Moving house is famously named as one of life’s most stressful events, and for single mothers, that stress is often multiplied. Between managing change-of-address admin, and keeping life stable for your children, there’s the financial hurdle of the “double bond” – when you are required to pay a bond on the new place before having the bond on the previous home refunded.
Historically, when moving from one rental property to another, tenants have had to scrape together thousands of dollars for a new bond upfront, while waiting weeks for their previous landlord to release their old one.
To eliminate this barrier, the Victorian Government has introduced the Portable Rental Bond Scheme (PRBS), which comes into being 1 July 2026. This scheme allows eligible renters to digitally transfer their existing bond straight to their next home. Here is everything single mothers need to know about how the scheme works, eligibility, and navigating transitions.
How the PRBS scheme works
The core of the Portable Rental Bond Scheme is a government guarantee. Instead of you needing cash physically available for two bonds at once, the Victorian Government steps in to act as a financial guarantor for your old property while you make the move.
- The transfer: Your existing bond credit moves securely via the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA) system directly to your new rental property.
- The fee: To process the digital transfer and keep the system operational, there is a small administrative application fee of $35.
- Handling landlord claims: If your previous landlord submits a successful claim for cleaning or repairs, the government pays the landlord directly so your transition isn’t stalled.
- Repaying the state: If a claim is paid out by the government on your behalf, you will owe that debt to the State. You are given an 8-week window to repay the amount or set up an approved payment plan before overdue fees or recovery actions begin.
Who is eligible?
To take advantage of this scheme, you must fulfill the following baseline criteria:
- Direct RTBA Placement: Your current bond must be officially registered and held directly under a “Renter Pay” status within the RTBA. Third-party arrangements or unregistered private holdings cannot be ported.
- Active Status: The bond must be fully active at the time of your application. It cannot already be disbursed or refunded.
- Digital Identity Verification: Because the transfer is strictly digital, you must be able to securely log into the online RTBA portal (typically requiring identity verification through Service Victoria).
What to do: a step-by-step guide
If you have secured a new rental property and want to use the portable bond scheme, follow these steps:
- Initiate the request: Log into the online RTBA portal as soon as your new lease is approved. Select the option to port your bond.
- Submit details: Provide the official property details of your new home, your new landlord or property agent’s information, and pay the $35 application fee.
- Approve and lock In: The government issues the guarantee to your old landlord, freeing your bond equity to cover the new property automatically.
- Top-ups or refunds: If your new property requires a higher bond than your old one, you only have to pay the remaining difference (the top-up) out of pocket. If the new bond is cheaper, you will receive a partial refund for the remainder once the old tenancy closes.
What happens if there is a time gap between properties?
For single mothers, moving is rarely a perfectly synchronised 24-hour event. You might need to place your belongings in storage and stay with family for a few weeks, or transition through temporary accommodation while waiting for your new lease to start.
The Victorian Government allows a maximum of 14 days between the end of your old lease and the start of your new lease to remain eligible for the Portable Rental Bond Scheme.
The 14-day limit exists in line with the landlord claim deadline. By Victorian rental law, your previous landlord or property manager has a strict 14-day window from the end of your tenancy to either mutually sign off on the bond or officially contest it and file a claim through the tribunal. Because the government steps in to act as a financial guarantor to your old landlord while your bond ports over to the new home, that pending guarantee cannot hang in limbo indefinitely. If the 14 days pass and the bond has not been successfully directed to a new lease, the portable transaction automatically cancels.
If you need to put your things in storage and stay with family or temporary accommodation for more than two weeks, you will not lose your money, but you will lose the ability to port the bond. Once the 14-day window closes without a new lease attached, the RTBA will close the transfer file and process your old bond as a standard refund.
Protections you need to know
1. Protection Against Unfair Landlord Claims
Many single mothers worry that an old landlord will make false claims for damage to keep their money. To stop this, the law dictates that landlords cannot claim a cent without documentary proof.
- Landlords must supply photos, receipts, and condition reports to justify any deductions.
- Landlords face huge fines of up to $25,000 for making unsubstantiated claims.
- They must give you all supporting paperwork three days before filing a claim or escalating it to the tribunal, giving you time to review it.
Read more about resolving rental disputes here.
2. Extra safety nets for family violence
If you are relocating due to family or personal violence, Victoria has distinct, urgent rental protections in place alongside the portable bond system. You can apply directly to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) to have a perpetrator removed from a lease or to legally remove yourself without penalty. Crucially, VCAT can order that any unpaid rent or damage caused by a perpetrator comes entirely out of their share of the bond, completely protecting your financial track record and your bond credit.
Read more about rental laws and family violence safety nets here.
The Victorian Government has introduced a suite of changes to tenancy regulation, including the introduction of the Portable Rental Bond Scheme (PRBS) – you can find more information here.
