House cleaning in Toowong: units, students and CityCats
A suburb of units
Flats and apartments made up 67% of occupied homes in the ABS's Toowong area in the 2021 Census. Among rented homes it was 82%, so a Toowong bond clean usually means a unit.
Renters and students
In the same Census, 54% of occupied homes were rented. People in their twenties were 36.1% of residents in the 2011 Census, against 13.8% nationally, which Wikipedia puts largely down to the nearby University of Queensland.
Trains, CityCats and cars
The station is on the Ipswich and Springfield lines, under Toowong Village, and the Regatta CityCat stop is on Coronation Drive. A cleaner with gear still needs a park. Council says to always check the street signs for time limits and whether you need to pay.
Houses further west
The western side mixes medium-density homes with detached houses, and separate houses were 30% of occupied homes in the same Census. Toowong sits in Brisbane City Council's Paddington and Walter Taylor wards.
Bond cleaning in Toowong when you leave a share flat
If you're all named on the agreement, you're co-tenants. The RTA says co-tenants can be jointly or individually responsible for compensation owed, so it pays to agree the clean as a group.
If everyone's going, one bond clean of the whole flat is the simple way. Split it however you split the rent, and settle that before anyone sends the job. You can also do it yourselves: the RTA says the choice is yours.
If only you're leaving, the tenancy carries on. The RTA says to pay your share of any costs for cleaning, damage or unpaid rent. You get your share of the bond from whoever's moving in or staying, and a Change of bond contributors form (Form 6) goes to the RTA.
What Toowong flatmates can do before the bond cleaners
Worth doing yourself
- Empty the fridge, freezer and pantry, and agree who takes what
- Clear your own room and wardrobe
- Get the shared rubbish out
- Clear the balcony
Where a cleaning business earns its keep
- The oven and range hood
- Shower glass, tiles and grout
- Window tracks and inside cupboards
- Carpet steam cleaning, if the carpets need it
Before your Toowong flat sends the job
- Who's on the lease, and who paid into the bond
- One person to deal with the business and the property manager
- The split, written down
- Lift, fob and visitor parking details
- The entry condition report and any move-in photos
If it were our Toowong flat: one person holds the report
Pick one flatmate to run it. That person sends the job, holds the entry condition report and deals with the property manager, and everyone else sorts out their share with them. Five people emailing one agent is how a simple clean gets messy.
