Moving houses is already hard enough. But having to ensure that your home is spotless in the process? It becomes too time and energy-consuming! To save you the hassle, here’s everything you need to know about the end-of-lease cleaning cost and the services provided.
What is end-of-lease cleaning?
End-of-lease cleaning is also known as bond cleaning or vacate cleaning. So, if you see any services mentioning these other terms, do know that they all refer to the same thing.
This is a mandatory bond clean that must be done before you leave. It also allows you to get your bond or security deposit back after you move out of your home.
Property owners or landlords order tenants to carry out these services typically because they want to put the property on the market or rent it to new tenants.
Lease cleaning services vary in prices and they differ depending on which areas you stay, how much cleaning has to be done and how long it will take to complete the service.
Naturally, your first thought might be taking a scrubbing brush and attempting to do all this cleaning alone. This can be done with a solid end of lease cleaning checklist and self-motivation. But more often than not, when you factor in other considerations, you will need to get your home professionally cleaned.
End-of-lease cleaners will be dispatched to your homes and will begin the whole cleaning process for you, allowing you to have one less thing to worry about when you begin your move to a new home.
It is important for a tenant who is moving out of the house to engage in end of lease cleaning services. This is done so that you will be eligible to get your bond back after you leave.
Additionally, remember that the end of lease cleaning requirements in QLD might be different from those in NSW or VIC, so do double check government sites and your tenancy agreement.
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Why should you engage end of lease cleaners?
Long story short, getting someone to help you with your end-of-lease clean will definitely expedite your bond cleaning process.
It takes the extra pressure and burden off of you among all the other million tasks that you have to take care of. Additionally, the end of lease cleaning may be necessary as part of your tenancy agreement. Which is why you will need your condition report for the rental, so you can check if you are returning the property in the condition you leased it.
Here are some reasons to help you make a better decision:
It helps you to get your security deposit back
Hiring a professional end-of-lease cleaner will be able to provide you with a peace of mind when it comes to making sure that your house is ready for inspection by your landlord or property manager after you leave.
These professional cleaners know which areas to clean and how to clean your house so that your bond will be returned to you.
They usually have a strong expertise in this area so you do not have to worry about your house failing to pass the final inspection.
It saves you time and money
If you choose to do the end-of-lease cleaning on your own instead, you will have to purchase your own cleaning equipment from the proper vacuums to the solutions they use to perform a deep cleaning on your own.
With all those equipment costs and time spent figuring out how to properly clean every nook and cranny of your home, it would be more cost-effective to hire someone else to do it for you instead.
You save on your energy and time that could be efficiently used elsewhere, and you also save money as compared to purchasing all of that on your own.
Additionally, the professional cleaners you engage will probably get the job done way faster than you can.
Gives you some time to recharge
With the hustle and bustle of moving homes, hiring professional cleaners to do your bond cleaning will certainly allow you to have some more time to yourself.
You don’t have to commute from your old home to your new one and this time saved could be spent either taking a break at a café or simply taking a short nap to regain your energy.
What is included in my end-of-lease cleaning?
In one session alone, the professional cleaners will do a thorough deep clean of your entire residence. A bond clean will include the following services:
- window cleaning – which includes the window sills, window frames, interior windows and outside window cleaning
- wall spot cleaning and the cleaning of all the walls and wall tiles in your house
- thorough cleaning of all the cupboards in your house
- the cleaning of window furnishings like curtains
- cleaning of light fittings to get rid of insects and dirt
- the vacuuming and mopping of floors
- oven cleaning services
- the cleaning of surfaces and the removal of stains and marks that were not pre-existing
- cleaning skirting boards
- clean toilets
- clean mirrors all over the house
- cleaning of the kitchen including the range hood and grout cleaning services
- deep clean of your bedroom apartment
Other additional services and cleaning tasks
If you want to engage in services that extend beyond the list above for extra measure, here are some professional services you can request from the cleaning company:
- carpet steam cleaning services
- upholstery cleaning services
- dishwasher cleaning services
- balcony cleaning
- the cleaning of fly screens
- garage cleaning
These services do incur additional charges so if you are under a tight budget, you can choose to omit these cleaning tasks.
What services do end-of-lease cleaners not do?
However, there are limits to what professional cleaners do.
As much as they can perform an extensive list of cleaning services, cleaning companies do not offer these services as part of the end-of-lease cleaning service:
Professional services like pest control
If you have an insect problem in your bedroom apartment or house, do not expect the cleaners to get rid of them for you. Do get in touch with a service that provides professional end of lease pest control.
Maintenance services
If you’ve got a fan that is broken or air conditioning units that are faulty, the cleaners will not be able to fix them for you. Call your nearest technician to take a look at your faulty appliances as soon as possible.
Maintaining the garden or renovation jobs
The cleaners also do not carry out jobs like weeding your garden, painting your skirting boards or walls or plastering your ceiling.
How long does a bond cleaning service take?
The time taken for the cleaning service depends on the size of your home, the number of tasks that need to be done and how thorough of a property cleaning your house requires.
A small one-bedroom apartment, a house and a studio flat will take different amounts of time to be completed.
The average amount of time taken ranges from 3-8 hours.
Then again, it is also reliant on the size of the cleaning team that is sent to your home. If there are more hands, the cleaning time will be shortened. Hence, it is dependent on these various factors.
How much is the end-of-lease cleaning cost?
The end-of-lease cleaning cost varies from state to state and there are many factors that affect the eventual price of your tenancy cleaning service.
The average price in Australia is around $350.
Factors affecting the end-of-lease cleaning cost
The number of rooms
If you have more rooms in your house, the price of the cleaning naturally increases. Logically speaking, the bigger the house, the more area needs to be cleaned and hence, the more expensive it will get.
The engagement of additional cleaning services
As mentioned previously, if you would like to add carpet cleaning and upholstery cleaning to your list of cleaning tasks, do expect yourself to be charged accordingly. These jobs often hike the prices up as well.
Engaging a local carpet cleaning service can significantly reduce the overall cleaning burden, ensuring that carpets are professionally cleaned and contributing to getting your full bond back.
The condition of your home
Depending on the state of your home, the time taken to clean is reliant on that as well.
The more time that is taken on cleaning a home that needs more effort, the more you are going to pay for the labour involved. It is as simple as that.
How much is the end-of-lease cleaning cost across different states?
In NSW
The price starts from $375 to $1,040.
This range only consists of the basic inclusions and varies according to the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
In WA
The price starts from $209 to $435 on average for a basic deep clean.
In VIC
The prices range from $149 to $599 on average.
Usually, most professional cleaning companies provide you with a free instant quote on their websites.
These prices above are just an estimate so it is best to directly engage with a cleaning company and request a quote.
Most of the time, professional cleaning companies provide a bond-back guarantee.
This is applicable in the event that real estate agents are not satisfied with the home after the final inspection. When this happens, the cleaning company dispatches their cleaners again to come back and rectify the situation.
Do tenants have to pay for professional cleaning?
Landlords and real estate agents do have certain requirements when it comes to their tenants. So, the answer does vary depending on what your landlord or real estate agent expects of you.
Obviously, there are some things that tenants must do before they leave the house. It is as follows:
- Carpet steam cleaning: This is especially so if you own pets and they shed a lot of fur that can’t be seen to the naked eye.
- Pest control: If you ever had a pest issue, you are expected to rid the house of it before you leave.
- Familiarise yourself with the Residential Tenancies Act: Learn your rights and responsibilities as a tenant.
- Follow the end-of-lease cleaning checklist: You would have been given one at the beginning of your lease.
Lastly, how do you do a bond clean by yourself?
In the case where you decide to do a bond clean on your own, it is important for you to leave your home in the exact condition that you found it in when you moved in.
As mentioned previously, the end-of-lease cleaning checklist given to you at the beginning of the lease will be your guide to ensuring that all necessary areas have been cleaned thoroughly and are ready for the final inspection.
It is key to restore your property to its original condition down to the last detail or you can bid farewell to the security bond you deposited at the beginning.
Here are some things you might want to take note of:
- Some areas in your home require a little more ‘love’, so pay attention to your bathroom and your kitchen area.
- Your living area accumulates the most dust out of all your rooms so please remember to vacuum and steam clean your carpets and floors.
- Dust your blinds and wash your curtains!
- If your mattress came with the house, don’t forget to vacuum it.
- Remove cobwebs lying around in the corners of your home.
- Remember to give your balcony and any other exterior areas a sweep!
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