Residential Tenancies Act 1986, ss 18, 19, 66D
Your boarding house landlord can ask you for a bond of up to four weeks’ rent.
If the bond you pay is equivalent to more than a week’s rent, all the normal rules about bonds apply, including that the landlord has 23 working days to give it to Tenancy Services for them to hold, see “Rent, bond and other costs” earlier in this chapter.
If the bond is only one week’s rent or less, your landlord doesn’t have to give it to Tenancy Services, but they do have to give you a receipt. They have to refund you the bond when you move out, except for any amount needed to cover unpaid rent or pay for any damage you’ve caused. If your landlord holds on to your bond at the end of the tenancy, or holds on to more than you think they’re entitled to, you can apply to the Tenancy Tribunal to order the landlord to give you back the bond.