Bond Receipt South Australia: The 48-Hour Rule for Landlords

The 48-hour receipt is the first deadline a South Australian landlord hits after collecting a rental bond — and one of the easiest to miss. Under Section 62(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act 1995, anyone who receives a security bond must issue a formal receipt to the payer within 48 hours. Failure carries a $25,000 maximum fine and a $1,200 expiation fee.

What the Receipt Must Contain

The receipt is not a casual acknowledgment. It must explicitly state:

1. The date the payment was received
2. The full name of the person paying (and the tenant's name if a third party paid)
3. The exact amount received
4. The property address the bond secures

If any of these four elements is missing, the receipt does not meet the statutory requirement.

Electronic Receipts Are Valid

Since the 15 January 2026 technical amendments to Section 62, electronic receipts are explicitly lawful. If the tenant pays directly into your bank account and the transfer generates an electronic record containing all four required elements, a separate paper receipt is not strictly required.

That said, best practice is still to issue a written confirmation — bank transfer descriptions rarely include the property address or label the payment as a rental bond. A quick email confirming all four items is the simplest way to satisfy the requirement.

When the Tenant Pays CBS Directly

Under the tenant direct lodgement rules introduced on 1 July 2024, a tenant can pay their bond directly to CBS via Residential Bonds Online. When this happens, CBS sends confirmation through RBO. Because the tenant paid CBS directly, you do not issue a separate receipt for money you did not receive.

Common Mistakes

Confusing the receipt deadline with the lodgement deadline. The 48-hour receipt clock and the 14-day CBS lodgement clock are separate obligations. Issuing a receipt does not lodge the bond.

Treating a bank statement as a receipt. A generic bank credit entry showing "$2,400 from J. Smith" does not record the property address or label the payment as a bond. It is not a compliant receipt.

Forgetting instalment receipts. If the tenant pays the bond in two instalments, each instalment needs its own receipt within 48 hours.

The SA Rental Bond Guide covers the full sequence from receipt to CBS lodgement, with the documentation standards that meet both the 48-hour receipt requirement and the 14-day transmission deadline.

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