Page 3079 - Week 08 - Thursday, 15 August 2019
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(10) The ARS has not been reviewed since it commenced.
Housing—rental bonds
(Question No 2527)
Ms Le Couteur asked the Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, upon notice, on 17 May 2019 (redirected to the Treasurer):
(1) What are the steps involved in processing a rental bond refund.
(2) How many refund forms are lodged each day and of these, how many forms are (a) signed by both parties and (b) only partially completed and then require notification to the other party/ies.
(3) In relation to the table provided in the response to question on notice 2413, which relates to the average time to refund bonds per month following receipt of completed Refund Application forms, does (a) the average time to refund bonds per month refer to business days or calendar days, (b) the average time to refund bonds include full refunds, partial refunds, undisputed, and disputed claims and (c) does a “completed refund form” refer to a form that has been signed by both the leasee and the lessor with no dispute; if so, why are bond processing times as long as they are, given that money is transferred electronically; if not, do the average bond return times also include instances where only one party has signed the bond return form and the other party must be given 14 days to dispute the claim.
(4) How many full-time equivalent staff work at the Office for Rental Bonds (ORB).
(5) Has the new ORB online portal reduced time for bond returns or created any other efficiencies for ORB staff.
(6) When will tenants be able to use the ORB portal.
(7) Does ORB have data on how long it takes lessors to lodge bond return forms after a tenancy has ended; if so, can the Minister provide information on this for each month that data is available for the last three years.
Mr Barr: The answer to the member’s question is as follows:
(1) The steps involved to process a rental bond manually (not through the web portal) are:
a) The Office of Rental Bonds (ORB) receives a refund application by email or post and the application is verified by a rental bonds officer including the address, tenants, bank account details agent/lessor name, required signatures, etc, and then the officer records the refund against the bond.
b) A supervising officer then checks the information and approves the release of the bond money which is then transferred into the nominated bank account(s) which can then take up to two working days to appear in the party’s or parties’ accounts.
If a lessor or agent uses the new Rental Bond Portal when raising the refund request, the refund can be actioned more quickly and may be released on the same day it is received. This is because the portal has a range of validations that helps
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