VIC RTBA and Lease - How to Get Bond Back?

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Lazyrabbit

Member
10 September 2015
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Hi, thanks for listening my rental story.

My ex landlord is holding my bond $800 after I move out the house. Actually, she takes the house from an agent and she rents the house for me. I already checked for RTBA that she did not submit my bond to the RTBA. In the beginning of the lease period, we had an oral agreement that I would rent for a year. I moved into the house in March, but I give my notice to her on May because I do not want to live with her due to a messy house and I wanted to move to a place near my university.

I let her know that I wanted to move out because contract was almost due and she had asked me whether I wanted to rent continuously. I said that I wanted to move out and she agreed with my decision and promised that she will give my bond back. However, she changed her mind and chose to hold my whole bond because of her inability to find a tenant.

I gave the notice to her on May but had not included an accurate date to move out. When I was sure of an accurate date, I gave the notice at the beginning of July because I planned to moved out date on 24 July. Right now, she said that I broke the oral agreement and she has the right to deduct my bond. But my question is: if she disagreed with my decision to move out during the lease period, she should have said that she would not give back my bond if I chose to move out. But she did not, and my opinion is that she agreed with my decision which means that I did not break the oral agreement. We do not have any written contract and the receipt of bond, but I do have a bank transaction record and chat history in Chinese. I am not sure whether they could be used as evidence. And also I do not know whether I broke the oral agreement and how can I get my bond back?

Please help me.