There's much consternation among renters judging from the comments in response to my recent story in which one in three renters told a survey that they had lost all or part of their bond.

There is $2.3 billion held in rental bonds by the rental bond boards in NSW and Victoria.

Rental bonds are often a bone of contention between renters and landlords. Credit:Trevor Collens

Renters often agree to give up some of their bond in lieu of a few days' rent.

Or perhaps they don't have the time to do the cleaning themselves and allow the landlord to take the money out of the bond to pay for cleaning.