New South Wales is getting ready to roll out a portable bond scheme for its more than 2.3 million renters in a bid to ease housing costs as cost-of-living pressures mount around the country.
The NSW government’s new smart rental bond system has kicked off testing ahead of its mid-2026 launch, which will allow tenants to digitally transfer their bond between properties for a $25 fee.
It's the latest state to take a step towards portable bonds, as Victoria rolls out its scheme this year and the re-elected South Australian government gets ready to deliver on its election promise.
Renters in NSW face the worst affordability of any state in Australia, deteriorating further in the past year, according to the latest PropTrack Rental Affordability report.
It’s become so tough for renters that a median-income household in NSW could only afford to rent 25% of rentals advertised on realestate.com.au between July and December 2025.
The portable bond move means renters will no longer have to find thousands of dollars for a ‘second’ bond while waiting for the previous bond to be refunded, avoiding the dreaded ‘double bond’ problem.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the reforms were aimed at easing financial pressure on renters and improving fairness across the rental system.
Tenants in Sydney and wider NSW have experienced surging rental costs and low vacancy rates. Picture: Supplied
“This reform is about easing cost-of-living pressure and making renting fairer, simpler and more flexible for more than 2.3 million renters in our state,” Mr Minns said.
“Every cent counts and making sure that renters don’t have to put money forward for a bond while waiting for a refund will save them thousands of dollars each time they move.”
Around 330,000 households move each year, according to government estimates, with most rental tenancies lasting less than two years, meaning thousands of renters face repeated upfront costs when changing homes.
This requires people to save significantly before they can leave a property or potentially have to take out loans if they have to move out of the property unexpectedly due to the property being sold or the homeowner moving in.
NSW Premier Chris Minns says the reforms are aimed at easing financial pressure on renters and improving fairness across the rental system. Picture: NewsWire/John Appleyard
REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty said it would make moving easier for tenants.
“There is often a period of overlap between a renter receiving their bond from a previous lease and the need to provide a bond for a new lease,” Ms Flaherty said.
“The introduction of portable rental bonds will make moving easier by reducing upfront costs and providing greater ease of mind for renters.”
Under the new scheme, renters will be notified once a landlord or agent lodges a bond request online through the existing rental bonds platform.
Renters will be able to log onto the platform and choose to either pay their new bond upfront or use Smart Rental Bonds to move their existing bond to the new property.
If the new bond is higher than the old one, the renter will need to pay the difference but if the bond is cheaper, they will get the difference back provided there is no agreed claim on the bond.
If a landlord makes a claim on a bond and the renter agrees, the NSW Government will pay the landlord upfront, and the renter will then repay the government, meaning landlords face no financial risk.
NSW rental commissioner Trina Jones said the smart rental bond system would help alleviate financial pressure and create a fairer and more flexible rental experience for tenants.
“Allowing the bond to be a portable asset which can move between properties digitally will alleviate the financial strain which comes with moving such as having to hire a van or organise utilities,” Ms Jones said.
“Nothing will change for landlords in the process either, because the NSW Government will pay out the agreed claim to the bond once a tenant moves out.”
Rental affordability has deteriorated in NSW since 2020-21 and has declined slightly further in the past year, sitting at its worst level since PropTrack records began and falling below its last low point in 2010-11 following the Global Financial Crisis.
Renting has always been challenging for low-to-middle-income households in NSW - no time over the past 18 years has a household earning a median income been able to afford even half of advertised rentals in the state.
In Sydney, the median weekly asking rent for houses rose 3.2% year-on-year to $800 in the December 2025 quarter, while unit rents jumped 7.1% to $750, according to PropTrack.
Sydney's median weekly asking rent for houses rose 3.2% year-on-year to $800 in the December 2025 quarter. Picture: Getty
During the same period, regional NSW saw the median weekly asking rent for houses increase 5% year-on-year to $630, while unit rents rose 6% to $530.
Finding a rental is also tough in the state, where vacancy rates for Sydney and regional NSW sit below historic averages at 1.55% and 1.36%, respectively.
Other NSW rental reforms include ending no-grounds evictions, limiting rent increases to once a year, making it easier to have pets in rentals and the introduction of an $8.4 million rental taskforce to hold landlords and real estate agents to account.
The rental reforms are part of a National Cabinet agreement made between the federal, state and territory governments in 2023 to strengthen renter protections.
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