New South Wales Consolidated Acts

LANDLORD AND TENANT (RENTAL BONDS) ACT 1977 - SECT 4

4 Definitions

(1) In this Act, except in so far as the context or subject-matter otherwise indicates or requires:
"authorised officer" means:

(a) an inspector appointed under the Financial Institutions (New South Wales) Act 1992 , or

(b) an authorised officer within the meaning of the Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act 1948 , or

(c) a person appointed by the Board to be an authorised officer for the purposes of this Act, or

(d) an investigator appointed under section 18 of the Fair Trading Act 1987 .

"Board" means the Rental Bond Board constituted under this Act.
"functions" includes responsibilities, powers, authorities and duties.
"lease" means a lease or sub-lease of residential premises and includes:

(a) a contract for the letting of residential premises, whether the contract is express or implied or is made orally, in writing or by deed,

(b) a contract for the letting of residential premises together with goods, and

(c) a tenancy of residential premises the existence of which is presumed by operation of section 22A of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1899 ,

but does not include such a lease, sub-lease, contract or tenancy where the premises the subject of the lease, sub-lease, contract or tenancy are partly residential premises and partly premises that are not residential premises.
"lessee" means a person who proposes to become, or who is or was, a lessee or tenant under a lease (being a lease as defined in this subsection) and includes his or her heirs, executors, administrators and assigns.
"lessor" means a person who proposes to become, or who is or was, a lessor or landlord under a lease (being a lease as defined in this subsection) and includes his or her heirs, executors, administrators and assigns.
"member" means a member of the Board.
"money" includes a cheque.
"prescribed proceedings" means proceedings in a court (other than a prosecution) or before the Tribunal in relation to any matter which, under the terms or conditions of a lease, could, but for this Act, have given rise to a claim in relation to a rental bond deposited or paid in accordance with those terms or conditions.
"rental bond", in relation to a lease or proposed lease, means an amount of money deposited with or paid before, on or after the date on which the lease became, or the proposed lease becomes, binding on the parties to:

(a) the lessor under that lease or proposed lease,

(b) a person, other than the lessor under that lease or proposed lease, in accordance with the directions of that lessor or the terms or conditions of that lease or proposed lease, or

(c) a person, other than the lessor under that lease or proposed lease, acting on behalf of that lessor,

being money so deposited or paid in such a way that the effect is to secure, otherwise than by payment of rent in advance, that lessor against any failure by a lessee to comply with any terms or conditions (irrespective of whether those terms or conditions are related to payment of rent or not) applying to or in connection with that lease or proposed lease.
"residential premises" means:

(a) a dwelling-house or any part thereof,

(b) premises, other than a dwelling-house, or any part thereof, or

(c) a residential site within the meaning of the Residential Parks Act 1998 that is a person’s principal place of residence, or

(d) a relocatable home or any other moveable dwelling on a residential site, within the meaning of the Residential Parks Act 1998 , that is a person’s principal place of residence,

used solely for the purposes of residence and, where land or appurtenances are leased with that dwelling-house or those premises (not being land or appurtenances used for commercial purposes or for the purposes of a business or an industry), includes that land or those appurtenances.
"Tribunal" means the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal established by the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal Act 2001 .

(2) An amount of money deposited with or paid to a person as referred to in paragraph (b) or (c) of the definition of "rental bond" in subsection (1) in respect of a lease shall be deemed, for the purposes of section 8, to be deposited with or paid to the lessor under that lease.

(3) For the purposes of the definition of "rental bond" in subsection (1), where money is deposited or paid as referred to in that definition in relation to a proposed lease and a lease between the parties, and of the premises, to which the proposal relates is entered into, the lease entered into shall be deemed to be the lease proposed at the time the money is deposited or paid, whether or not the lease entered into differs from the lease proposed at that time.

(4) Notes included in this Act do not form part of this Act.