Vacate cleaning and what WA law asks of tenants
While you live there, WA law asks you to keep the home in a reasonable state of cleanliness (Residential Tenancies Act 1987 s 38(a)). Form 1AA, WA's standard agreement, then has you hand the home back as closely as possible to how it was at the start, fair wear and tear excepted, with all the keys.
If part of the home isn't left reasonably clean compared with the start, a lessor can claim what it took to clean that part from the bond (s 81E(1)(d)). Fair wear and tear, Consumer Protection says, means normal use over time.
WA law doesn't address whether a lease can require a professional clean when there's no pet, and we found no official statement on it. Check your agreement and ask Consumer Protection if a term looks odd.
A vacate cleaning checklist from Consumer Protection
- Kitchen: the oven, stove, fridge and cupboards.
- Bathrooms: the toilet, sink, shower and tiles.
- Floors: carpets vacuumed, hard floors mopped.
- Windows: inside, and outside if they're accessible.
- Photos of the cleaned, empty home, as evidence of how you left it.
Pets, carpets and a WA vacate clean
When a WA lessor agrees to a pet, they can set reasonable conditions about cleaning, maintenance or fumigation (s 50C). Consumer Protection's own example: carpets professionally cleaned every twelve months and at the end of the tenancy. If your agreement has a condition like that, tick carpet steam cleaning in the form.
Fumigation is pest control, so it goes to a licensed pest controller as its own booking. Damage caused by the pet isn't fair wear and tear (s 50I).
Hiring a vacate cleaner: the State's tips
Over the two years to August 2025, 87 tenants complained to Consumer Protection about vacate cleaning, most alleging the cleaner failed to use due care and skill. The WA Government's advice was plain: check the cleaner's ABN and references, never pay any money upfront, and get a receipt, especially for carpet cleaning.
It also reminded tenants that only actual costs can be charged for cleaning or repairs. So if a lessor deducts for cleaning, it's fair to ask to see what was spent.
Be there for the WA final inspection
Within 14 days after the tenancy ends, the lessor must inspect the home, complete the final property condition report and give you a copy, with a reasonable opportunity for you to attend (s 27C(4) and (5)). Go if you can, and bring your photos.
Your jobs, and where vacate cleaners earn their keep
Worth doing yourself
- Read your property condition report before anyone starts.
- Leave patching nail holes and repainting for later: the checklist treats those as repairs.
- Clear the fridge, then wipe the shelves and seals.
- Put the final inspection in your diary.
Where a cleaning business earns its keep
- Baked-on oven and stove grime.
- Shower tiles and soap scum.
- Windows you can reach safely, in one visit.
- Carpet steam cleaning, where a pet condition asks for it.
What we'd do before paying WA vacate cleaners
Use Consumer Protection's list as the brief for the job. Check the business's ABN and references, pay after the work with a receipt in hand, and photograph the empty home before you return the keys. Then ask to be at the final inspection, so any question can be settled on the spot.