People renting their homes in Parramatta, Penrith and the Central Coast will be some of the first to be able to access the NSW Government’s new rental initiative, ‘Smart Rental Bonds’. The introduction of this portable bond program will allow eligible renters to transfer their bonds between rental properties, removing the need to find funds to pay for a second bond while awaiting the first to be returned.

This scheme will work to lessen the financial burden of moving and streamline the rental application process for existing renters, as well as lessen the pressure on renters who may feel compelled to agree to questionable claims on their bond or take out payday loans to pay for a second bond. Any difference between the two bonds will be payable to Rental Bonds Online, while claims on existing bonds will be paid to landlords by NSW Government, who will then recover funds from the tenant.

Shelter NSW welcomes this scheme designed to alleviate the severe cost-of-living crisis experienced first and foremost by tenants. While this reform may appear to be minor compared to the scale of the systemic change we need, it will without a doubt make a meaningful difference to the lives of some tenants. However, the $25 smart rental bonds fee payable by tenants works to undermine the intent of the program. We echo the concerns of Tenants’ Union of NSW in that this set fee places a greater burden on lower income renters and is not necessary to cover the operational costs of the system, noting the returns on the $2.3bn held by the Rental Bond Board should be adequate to fund this program. We call for the full removal of this fee, with an exemption for lower-income renters and people living on social security payments as a minimum.

While this program makes a valuable contribution to creating a fairer rental system, we know that the real game changer to provide tenants with greater certainty, housing security, and cost of living relief is to better regulate rent increases, including their amount, and we will be calling upon the NSW Government to act on this issue.