Moving out of a rental
Do you need professional end-of-lease cleaners? The rules in every state
Quick answer: No. In every state and the ACT the duty is to leave the home reasonably clean compared with when you moved in, allowing for fair wear and tear, not to hire anyone. A lease can require professional cleaning only in narrow cases, mostly carpets after an approved pet, and in Victoria when the home was professionally cleaned before you moved in. Doing it yourself is allowed.
We're a cleaning company, and we'd still tell you this: a professional clean is a choice. Here is when it's actually required, and when it's worth it anyway.
- End of lease clean
- From $423, live from our booking calculator, checked 6 October 2026
- Our record
- 1,726 completed end of lease cleans
What the law actually asks for
A home that is reasonably clean and in the condition it was in when you moved in, allowing for fair wear and tear. The law describes a result, not who does the cleaning.
Each state words it slightly differently:
- NSW: leave the premises in a reasonable state of cleanliness, having regard to their condition at the start.
- Victoria: reasonably clean and, as far as practicable, in the same condition as at the start, allowing for fair wear and tear.
- Queensland: as far as possible in the same condition as at the start, fair wear and tear excepted. The Act's word for the standard during a tenancy is "clean".
- Western Australia: a landlord can claim the cost of cleaning any part not left reasonably clean, having regard to its condition at the start.
- South Australia: a reasonable state of cleanliness, taking the starting condition and reasonable wear and tear into account.
- ACT: substantially the same state of cleanliness as at the start.
This guide covers the six places we clean: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the ACT. Tasmania and the NT have their own rules, which we don't cover here. In every case the benchmark is your entry condition report. A home that was grubby when you moved in doesn't have to be spotless when you leave, although it's worth checking what the report actually says.
When can a lease require a professional clean?
Only in narrow cases, and they differ by state. The most common is professional carpet cleaning after an approved indoor pet.
| State | Can a lease require professional cleaning? | Can it name the cleaner? |
|---|---|---|
| NSW | No for carpet cleaning or fumigation, except as a reasonable condition of consent for a pet kept inside (Residential Tenancies Act 2010 ss 19(2)(a), 73E) | No. A term requiring a specified person or business is prohibited (s 19(2)(f)) |
| Victoria | Only if the home was professionally cleaned just before you moved in and you were told, or it's needed to restore the starting condition (Regulations 2021 reg 12) | No Victorian rule found either way |
| Queensland | Carpet cleaning or fumigation can be a pet condition. The RTA says a term requiring a professional or a receipt breaches the Act (s 171) | No. A nominated supplier can't be required (s 171), including for pet conditions |
| Western Australia | No general rule found. A pet consent can carry a reasonable cleaning condition (s 50C) | Consumer Protection says landlords and agents can't insist on a particular company |
| South Australia | A blanket carpet-cleaning clause is inconsistent with the Act (CBS). With a pet allowed inside, carpets cleaned to a professional standard can be a condition (s 66C) | Not for pet conditions (s 66C(10)); no general rule found |
| ACT | No, except professional carpet cleaning if the agreement requires it and the landlord shows it was done at the start (Renting Book) | No ACT rule found |
Read from the Acts and regulators on 5 October 2026. Where we found no rule we say so rather than guess. Each state's guide has the detail: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, WA, South Australia and the ACT. Sources are listed at the end of this guide. Checked 5 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Carpets, fumigation and pets
Carpets don't have to be steam cleaned as a rule. They need to be left in the condition they were in at the start, allowing for wear.
Where professional carpet cleaning can be required, it's almost always tied to a pet you were allowed to keep inside: NSW, Queensland and South Australia set this out in their Acts, and Western Australia allows a reasonable cleaning condition on a pet consent. Fumigation follows the same pattern and is a pet condition, not a standard move-out task.
If you didn't have a pet and your lease asks for professional carpet cleaning anyway, check your state's rules in the table above before you pay for it. We don't steam clean carpets ourselves, so if your lease and state do require it, book a carpet cleaner for after the main clean.
Can your agent make you use their cleaner, or ask for a receipt?
In NSW and Queensland, no: a lease term requiring a particular cleaner is prohibited. Western Australia's regulator says the same in its guidance.
Elsewhere we haven't found a rule either way, so we don't claim one. An agent can recommend a cleaner; recommending is not requiring.
Receipts are similar. Queensland's RTA says a term requiring a receipt or a "professional" breaches the Act. In NSW, professional carpet cleaning can't be required outside the pet exception, so a demand for a professional receipt has little basis there. If you did use a professional, keeping the invoice is still sensible: it's good evidence if the clean is questioned.
Whoever you choose, ask three things: what exactly is included, how long you have to report anything missed, and how quickly they come back. Ours: you tell us within 48 hours and we come back within seven business days (terms).
Can you do the end-of-lease clean yourself?
Yes, and many people do it well. The hard parts are time, the oven, and the places nobody looks until the inspection.
Doing it yourself works best when:
- the home is empty a full day before the inspection
- you kept on top of the oven, rangehood and bathroom during the tenancy
- your lease and state don't require professional carpet cleaning
What gets missed is predictable: the oven and its glass, the rangehood filter, exhaust fans, window tracks, skirting boards and door tops, marks on walls, and inside cupboards. Allow a full day for a two-bedroom home on your own, more for a family home. The room-by-room list is in our end of lease cleaning checklist.
When hiring a professional is worth it
When your time, the state of the oven or the timing of the move make a day of cleaning unrealistic, or when your lease and state genuinely require it.
- Same-day moves: the truck leaves in the afternoon and the keys go back the next morning.
- A heavy oven or bathroom: baked-on grease and soap scum take hours of dwell time.
- A large home: a two-person team shares the work, so they're on site for about half the booked time.
- A required clean: for example carpets after a pet, or Victoria's reg 12 situations.
What a professional clean doesn't do is guarantee your bond. A rental provider can claim for rent, damage, keys and other costs as well as cleaning, and any dispute is decided by your state's tribunal or bond authority. Our end of lease clean starts from $423; the price guide has every home size.
What a "bond back guarantee" really means
Usually a free re-clean of anything the agent flags, within a set time. It isn't a promise that your bond will be repaid.
No regulator defines or endorses a "bond back guarantee". It is an extra promise a business chooses to make, on top of your rights under the Australian Consumer Law, which already require services to be done with due care and skill, be fit for their purpose and be finished in a reasonable time. Read the terms: what's covered, how long you have to report a problem, and how long they have to come back.
Regulators have warned about end-of-lease cleaners. WA Consumer Protection reported 87 complaints about vacate cleaning in two years to August 2025, most alleging the work wasn't done with due care and skill, and advised renters never to pay upfront and to check the work before handing back the keys.
Questions people ask
Is professional end-of-lease cleaning required by law?
No. In every state the duty is to leave the home reasonably clean compared with when you moved in. A lease can require professional cleaning only in narrow cases, mostly carpets after an approved pet.
Can I do my own bond clean in Queensland?
Yes. Queensland's RTA says a lease term requiring a professional clean or a receipt breaches the Act. Pet conditions can require carpet cleaning or fumigation, but not from a particular business.
Can my landlord make me use their cleaner?
Not in NSW or Queensland, where such a term is prohibited, and WA's regulator says landlords and agents can't insist on a particular company. We haven't found a rule either way in the other states.
Do I have to get the carpets steam cleaned?
Not as a rule. Carpets need to be left in their starting condition, allowing for wear. Professional carpet cleaning can be a condition after an approved pet, and in some states when it was done before you moved in.
Is a professional clean worth it if I'm not required to have one?
It can be, when you're short on time, the oven or bathroom needs serious work, or the move and the inspection are close together. It doesn't guarantee your bond, so choose on time and effort, not on promises.
What should I ask an end-of-lease cleaner before booking?
What's included, how long you have to report anything missed, how quickly they come back, and whether you pay before or after the clean.
When you're ready
Rather not do it yourself?
Get a fixed price for your home in about a minute. Nothing is booked or paid at this step.
Doing it yourself? The end of lease cleaning checklist
Sources
The laws, regulators and services this guide relies on, with the date we read each one.
- Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW), NSW Legislation. Read 5 October 2026. Standard s 51(3); prohibited terms s 19(2)(a) and (f); pets s 73E.
- Residential tenancy agreements, NSW Fair Trading (19 May 2025). Read 5 October 2026.
- Keeping a pet in a rental property, NSW Fair Trading (19 May 2025). Read 5 October 2026.
- Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic), Victorian Legislation. Read 5 October 2026. Standard s 63(2).
- Residential Tenancies Regulations 2021, Victorian Legislation. Read 5 October 2026. Professional cleaning: reg 12.
- Residential Tenancies and Rooming Accommodation Act 2008 (Qld), Queensland Legislation. Read 5 October 2026. Standard s 188; nominated suppliers and pet conditions ss 171, 184F.
- Should carpet cleaning be included as a special term?, Residential Tenancies Authority (24 Aug 2021). Read 5 October 2026.
- Special terms, Residential Tenancies Authority. Read 5 October 2026.
- Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA), WA Legislation. Read 5 October 2026. Cleaning claims s 81E(1)(d); pet conditions s 50C.
- Commissioner's Blog: Leaving a rental home, WA Government (14 Jun 2023). Read 5 October 2026. Landlords and agents can't insist on a particular cleaner.
- Don't get taken to the cleaners when a tenancy ends, WA Government (13 Aug 2025). Read 5 October 2026.
- Residential Tenancies Act 1995 (SA), South Australian Legislation. Read 5 October 2026. Standard s 69(3)–(4); pet conditions s 66C.
- Rental agreement terms inconsistent with the Residential Tenancies Act 1995, Consumer and Business Services SA (July 2024). Read 5 October 2026.
- The Renting Book (January 2026), ACT Government. Read 5 October 2026. Professional cleaning, p. 104.
- Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT), ACT Legislation Register. Read 5 October 2026. Standard: Schedule 1 clause 64.
- Consumer rights and guarantees, ACCC. Read 5 October 2026.
- Terms of service, Simply Maid. Read 5 October 2026. Re-clean terms.
General information, not legal advice. Tenancy law differs by state and changes; check the official source for your state before you act.