Australia has issued a warning to international students, reminding them that landlords are only allowed to charge rent, a bond, or fees specified in official regulations under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010.
The warning follows a recent case where an international student was asked to pay $7,600 before moving into a rental property in Sydney. She had signed a 12-month lease on a fully furnished house near her university for $1,150 a week, based solely on video footage, as she was overseas at the time.
Along with $4,600 for four weeks of rent, the landlord asked her to pay an additional $3,000 under a separate furniture tenancy agreement. The student later vacated the house without prior notice, just four months into the lease.
The landlord then filed an appeal with the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal, requesting a $3,000 bond to cover potential damage to the $8,000 worth of furniture.
However, the Tribunal dismissed the landlord’s appeal, citing that the additional furniture bond was not permitted under the Residential Tenancies Act.
