What end of lease cleaning usually covers
In the kitchen: benches, splashback, cupboards inside and out, the sink and the rangehood. In the bathrooms: the shower screen, tiles, grout, toilet, mirrors and the exhaust fan cover. Through the rest of the place: skirting boards, light switches, inside wardrobes, windowsills and tracks, then every floor vacuumed and mopped.
The oven, inside windows, carpet steam cleaning and walls are where businesses differ the most. Some include them and many list them as extras, so ask for what is covered in writing, room by room, before anyone starts.
The state rules on an end of lease clean
These are state rules, and they are kinder to renters than a lot of advertising suggests. In Victoria, a rental provider can only require a professional clean at the end if the place was professionally cleaned just before you moved in and you were told, or if it is needed to bring the place back to how it started.
In New South Wales, a lease can only make you pay for a professional carpet clean if you were allowed a pet inside and the clean suits the pet. In Queensland, the landlord or agent cannot make you use a cleaner they nominate. The Queensland rules page sets that state out in full.
Get these in writing from end of lease cleaners
- Ask what the clean covers in writing, room by room.
- Ask which extras are charged on top: the oven, inside windows, carpet steam, walls.
- Ask for their re-clean terms in writing, including how long you have to ask after the inspection.
- Book it after the furniture is out and before the final inspection.
- Keep your entry condition report handy, so the business can see how the place looked when you moved in.
- Look the business up on ABN Lookup and check the name matches the quote.
Doing some of the end of lease clean yourself
Worth doing yourself
- Clear out everything you own, including the fridge, the bins and anything left in the shed.
- Pick up rubbish in the yard and empty the letterbox.
- Read your entry condition report against each room before the clean.
- Photograph every room once the clean is done, before you hand back the keys.
Where a cleaning business earns its keep
- Ovens, grills and rangehoods with baked-on grease.
- Shower glass, grout and soap scum.
- Inside windows, sills and tracks across the whole place in one visit.
- Carpet steam cleaning, where your lease lawfully asks for it.
Red flags in an end of lease cleaning quote
- A promise that you will pass the inspection. No cleaner decides that.
- A business that will not put what is included in writing.
- Fumigation offered as part of the clean. That is pest control, a separate trade.
- Pressure to pay the full amount before anyone has started.
When we'd book an end of lease clean
Book the clean for after the last box leaves and before the final inspection, hand the business your entry condition report, and get the clean and their re-clean terms in writing. Then walk through with your phone and take photos of every room before the keys go back.