How long does a landlord have to return your bond in NSW?

Trick question — in NSW, your landlord doesn't "hold" your bond at all. It sits with NSW Fair Trading for the whole tenancy. What matters is who lodges the refund claim and whether anyone disputes it. If you lodge the claim yourself through Rental Bonds Online and your landlord doesn't respond within 14 days, the bond is released to you.

The timeframes that actually apply

• You lodge, landlord agrees or stays silent: the landlord has 14 days to respond; if they don't, NSW Fair Trading pays the bond out to you.
• Both parties agree on the amount: refunds are typically processed within days of the agreed claim, direct to your bank account.
• The landlord claims some or all of it: you receive a Notice of Claim and have 14 days to dispute it at NCAT; the disputed amount is held until the matter is decided.

Why lodging first matters

Whoever lodges first sets the default outcome. If you lodge and your landlord does nothing, you get paid. If they lodge a claim and you do nothing for 14 days, their claim is paid out as submitted — even if you would have won at the tribunal. Under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) the dispute process exists precisely so deductions can be tested; silence is the only way to lose it by default.

What if the bond was never lodged?

Landlords and agents are required to deposit your bond with NSW Fair Trading shortly after receiving it. If you never got a Rental Bonds Online notification when you moved in, check with Fair Trading — an unlodged bond is a compliance problem for the landlord, not for you, and the Tenants' Union factsheet explains your options.