End of Lease Cleaning Checklist: How to Get Your Bond Back in Australia

You get your bond back by handing the property over in the condition shown on your entry condition report, allowing for fair wear and tear. That is the whole test. Not brand new, not "pristine", not whatever the agent's preferred cleaner would charge you for. Every state's tenancy authority says some version of this. What follows is the standard in plain words, a room-by-room list, when a bond cleaner is worth paying, and what to do if the agent tries it on.

TL;DR

Your bond comes back when the property matches the entry condition report, minus fair wear and tear. The NSW Tenants' Union calls it "reasonably clean", which is not the same as spotless. Work through the checklist below, photograph everything when you finish, and hand in your own exit report with the keys. Hire a bond cleaner if there is carpet to steam clean, the house is large, or you do not have the days it takes. A "bond back guarantee" means a free re-clean, not a refund, and if the agent claims your bond unfairly, do not sign, dispute it.

What "reasonably clean" actually means

The NSW Tenants' Union's bond factsheet says the property must be returned reasonably clean, and spells out that this does not mean pristine, perfect or spotless. It means what a sensible person would consider clean, taking into account how the place looked when you moved in. If the oven had baked-on grime on day one and the entry report says so, you are not on the hook for making it look new.

Queensland says the same thing from the other direction. The Residential Tenancies Authority explains that your exit condition report is compared against the entry report to decide whether the property is in the same condition as when you moved in, apart from fair wear and tear. Victoria runs bonds through the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority; Consumer Affairs Victoria's bond page covers claims and VCAT disputes there.

So before you pick up a sponge, dig out your entry condition report and your move-in photos. That document decides what "clean enough" means for your place, not the agent's checklist.

The room-by-room checklist

Work top to bottom in each room so dust falls onto surfaces you have not done yet. Floors are the last job in every room.

Kitchen

• Oven: racks, trays, door glass, seal and drip tray. Agents check this first.
• Rangehood: soak the metal filters in hot water and degreaser, wipe the hood inside and out.
• Cooktop, including under the trivets and knobs.
• Every cupboard and drawer inside and out, tops of overhead cupboards, kickboards.
• Dishwasher filter and seal. Sink, drain, tap and splashback.
• Benchtops, then the floor, including behind the fridge.

Bathroom and toilet

• Grout on the shower floor and walls. A grout brush with cream cleanser does most of it. Mould inside the silicone will not scrub out; note it on your exit report if it was there at entry.
• Shower screen and frame, including the bottom track.
• Exhaust fan cover off and washed, blades wiped.
• Toilet inside and out, including the base and hinges.
• Vanity, mirror, basin, tapware, bath edges, towel rails, floor and skirting.

Bedrooms and living areas

• Ceiling corners and fans for cobwebs. Light fittings, switches and power points wiped.
• Inside built-in wardrobes: shelves, rails, robe floor, tops of the doors.
• Skirting boards, doors and frames, especially around the handles. Air conditioner filters rinsed.
• Floors vacuumed and mopped, including where the furniture stood.

Laundry

• Washing machine cavity, tap connections, trough, cupboards, dryer filter if the dryer stays, floor and floor waste.

Windows, tracks and blinds

• Glass inside, and outside where you can safely reach. Upper storey exteriors are not expected.
• Window tracks and sills: vacuum first, then a damp cloth. Tracks are the most common re-clean item after the oven.
• Flyscreens brushed or hosed. Blinds dusted slat by slat. Curtains vacuumed.

Walls and marks

• Scuffs wiped with a damp microfibre cloth or mild sugar soap. Test a patch first so you do not lift the paint.
• Blu Tack and hook marks removed. Small nail holes are usually fair wear and tear, but check your lease wording on picture hooks.
• Do not repaint patches unless the agent asks in writing. A mismatched patch can cost more than the mark.

Garage and outdoors

• Garage floor swept, oil stains treated with degreaser. Cobwebs off eaves and the porch.
• Lawns mowed, edges done, weeds pulled. Bins emptied and rinsed. Nothing left in the shed.

Carpet

• Vacuum thoroughly first, including under where beds sat, and spot treat stains before the steam clean.
• Steam clean if the lease requires it, if the entry report says it was professionally cleaned at the start, or if you had pets. Keep the receipt; agents ask for it.

DIY or hire a bond cleaner?

A full end of lease clean on a three-bedroom house is two long days for two people, if you have the gear. Doing it yourself makes sense when the place is small, you have the time, and it was in ordinary condition when you got it.

Hiring makes sense when any of these apply:

• There is carpet and the lease calls for professional steam cleaning. The same company can do the rest.
• The house is large or has been lived in hard.
• You have no time. The days you would spend scrubbing are worth more than the invoice.
• You want someone else to carry the risk of a re-clean.

Book the cleaner for after the removalist has emptied the place. Cleaners cannot do floors around boxes. Our guide to choosing a removalist covers lining up the truck, and you can compare removalists and cleaners on The Local List before you book.

What a "bond back guarantee" really means

Most renters assume it means "we refund you if you lose bond". It does not. The fine print usually says: if the agent lists cleaning items after their inspection, the company will come back and re-clean those items free, provided you ask within a set number of days and the items were part of the original job.

That is still worth having, because a free re-clean turns a bond claim into a phone call. But it covers cleaning, not damage. It excludes anything not in the quote, so if walls were not included they will not be re-cleaned free. And it has a window; miss it and you pay for the second visit. Get the terms in writing before the job. No written terms means the guarantee is a slogan.

What to ask a bond cleaner before you book

Get the answers by email or text so you have them if there is a disagreement later.

• Is carpet steam cleaning included, or an extra? Will you give me a separate receipt for it?
• Are walls included? Some quotes are "spot clean only", which will not satisfy an agent looking at a scuffed hallway.
• Will you re-clean at no charge if the agent flags something, and how many days do I have to ask?
• Are windows, tracks and flyscreens included? Is the oven standard or a surcharge?
• Do you have an ABN and public liability insurance? Check any ABN free on ABN Lookup. Insurance means a scratched benchtop is their problem, not yours.
• Can you invoice me with the property address on it? Agents accept that as evidence.

Take the cleaners listed in Queensland as an example: read the reviews, confirm the ABN, send the questions to two or three of them and pick the one that answers plainly.

Pest control if you had pets

Most leases with a pet clause require pest control at the end of the tenancy, often alongside carpet cleaning. Read your lease and any pet agreement you signed. If flea treatment is required, book a licensed pest control operator, get an invoice naming the property and the treatment, and have it done after the carpet clean. If the lease is silent and you had no pets, you are not obliged to fumigate just because the agent's checklist says so.

The final inspection and your entry report photos

Once the clean is done and the house is empty, inspect it yourself before the agent does, with the entry condition report in one hand and your phone in the other. Photograph the oven open, the rangehood filters, each shower, the window tracks, the wardrobes, the carpet and the garden, plus a close-up of anything the entry report flagged as already marked or worn.

Then fill in your own exit condition report. In Queensland it is the RTA's Form 14a, handed in with the keys; other states have their own version. Write "same as entry" against anything that matches and note anything you disagree with.

Go to the agent's inspection if they will let you. Agents list fewer marginal items when the tenant is standing there with move-in photos. If they do list a cleaning item, call your bond cleaner for the free re-clean.

How to dispute an unfair bond claim

Never sign a bond release form you do not agree with. Once you have signed off on a deduction, the tribunal will not usually reopen it.

In Queensland, the agent must give you supporting evidence within 14 days of their claim, and the RTA runs a free dispute resolution service before anything goes to QCAT. In New South Wales, unresolved bond disputes go to NCAT. In Victoria they go to VCAT, and the rental provider has to prove the claim.

The process is the same in practice everywhere:

1. Ask the agent for an itemised list of what they are claiming and why, with their photos.
2. Compare each item against the entry condition report and your move-in photos. Fair wear and tear is not claimable, and neither is anything that was already there at entry.
3. Reply in writing, item by item, saying which you accept and which you dispute, with your photos attached.
4. If they will not budge, lodge the dispute with your state's process and bring the entry report, your exit report, your photos and every invoice.

Agents know most tenants do not dispute. The ones who show up with dated photos usually get most or all of it back.

Book your bond clean early

Cleaners book out at the end of every month and before Christmas, and the good ones will not squeeze you in at three days' notice. Line up the clean for the day after the removalist and leave one clear day before the inspection to fix anything they missed. Find a bond cleaner near you on The Local List, check their ABN and reviews, and send them the questions above before you book.