How to get bond back when landlord is ignoring me?

[MelbournePhom]

Hi there,

 

I had been renting a room in outer Melbourne for around $750 per month. I had been there for 4 months and moved out when I came back for Christmas. When I moved in I paid one months rent as bond. My housemate said that when I moved out he would deduct some bills (I know there were 1 or 2 to pay) and then send me the remaining money. However since moving out and flying back home to England he hasn't been replying to my facebook messages, and to irritate me further, I can see he is reading them with the "Seen at x:xxpm" marks on them.

 

So I am now starting to think he isn't going to pay me. And I am not back in Melbourne for another 2-3 weeks, and I think he might have been planning to leave the house now I think about it. I've been thinking of mailing the real estate company he has leased the property from the explain what's happened, but I don't think they will help as it's not to do with them.

 

If anyone has any ideas that would be helpful. It's seriously been annoying me over Christmas...

[Eera]

Can you clarify; does this person own the house or simply rent it and sublet a room to you? If he just sublet, was your name put on the lease agreement or was it a case of you moved in without the approval of the agency and the house owner. Did you sign a contract or anything?

 

If he simply sublet a rental and you were there unofficially, there probably isn't a lot you can do about it; bonds are supposed to be held in a trust but if it's a cash in hand job this probably wouldn't have happened. All you can really do is tell the rental agency what he's done but they won't really be able to do anything about it other than give him a slap on the wrist.

On the other hand, if it was a wholly legal agreement - you were named as a tenant on a lease (and private ones hold the same legal weight as ones through agencies), then complain the Residential Tenancies Association