter names, email addresses, property address, bond amount, payment method selected, date lodged and any change request. If the renter later says they did not receive the notification, the agency should be able to check the address used without hunting through inboxes.

Track the acceptance and payment window

Once the renter accepts the lodgement, Consumer Affairs says a payment link is available for paying the bond to the RTBA. It also says payments must be made within 48 hours of the link's creation, and renters must accept the lodgement within 14 days or the lodgement will no longer be available to complete.

Those dates are easy to miss in a busy leasing week. A practical record should show when the lodgement was created, when acceptance occurred, when the payment link became available, whether all renters had accepted in a multiple-renter bond, and whether the lodgement was paid, cancelled, timed out or resubmitted.

Be careful with portable bond language

The direct-payment pathway also matters because Victoria's Portable Rental Bond Scheme uses the RTBA platform. The Victorian Government's portable bond page says the scheme lets eligible renters transfer existing bond money to a new rental property, is optional, and costs $25 to use.

Property managers do not need to promise that a transfer will work. They do need to keep their own admin clear: the renter's request, any RTBA transaction details visible to the agency, the new bond amount, whether a top-up is needed, and any message sent to the renter about next steps.

Keep receipts with the tenancy file

Consumer Affairs says the RTBA sends a receipt to every renter listed on the bond once the bond is lodged. Rental providers receive a receipt if they ask for one. For agencies, the useful habit is to store the bond number, receipt status and any RTBA confirmation beside the signed rental agreement and condition report.

This is not just neat admin. At the end of the tenancy, bond claims depend on the right bond record, the right renters and clean evidence. A messy start makes the exit harder than it needs to be.

What to do this week

Victorian property managers should check their leasing checklist, email templates and training notes. Make sure the workflow lets a renter choose direct payment to the RTBA without friction, records the choice before lodgement, tracks acceptance and payment timing, and stores the receipt details where the team can find them later.

This article is general information for rental operators, not legal advice. Check the current Victorian legislation, Consumer Affairs Victoria guidance and RTBA process before changing agency procedures or responding to a specific dispute.

Sources checked

Reviewed 2026-09-11.