A renter in New South Wales posted an account on r/AusRenters earlier this month that will be familiar to anyone who has applied for a rental recently. Their application had been approved. The agent asked for a two-week deposit, and they paid it. No lease was signed, and days went by without an official receipt for the money. When they tried to confirm something as basic as whether the tenancy would run six months or twelve, the agent stopped replying. It was only after they reached a different staff member at the agency that the situation became clear: a "serious buyer" was inspecting the property that Saturday, and a decision on whether the place would be leased at all would be made after that inspection. Realising the property had not actually been taken off the market for them, the renter withdrew the application and asked for the deposit back. The agency's position was that the money was forfeited in full, because the listing had been marked "Deposit Taken." After the renter said they would raise it with NSW Fair Trading, the agency offered to refund one week rent.
General questions to ask before you transfer anything
- Get the payment named. Ask what it is called, exactly how much it is, and who is receiving it. "Deposit" can mean several different things.
- Ask what it holds, and until when. A payment that takes the property off the market should come with a date attached.
- Pin down the lease. Six months or twelve, and what start date. This renter never got an answer.
- Ask whether the property is also for sale. Or being shown to buyers, or has a sale campaign running. This was the fact that changed everything, and it surfaced by accident.
- Ask what happens if either side doesn't proceed. Both directions — yours and theirs.
If you have already paid
- Ask in writing for a receipt and for confirmation of what the payment was for. An email creates a record even when nobody replies to it.
- Save the whole trail. The application, every message, the bank transfer, and screenshots of the listing as it appeared — including any change to its status.
- Keep anything that shows whether the property was genuinely available, such as inspection times advertised to buyers.
- Put requests in writing, with a deadline. Set out the dates, what was paid, what was never provided, and a specific day for a reply.
- Stay off the phone for the important parts. Verbal negotiation captures nothing.
- Get free advice before you respond to an offer, not after. NSW Fair Trading and local tenants' advice and advocacy services both take enquiries at no cost.
Note - All the suggestions listed here is general in nature and should not be considered as legal advice. For serious matters do your own research.