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End of Lease Cleaning: 4 Things Tenants Need to Know


— November 22, 2021

Fortunately, your landlord can’t deduct anymore from your deposit than the total cost of the end of lease cleaning service.


The end of lease cleaning refers to the process of cleaning a rental property before moving out. You can’t move out without cleaning or organizing the rental property, especially if you still want your security deposit back. If you want to have your deposit money back, you must follow a certain checklist that’ll inform you what must be done before moving out. 

Here’s a list of things you need to know about the end of lease cleaning:

1. You Can Do It on Your Own or Have a Professional Do It for You

You have the choice to carry out the end of lease cleaning yourself or have an end of lease cleaning Melbourne professional do it for you. Your decision depends on how much time you have left before moving out. If you have an agent, they’ll likely suggest that you get a professional to do the cleaning for you so you’ll be able to get your deposit money back without any hassle. But if you have the time and some equipment, you can always opt to do it on your own, especially if you want to save money.

2. The Price of Professional End of Lease Cleaning Varies

Many factors can contribute to the overall end of lease cleaning price. Some of which are discussed below.

  • Size and type of rental property. One of the factors that affect the price of end of tenancy cleaning is the size and type of the rental property. The larger the property, the pricier it’ll be to have it cleaned.
  • Number of professionals required to do the job. Another thing that could affect the cost is the number of persons required to clean the rental property. Depending on the cleaning job, it may need one person or a team of people to get the job done.
  • Number of tasks to be completed. If there are more tasks to be done during the end of lease cleaning, it’ll be more expensive for you. For instance, if you want the carpets to be steam cleaned, you’ll have to pay an additional price for it. Any task that’s not an aspect of the end of lease cleaning service will require an additional payment from you.

3. End of Tenancy Cleaning is Essential to Get Your Deposit Back 

Security deposits are usually a huge amount of money. They can be one month or two months of advance rent, which means they can be thousands of dollars. You can always do the end of tenancy cleaning on your own, especially if you want to get your security deposit back in full. But remember that if you do it yourself, it can be very daunting and troublesome since you’ll be busy with other things when moving out.

If you’re unable to perform an end of lease cleaning, your landlord will hire a professional and use a part of your security deposit as payment for their services. This isn’t ideal for you as your landlord prefers to get a good cleaning service rather than try to save.

Fortunately, your landlord can’t deduct anymore from your deposit than the total cost of the end of lease cleaning service. And if your tenant is withholding your security deposit despite cleaning the rental property thoroughly, you have grounds to sue them.

4. You Have to Complete a Cleaning Checklist

Before you can move out of a leased property, you’ll have to follow a certain checklist to complete the cleaning process. If you’re going to do the cleaning yourself, it’s best to schedule it ahead of your moving date so you’d have enough time.

Person making a checklist of tasks; image by Glenn Carstens-Peters, via Unsplash.com.
Person making a checklist of tasks; image by Glenn Carstens-Peters, via Unsplash.com.

The landlord’s real estate agent will give you the checklist. It’s your job to follow it and to clean every corner of the rental property so it’ll look the same way as before you moved in. You need to make sure that the rental property looks and smells fresh. Be sure to finish cleaning the rental property within the scheduled date, so the real estate agent can still have time to prepare it for viewings or when a new tenant is about to move in.

Final Thoughts

Before you take on your end of lease cleaning, you should know that it’s going to be advantageous for you if it’s done properly and that you meet all the requirements stated in the tenancy agreement you signed. If this isn’t done, you’ll have a hard time getting your deposit in full. Consider the ideas mentioned here as you plan and prepare for the cleaning.

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