Where our SA rental bond rules come from
South Australian renting sits under the Residential Tenancies Act 1995, which uses the words tenant and landlord and writes many terms into every agreement.
Every rule here comes from the Legal Services Commission's Law Handbook, because the official SA government, Consumer and Business Services (CBS) and legislation sites wouldn't load on the day we checked. That's why this page leaves out hard dollar limits and day counts. CBS has the current figures.
End of lease cleaning in SA: the standard
The Law Handbook says you must keep the premises reasonably clean while you live there, and return them to the landlord in a reasonable state of cleanliness (ss 69 to 71).
It also says a tenant isn't responsible for damage from a genuine accident or from normal wear and tear (ss 69(3a) and 48(2)). The word used here is normal, and we didn't find a legal definition of it.
SA lease clauses on professional carpet cleaning
This is the Law Handbook's own example of a term that doesn't hold up. A clause saying all carpets shall be professionally cleaned by the tenant at the termination of the tenancy is inconsistent with s 69(3), which only asks for a reasonable condition and a reasonable state of cleanliness. The Handbook calls such a term unenforceable.
We didn't find a CBS statement on professional cleaning more broadly. Going by the Handbook, the test is the state of the home, so doing the clean yourself or booking a business are both open to you.
Pets and your rental bond in SA
The pet rules are the exception. According to the Handbook, a landlord who allows a pet inside may set a reasonable condition that any carpets be cleaned to a professional standard when the tenancy finishes (s 66C(9)).
That condition has limits. It can't require extra rent, a higher bond or any added fee, and it can't make you buy goods or services from a specific person or business (s 66C(10)). So even then, you pick who does the carpets.
The Handbook mentions no fumigation condition. Fumigation is pest control in any case, which is a pest controller's trade and not part of a clean.
The SA inspection sheet and your bond
SA's word for the condition report is the inspection sheet. At the start the landlord completes one and gives you a signed copy (Residential Tenancies Regulations 2025 reg 4). The Handbook gives no time limit for sending it back, so go through it as soon as you have keys.
It comes out again when you leave, to check for damage and whether the home was left reasonably clean.
How SA bond claims are settled
Your bond is lodged with, and held by, the Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, and CBS runs the claims. The Handbook describes a cap tied to the weekly rent and a lodging deadline for landlords. Confirm both with CBS rather than relying on a figure here.
If you and the landlord can't agree, the Commissioner gives the other party notice and a set time to dispute the application. Disputed claims go to conciliation, then may be referred to the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (SACAT) (s 63). If nobody disputes in time, the Commissioner pays the bond to the person who applied.
Moving out in South Australia, from lease to keys
Read your lease for carpet clauses
Separate a pet condition from a blanket clause. They're treated differently.
Work from the inspection sheet
Take it room by room, and leave what's only normal wear.
Photograph every room
Do this once the home is empty and clean, before the keys go back.
Lodge or answer the bond claim
Use the CBS claims process, and check the time you have to dispute on your notice.
Our advice on rental bond claims in SA
Treat the inspection sheet as the brief for the clean. Add carpet steam only if the carpets need it to be reasonably clean or a pet condition asks for it. If a lease clause or an agent's email seems to ask for more than that, check with CBS before you pay for anything.