****BOARDING HOUSES vs APARTMENT COMPLEXES**** Hi everyone, Today the tribunal ordered Sydney Residential to provide the remaining amount of my bond back to me ($250). Sydney Residential was not present at the hearing, however. To make you all aware, if you are renting any of the apartments listed in the below picture in Kingsford (taken from NSW Boarding House Register parkspr.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/BoardingHouse.aspx) you are, in fact, not renting an apartment, but a room in a boarding house. Sydney Residential are therefore not required to lodge your bond with NSW Fair Trading in this matter, which is why our bonds are taking so long to be returned. As a precautionary measure, if you are just starting to rent with Sydney Residential you should urge them to register your bond with NSW Fair Trading for faster return of your bond when you vacate. It is up to the local council to determine whether these apartments can be considered boarding houses or apartment complexes. I asked the council: what is the difference between a boarding house and an apartment complex? to which the person replied he is having problems wrapping his head around. If you would like the council to further rectify this, please contact Peter James (senior building surveyor) on [email protected] and urge for a distinction because boarders and lodgers are offered less rights than actual tenants (for example, your bond does not have to be registered with Fair Trading). From tenants.org.au/factsheet-14-boarders-and-lodgers, you are likely to be a tenant rather than a boarder/lodger, if you: 1. Have exclusive access to your own room (no-one else uses your room and you can lock it) 2. Do not get meals, linen, or cleaning as part of your agreement 3. Have your own cooking facilities 4. Do not have house rules enforced. If the above applies to you please write to the council and urge them to consider removing your apartment from the boarding house register. I have done as much as I can within my capacity as an individual to seek out why our bonds are taking so long to be returned. So, to sum up and to protect yourselves: 1. Ask for the bond to be registered with NSW Fair Trading. 2. Ask the council to consider inspecting your premises to define whether it really is a boarding house or an apartment complex.
Posted on: Mon, 21 Jul 2014 07:46:07 +0000
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