Student Living Macquarie, Brisbane

Once you have signed a lease for your room, you cannot change rooms until your lease expires or you break your lease.

When you move into your apartment, you sign a Residential Tenancies Agreement. This is a legally binding document that means you have committed to paying rent from the start date on your contract until the end date of your contract. If you move out, you still have to pay rent until your contract expires. However, if you have no choice but to move out, you can break your lease. This means that you need to pay a lease break fee and the rent until someone else takes over your contract.

A bond (also known as a ‘security deposit’) is an amount of money that you need to pay that can be used by the apartment owner if you do not meet the terms and conditions of your tenancy agreement. Examples of this include If you fail to keep the property clean, cause damage or are in rent arrears, the owner of the property may claim some or all of the bond only when the tenancy ends. The majority of bonds are refunded in full as most are vacate with no issues.

If your rent is $700 a week or less on a General Tenancy Agreement (or $500 a week on a Rooming Accommodation Agreement), the bond cannot be more than 4 week’s rent. The Owner cannot increase the bond during your tenancy. If you are paying over these amounts then the Apartment owner may request a higher Bond amount. The amount you will need to pay for your bond is listed on the prices page and will be confirmed again with you prior to your arrival.

All rental bonds for properties in Queensland are lodged with the Residential Tenancies Authority (RTA) a state government body. Payment must be made payable to the RTA (not this accommodation). We ask that you provide us with a bank cheque (a bank cheque is a cheque issued by the bank under their name; you can purchase one of these from any Australian Bank). Alternatively, a money order (Available from Australia post) is acceptable. Remember the cheque/Money Order must be made payable to the ‘Residential Tenancies Authority’. Bring the bond cheque/money order with you when you are collecting your keys. At this meeting, you will complete and sign the official “Bond Lodgement Form”. We will forward this to the RTA and then the RTA will send a receipt to you direct. Contact the RTA on 1300 366 311 if you have not received a receipt 15 business days after paying your bond. We understand that it may not always be possible to arrange for either a bank cheque or money order prior to arrival and in these instances we recommend you take advantage of the RTA’s online bond lodgement option and bring a copy of this with you when you arrive.

When you pay a bond, we must prepare a ‘Condition Report’, which records the property’s general condition, including fittings and fixtures, and present you with 2 paper copies of this Report when you come to collect your keys. Review and, if necessary, add your comments to the ‘Condition Report’. You must return the report to the accommodation within three business days of moving in and you should keep a copy of the ‘Condition Report’ until the end of the tenancy. The ‘Condition Report’ is a very important document, as it can be used as evidence if there is a dispute about who should pay for cleaning, damage, or replacement of missing items, particularly at the end of a tenancy. You may want to take photos of your apartment at the start of your tenancy to further show the condition. The owner may claim some or the entire bond for cleaning, damage, or replacement of missing items at the end of your tenancy. If the ‘Condition Report’ stated that the work was required at the start of the tenancy, or the items were not listed, it can help you prove the bond should be returned to you.

No, your bond and rent are separate payments. You are required to pay rent in the specified way up to and including the date of your departure.

You need to leave your apartment clean and tidy in the same condition as when you arrived, and ensure all personal items have been removed, report any damage that may have been caused during your tenancy. This allows for a speedy bond resolution.

At the end of the tenancy we will provide you a “Bond Claim” form for completion (or you can download your own copy from the RTA website), Please ensure you sign the form with the same signature as you used on the “Bond Lodgement” form at the start of your tenancy. The RTA will match signatures and will only process your claim if they match. We will lodge the bond claim form once we have the owner and your signed agreement, it then takes another 2-3 business days for the RTA to process, it repays the bond directly into the nominated bank account on the form, If you have not provided valid bank account details, but have provided a forwarding address, the RTA will send a cheque. If the RTA is unable to do either of the above they will retain your money, you will need to contact them via phone on 1300 366 311 to organise for your refund to be released to you.

The Owner is entitled to compensation if you have failed any terms or conditions in your tenancy agreement or breached the Residential Tenancies Act (Queensland State Government Law covering rental issues). Please note that the owner cannot claim for wear and tear of items or fittings in the apartment. At the accommodation the vast majority of these sorts of issues are resolved by agreement between the owner and the tenant. If there is no agreement then the Owner may decide to ask the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) to hold a hearing to finally decide on the issue. Please note if the matter goes to QCAT then the resolution of the bond will exceed the timeframe mentioned above as we must wait for a hearing date from QCAT.

If you or your family need somewhere to stay for a couple of nights to a week, or rest your head after coming in from a late-night flight then why not book at Essence Suites Taringa. Offering fully furnished suites that give you the freedom to relax in a place away from home.

The accommodation has listed a number of resources on our Student Health and Wellbeing page.

Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm.

Yes - please call our after hours on-site staff

Yes - please call our on-site staff on 3870 5444, they will have you complete some paperwork, coordinate with Residential Advisor to provide you with your key and show you to your room.