NSW end of lease cleaning: clauses 18.2 and 18.3
NSW renting runs under the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 and the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2019, and the words are tenant and landlord. Your duties at the end are spelled out in the standard form agreement, the current one dated 21 September 2026.
Clause 18.2 asks for the home as nearly as possible in the same condition, fair wear and tear excepted. Clause 18.3 asks for it reasonably clean, having regard to how it was when you moved in. A place that was a bit tired at the start doesn't have to leave looking new.
The NSW Government lists furniture dents and traffic marks on carpet as fair wear and tear, which you're not responsible for. Stains and burn marks are its examples of damage.
When a NSW lease can require professional carpet cleaning
A NSW agreement can't make you have the carpet professionally cleaned, or pay for it, once the tenancy finishes. The single exception is where the landlord agreed to a pet being kept inside and the cleaning is reasonable for that type of pet.
Fumigation follows the same pattern, except the indoor pet must be a mammal. It's pest control, so a pest controller does it, not a cleaner.
Clauses 57 and 58 hold those pet terms. Both tie the work to the animal having been kept inside, with clause 57 saying 'if cleaning is required'. The NSW Government's pets page reads tougher, saying the carpet clean applies regardless of the state of the carpets. Read the clause in your own agreement: that's the document you signed.
Landlords can't lift the bond or rent as a condition of allowing a pet, and a pet bond is on the list of things a tenant must not be charged.
Some Sydney businesses call the job an exit clean. The rules above don't change with the name.
NSW condition reports and the final inspection
Before you move in, the landlord or agent fills out a condition report and gives you two paper copies or one electronic copy. One completed copy goes back to them within seven days of moving in.
At the finish it's filled in again, ideally with both of you present. You're entitled to a reasonable opportunity to attend the final inspection, and if damage or missing items become an issue, the report can be used as evidence.
How a bond return works in NSW
A NSW bond must not be more than 4 weeks' rent. All bonds are lodged with NSW Fair Trading, and a landlord paid directly has 10 working days to deposit the money.
Rental Bonds Online is Fair Trading's service for lodging and refunding bonds, and you can make your claim through it. The landlord or agent then has up to 14 days to accept. Once accepted, you should see the money in two business days. If they don't dispute your claim, Fair Trading pays it after 14 days.
A landlord can claim on the bond if the home wasn't cleaned to the standard it was at the start. To dispute your claim, they must apply to the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) within 14 days of getting the notice and tell Fair Trading in writing. You can still go to the Tribunal up to six months after a payout.
Handing back a NSW rental: the order of jobs
Check the pet clauses
Look at clauses 57 and 58 in your agreement. If neither applies, carpets are judged like everything else: reasonably clean against the start.
Clean against the report
The NSW Government says to clean the place to match its original condition before claiming, so use the condition report as your list.
Attend the final inspection
Walk through once the home is empty, and return all keys and other security devices.
Claim through Rental Bonds Online
Make the claim yourself, then watch for the landlord's answer in that 14 day window.
Our NSW bond return advice: check the pet clauses
Read clauses 57 and 58 in your own agreement before you book anything. If no pet lived inside, leave carpet steam off the list unless the carpets need it to be reasonably clean. If you do book a business, photograph each room once it's done, so your photos and the condition report tell the same story.