What fair wear and tear means
Here is where the line sits between wear you can leave and cleaning you owe, with the examples the state governments use themselves.
Victoria's law describes it as the deterioration of a place from reasonable use by the renter and their visitors, or from natural forces like sun and weather. The NSW Government's own examples put traffic marks in carpet and dents from furniture on the wear side, and stains or burns on the damage side.
Dirt is not fair wear and tear
Queensland's Residential Tenancies Authority says it plainly: dirt, grime, grease and damage, including damage from an approved pet, are not fair wear and tear. A greasy rangehood or dusty skirting boards are yours to clean, even though a faded curtain or a worn carpet path is not.
Common examples: fair wear and tear or yours to clean
| Usually fair wear and tear | Usually yours to clean or fix | |
|---|---|---|
| Carpet | Worn paths where people walk, dents from furniture | Stains, burns, food and drink spills |
| Kitchen | A worn benchtop | Grease on the rangehood, oven and splashback, and burns or cuts in the benchtop |
| Walls | Faded, chipped or cracked paint, and paint worn off near a light switch | Marks that wash off, holes you made, and paint pulled off by sticky tape or poster putty |
| Water stains | Stains on carpet from a leaking roof or bad plumbing | Stains on carpet from an overflowing bath or indoor pot plants |
| Windows and curtains | Worn sliding tracks, faded curtains | Dirty glass, tracks full of dust, broken glass, torn curtains |
Does every state define fair wear and tear the same way?
The idea travels, but the words change. The Tasmanian and Northern Territory Acts say reasonable wear and tear instead of fair wear and tear.
The ACT's Renting Book says there's no fixed rule or definition: it depends on how the damage happened and how severe it is. Its own examples of normal everyday use are carpet faded by sunlight, or marked in a high traffic area like the entrance.
Is pet damage fair wear and tear?
Damage from a pet sits on the damage side of the line, even when the pet was allowed. Queensland's RTA says so for an approved pet, and WA's Act says damage caused by a pet is not fair wear and tear (s 50I). Scratched doors or a chewed carpet edge aren't wear, however settled the pet was.
Check your place against the condition report
Find your entry condition report
It records how each room looked when you moved in, and it is the starting point for any bond claim.
Walk through room by room
Compare each item with the report. Wear from normal living is fine; dirt and marks that were not there are yours.
Clean what is yours
Do it yourself or book a cleaning business, and add extras like the oven or the carpets where the report or your lease makes them matter.
Take photos at the end
Photograph every room, the oven and the bathrooms once the clean is done, before you hand back the keys.
Marks and grease you can clean yourself
Worth doing yourself
- Wash marks off walls with a damp cloth and a little detergent, testing a hidden spot first.
- Soak the rangehood filter in hot soapy water to lift the grease.
- Vacuum everywhere, then mop the hard floors.
Where a cleaning business earns its keep
- Ovens with baked-on grease.
- Grout and shower glass with a build-up of soap scum.
- Carpet stains that need a steam clean.
What we'd clean, and what we'd leave as wear
Treat the entry condition report as your checklist. Clean everything with dirt, grease or marks that were not there at the start, leave alone what is only worn, and keep dated photos from the day you hand back the keys.