Reasons why doing a bond clean is essential

You may have heard it as an end of lease clean, exit clean, vacate clean or bond clean. Whatever you may call it, it all relates to the cleaning of a property when you move out.

Bond cleaning is a legal requirement for your tenancy, and it’s a process to enable your bonds to be refunded by the owner of the property.

Bond cleans involve comprehensive cleaning of your rental property at the end of the lease. Essentially, you’re returning a property back to the owner in the same condition it was given to you.

A claim may be lodged against your bond in the event the property agent finds any damages to the property, or there are issues that require more cleaning.

What does a bond refund process involve?

This is crucial information for anyone wanting to rent a home in New South Wales, Australia. Here’s an idea of how this process goes:

1. It begins with you finding a property you want to live in. Once you express your wishes of renting the said property, the property agent will draw up a lease contract with all the information and details for you, the owner, and the agent to sign.
2. At the start of your lease, the landlord or real estate agent lodges your bond with the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority in Victoria or the Fair Trading in NSW. This bond, usually four weeks’ worth of rent, will remain in the trust for the duration of the lease until the agent makes a bond claim.
3. An initial condition report is made between the tenant and the real estate agent at the start of the tenancy. This report describes the state of the property when you first moved. The expectation is that the property will be in the same condition when you move out, apart from general wear and tear. If room 1 had white walls when you moved in, the expectation is that it will be white as well when you move out and not in any other color.
4. When your tenancy period ends, any outstanding damages to the property need to be repaired, and a bond clean is to be completed.
5. A final inspection is done by the real estate agent or the landlord, and each item on the initial condition report is inspected and checked off.
6. If everything is in order and all parties agree to the state of the property, the real estate agent or the property owner releases the funds electronically via Rental Bonds Online in NSW or RTBA Online in Victoria.

Why do I need a bond clean? The bond clean is necessary because it covers all the legal requirements for cleaning. Bond cleaners also provide a checklist or document of the cleaning process – what has been done and where cleaning has taken place. This helps in the initial condition report as well. If it’s required by law that bond cleaning is needed, then there’s no way to run from this obligation if you’re renting properties in Victoria and NSW.