The WA cleaning standard behind a bond refund
Renting here comes under the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 and the Residential Tenancies Regulations 1989, both managed by Consumer Protection. The Act and the standard agreement call the owner the lessor, while Consumer Protection's guides say landlord. Same person.
During the tenancy you keep the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness (s 38(a)). Before handing back, the standard agreement (Form 1AA) asks you to return all keys and leave the home as closely as possible as it was at the start, fair wear and tear excepted. Consumer Protection describes that wear as normal use over time.
Where part of the home isn't left reasonably clean, judged against the start, the lessor can claim the cost of cleaning it from the bond (s 81E(1)(d)).
Do you have to hire a vacate cleaner?
Consumer Protection's checklist says to clean the entire house and to consider hiring professional cleaners if necessary. It doesn't say a professional clean is required.
We found no official WA statement on whether a lease can demand professional cleaning when there's no pet, so we won't fill that gap. If your lease has a clause like that and no pet lived there, ask Consumer Protection before you spend anything.
If you book a business, the WA Government's advice is direct: check the cleaner's ABN and references, never pay any money upfront, and get a receipt, especially for carpet cleaning. Only actual costs can be charged for cleaning or repairs.
That advice has a history. In the two years to August 2025, 87 tenants complained to Consumer Protection about vacate cleaning, and most alleged a lack of due care and skill.
Pet bonds, carpets and fumigation in WA
When a lessor agrees to a pet, they may set reasonable conditions about cleaning, maintenance or fumigation connected with it (s 50C). Consumer Protection's example of a condition needing no Commissioner approval: carpets professionally cleaned every twelve months and at the end of the tenancy.
A pet bond of up to $350 can be added to the general bond, for fumigation or pet related damage, and damage a pet causes isn't fair wear and tear (s 50I). Fumigation is pest control, so a pest controller takes that part, not your vacate cleaner.
WA property condition reports
WA's version is the property condition report. The lessor gives you two copies within 7 days of moving in, and one completed copy goes back within 7 days of you receiving it (s 27C(1)).
Within 14 days after the tenancy finishes, the lessor must inspect, complete a final report and give you a copy, with a reasonable opportunity for you to attend (s 27C(4) and (5)).
Bonds Administration and WA bond disputes
A WA bond can be up to 4 weeks' rent, unless rent is over $1,200 a week, plus any pet bond. Bonds Administration receives it within 14 days of it being paid and holds the money until the tenancy is over.
If someone on the bond disputes the release application, or doesn't answer in time, the Commissioner for Consumer Protection decides (ss 81I and 81R). Parties get 10 days to reply to the Commissioner's invitation. Anyone who disagrees with the decision has 7 days to appeal to the Magistrates Court.
Your last days in a WA rental, in order
Work through Tenant guide 3
Consumer Protection's 'Leaving a rental home' checklist runs room by room, from the oven, stove, fridge and cupboards to the bathrooms, floors and windows.
Hold it up against the report
Your property condition report shows what the home looked like at the start. That's the target, not a showroom.
Photograph the cleaned, empty home
The same guide tells tenants to do this as evidence of the condition they left it in.
Return every key
Form 1AA asks for all of them. Then keep an eye out for the final report.
Answer the bond paperwork
If there's a dispute, reply inside the Commissioner's 10 days with your report, photos and receipts.
Our advice on a WA bond refund
Follow the WA Government's own rules for a vacate cleaner: check the ABN and references, don't pay anything upfront, and get a receipt that names the carpets if they were done. Then take dated photos of every room, so the final property condition report has something to sit beside.