NSW Smart Rental Bonds, explained
NSW renters can transfer an existing rental bond to their next NSW rental for $25 instead of paying a second bond while the first is still tied up. The scheme started on 10 August 2026 in Parramatta, Penrith and the Central Coast, and has been available across the state since September 2026.
1. Your new landlord or agent lodges a pending bond in Rental Bonds Online (RBO).
2. RBO emails you a unique code.
3. You log in, choose "transfer your bond", and pay the $25 fee, plus a top-up if the new bond is higher. If it's lower, the difference comes back to you (unless there's a claim).
4. Any claim on your old bond has to be lodged within 4 weeks. If a claim succeeds, the government pays the old landlord up front and recovers it from you.
You're 18 or over and a natural person (no companies). You're moving between two NSW rental homes with the same tenants on both tenancies. You're vacating your current place within 4 weeks. Your existing bond is already held in an RBO account with no current claim on it. You can't use it if you have a RentStart bond loan with money still owing to Homes NSW, or if you owe the NSW Government for a previous transfer.
The same-tenants rule does the same work it does in Victoria: a household moving together is covered; a share house splitting into different places is not. If your housemates are changing, that's a separate Change of Shared Tenancy Arrangement form, signed by the outgoing tenant, the incoming tenant, everyone staying, and the landlord. It has to be done before a portable transfer, because the tenant lists must match. And if you're not named on the bond at all (paying a share to a head-tenant, or in boarding-style accommodation), the scheme doesn't apply to you.
Rumy doesn't hold bonds or move money, and there's no way for any platform to look up your bond with NSW Fair Trading. Rental Bonds Online is strictly for the tenants, landlords and agents on the bond. What you tell households about where your bond stands is your own declaration. Rumy doesn't and can't check it with the bond authority.
nsw.gov.au Smart Rental Bonds (updated 16 September 2026) · ministerial release, 10 Aug 2026 · Change of Shared Tenancy Arrangement form · Residential Tenancies Amendment (Rental Fairness) Act 2023 No 9 · Residential Tenancies Amendment (Smart Rental Bonds Scheme) Regulation 2026. Rules can change, so check the scheme page before relying on this. Verified 7 October 2026.