After twenty-six movies and nineteen Academy Award nominations (six of those taking the prize), the acclaimed spy movie franchise that has captivated generations since the early-60s has now taken a bold approach with its newest reboot.
Scheduled to be released in 2025, the original movie will introduce fans to new diabolical villains, political crises and ingenuous gadgets – all orbiting around the Real Estate market.
“The thing about this [movie] that appeals to the public is how close to their everyday life it is”, explained director JJ Jonas, visibly excited. According to him, this new vision is inspired by a security measure taken in property rentals – the Bond payments.
“Bond. Rental Bond.”
As defined by law, “a rental bond is an amount for a residential tenancy agreement paid by or for the tenant under the agreement, intended to be available for the financial protection of the lessor against the tenant breaching the agreement”. In other words, these are funds supplied in advance by the tenant to guarantee that the landlord’s property will be well cared for and the lease agreement honoured.
After the payment is finalised, the managing agent will have ten days to lodge it with the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) and provide the tenant with a receipt. Bond monies need to be lodged with the RTA regardless of the formality of the agreement, and it is an offence not to do so – landlords renting privately cannot hold the bond in their private accounts.
Much like the international celebrity spy, this Bond protects the landlord’s investment in case of rental arrears, damage or other.
“Shaken, not stirred.”
Although the most common practice of a Rental Bond is to collect the amount of four weeks’ rent from the tenant/s before the start of their tenancy, this is not the only rule applicable to Bond collection and things can get a little… Shaken.
According to the RTA, if the let property is over $700 per week, the Bond amount can be over four weeks’ rent with no set value for a limit. Of course, this has to be mutually agreed upon by the landlord and the tenant.
Another way the Bond may be affected is in the case of a price increase in the tenants’ rent. In this scenario, the tenants must cover for the missing difference between the new and old figures. For example, a property initially let at $500 per week collected a $2,000 bond; if the rent increases to $550, the tenants have to pay an additional $200 bond to make up the difference between old and new sums.
Director JJ Jonas informed us that these minor details are used as character development in the upcoming 2025 movie.
“From RTA with Love”
In an ideal scenario (and what happens in most cases), at the end of the tenancy, the total value of the Bond is reimbursed to the tenant directly by the Residential Tenancies Authority. The tenants must have all their information updated with the RTA so that their monies can be refunded adequately.
As mentioned before, some claims might occur if there has been tenant-caused damage to the property that needs to be fixed, rental arrears to be rectified, or urgent cleaning to be done, for example. In that case, the managing party sends a request to claim the bond to the RTA, providing a reason for such a measure. The RTA will analyse the issue and release the bond to the managing party, given the tenants’ consent. The whole process is taken to conciliation if the tenants do not consent.
True or not – after the announcement, Reddit erupted in rumours that headhunters are going through listings looking for a quintessential property manager to be the next Bond Girl in what is said to be named ‘Ten Days to Lodge’.
Regardless, with this colossal twist in Mr Bond’s career, all that is left for us to wonder is who will be the new wicked villain and what will be their extravagant plan to bring the Real Estate rental market to its knees.
At Odyssey Property Concierge, our highly experienced team works with smaller portfolios per agent, allowing our Property Managers to dedicate more time to your investment.
