Property Management authority form

[darrelj]

What is meant by "Security Deposit" that's mentioned in a Property Management Authority form?

Is this a common statement?

The form I am looking at says one calendar months rent.

Is this referring to the rental bond that a tenant has to make or something different?

 

[babushka]

What is meant by "Security Deposit" that's mentioned in a Property Management Authority form?

Is this a common statement?

The form I am looking at says one calendar months rent.

Is this referring to the rental bond that a tenant has to make or something different?

A security deposit is the rental bond which a tenant has to pay when signing the lease agreement to rent a property. It is normally equivalent to 4 weeks rent or a calendar months rent. The money pays to the real estate agent who then pays it into a government authority. At the end of the tenancy when a tenant moves out / terminates the lease and everything is checked (for damages) the agent authorises the release of the deposit / bond to the tenant.

[Just a bit of digression. In Australia, the bond is 4 weeks rent. In the UK (where we are living now) it is 6 weeks rent! And, some UK agents do not send tenant's bond to a bond-deposit taking organisation (no government authority here to regulate!) and keep the money for themselves. At the end of the tenancy, tenants have to really "fight" to get their deposit back - really crooked agents, they are not licensed in the UK and anyone can set up a real estate agency. Agents will find all sorts of reasons not to return the tenants bonds. We almost had to take our landlord to court to get our bond money back - it dragged out for 3 months after we moved out. We left his house spotless better than when we moved in (even he admitted himself - but his agent would not release our bond. They refused to take phone calls, answer emails. So landlord paid us the bond and took his agent to court. Landlord got his money back. Agent is still trading! No one can touch him.]