After the final inspection
If the agent says your clean isn't good enough
Quick answer: Ask for the items in writing, with photos, and check each one against your entry condition report. Offer to fix the fair ones quickly, before the keys go back if you can. If a cleaner did the job, tell them the same day. Don't accept a bond claim you disagree with: every state has a dispute process, and most deadlines are 14 days.
No state gives you a set time to come back and re-clean, so the first day matters. Here's what to send the agent, what counts as clean enough, and how a disputed claim works in each state.
- End of lease clean
- From $423, live from our booking calculator, checked 14 October 2026
- Our record
- 1,729 completed end of lease cleans
What to do in the first 24 hours
Get the list in writing, check it against your entry report, tell your cleaner, and offer a time to fix what's fair.
Ask for the list in writing, with photos
An emailed list of items, each with a photo, is easier to fix and easier to dispute than a comment at the door.
Check each item against your entry condition report
Anything recorded when you moved in, or that's fair wear and tear, isn't a cleaning item. Note the page or photo in your reply.
Tell your cleaner the same day
Re-clean promises usually run from the day of the clean, not the inspection. With us, you have 48 hours.
Offer to fix the fair items
Say what you'll fix and by when. If your tenancy hasn't ended and you still have the keys, do it before your end date.
Hold off on accepting a bond claim
Don't sign or accept a claim for cleaning until you've agreed the list. If you can't agree, use your state's dispute process before its deadline.
A specific list helps establish what needs attention and whether it was in the booked scope. An agreed follow-up does not pause a tenancy or bond deadline; consult the state guidance linked in the article.
Read the illustration as text
- Ask for specific items
- Request the list and photographs in writing.
- Compare the records
- Check each item against the entry report and your exit photos.
- Arrange the next step
- Tell your cleaner promptly and agree access for any follow-up.
Keep track of separate reporting and dispute deadlines.
Do you get a chance to fix it?
Usually only if the agent or landlord agrees. We found no state law that gives you a set time to come back and re-clean, so ask on the day and get the answer in writing.
The official guidance that comes closest:
- ACT: the Renting Book says that if you agree you're responsible for damage raised at the final inspection, you must be given a reasonable opportunity to fix it. It talks about damage, not cleaning.
- Queensland: the RTA says the exit report is ideally completed together, so issues can be addressed quickly.
- Western Australia: the Commissioner for Consumer Protection advises attending the final inspection to sort out issues on the spot.
Renters on forums report being given anything from 30 minutes to a week, or no chance at all when new tenants move in the next day.
How long you have
- Before your tenancy ends, keys still yours: you can usually go back and fix it yourself before your end date.
- After the keys are back: getting in again is up to the agent. Ask for a time in writing.
- Once a claim is lodged: a fix can still settle it, but the dispute deadline keeps running.
Can the agent insist on professional cleaners, or their own?
Not as a general rule. The law asks for a result, not a particular cleaner. NSW and Queensland don't allow a lease term requiring a particular business, and WA's regulator says agents can't insist on one.
- NSW: Fair Trading says a lease can't require you to use a particular person or business, or professional carpet cleaning unless you were allowed a pet inside.
- Queensland: the RTA says you can hire a professional or clean yourself, and a special term can't require a specific bond-cleaning company.
- Victoria: professional cleaning can be asked for only when it's needed to restore the starting condition, for example if the home was professionally cleaned before you moved in (agreements from 29 March 2021).
- Western Australia: Consumer Protection says landlords and agents can't insist on a specific company.
- ACT: professional cleaners aren't required, except for carpets when your agreement says so and they were professionally cleaned at the start.
- South Australia: we haven't found a general rule either way. Ask CBS.
If you accept the agent's cleaner for a re-clean, agree the items and the price first. More in do you need professional end-of-lease cleaners?
What to send the agent
A short, polite email that asks for the list with photos, points to anything that was already like that when you moved in, and offers a time to fix the rest.
A reply you can copy
Hi [name],
Thanks for doing the final inspection on [date]. So I can sort this out quickly, could you email me the cleaning items you'd like done, with a photo of each?
I've checked my entry condition report and move-in photos. [Item] was already like this when I moved in: it's on page [x] of the entry report, and my photo from [date] is attached.
I'm happy to fix the other items by [day and time]. Could you let me know how I can get access, or confirm I can do it before I return the keys on [date]?
I'd like us to agree the list before any bond claim is made for cleaning. Thanks for your help.
[Your name]
Before you send it
- Attach your own dated photos from after the clean.
- If a cleaner did the job, forward them the list at the same time.
- Keep it to the items: a calm, specific reply gets the quickest fix.
If you booked a professional clean
Send the agent's list and photos to your cleaner straight away. With us, tell us within 48 hours of the clean and we re-clean the areas you booked, free, within seven business days of the original clean.
Check two numbers in any cleaner's promise: how long you have to report a problem, and how long they have to come back.
How our re-clean works
- Tell us within 48 hours of the clean, through the rating link we send after your visit: choose the areas and add photos, including the agent's.
- We re-clean those areas free, within the service you booked, completed within seven business days of the original clean.
- Still not happy after the re-clean? We review it and offer a fair credit or refund.
It does not cover a clean that could not go ahead because there was no access, water or electricity, or work outside your booking. The house clean covers interior window glass only. Carpet cleaning must be separately selected and is assessed for suitability; mould removal is excluded. Any return visit is subject to the booked scope and the conditions in our Happiness Guarantee and terms, and your rights under the Australian Consumer Law aren't affected.
Line it up with the inspection
The 48 hours run from the clean, so book it a day or two before the inspection, walk through straight afterwards and take dated photos. Tell us your inspection date when you book; a return visit before the inspection depends on availability and access.
A re-clean promise isn't a bond guarantee: a claim can also cover rent, damage and keys. Our end of lease clean has a fixed price by home size, from $423.
The items agents most often flag
Check these before the inspection, and again before you reply. They're the spots renters most often say were raised at their final inspection.
Every step in this view is ticked. Untick ‘Hide steps I’ve ticked’ to see them again.
Kitchen
Baked-on grease needs time to soften, so don't leave it to the last hour.
Grease on the filter shows from below.
Bathrooms
Dirt or staining? Grout that won't come clean needs regrouting, not another clean. Check the entry report.
Soap scum shows in daylight.
Every room
Vacuum the tracks first, then wipe.
A finger run shows dust.
Insects collect in covers, and marks around switches.
Test a hidden patch first: scrubbing flat paint can leave a shiny patch. Paint lifted by Blu-Tack or tape is damage, not dirt, in NSW Fair Trading's examples.
Floors
In NSW Fair Trading's examples, traffic marks and furniture dents are wear; stains and burns are damage. Steam cleaning can be required only in narrow cases.
Drawn from renters' own accounts of their final inspections; the benchmark is still your entry report. The end of lease cleaning checklist covers every room in order.
What counts as clean enough
Reasonably clean, compared with how the home was when you moved in, allowing for fair wear and tear. It isn't a professional or "spotless" standard, and wear and tear isn't a cleaning item.
Your entry condition report is the benchmark in every state. A home that was grubby when you moved in doesn't have to be spotless when you leave.
Dirt, grime and grease are never fair wear and tear, as Queensland's RTA puts it. Wear is what age and everyday use do: faded curtains, paint worn near a light switch, flattened carpet. Damage is different again: NSW Fair Trading lists carpet stains or burns and paint lifted by Blu-Tack or tape. Cleaning can't undo wear, and damage is a repair question.
So ask which each item is: dirt, wear or damage. See fair wear and tear for examples, and the end of lease cleaning checklist for the full clean, room by room.
This explains the physical limits of cleaning, not who is legally responsible for a mark. Cause, starting condition, age and local tenancy rules matter.
Read the illustration as text
- Surface dirt
- Dust, grease and removable marks need a suitable cleaning method.
- Worn materials
- Cleaning cannot rebuild worn pile or reverse sun fading.
- Physical damage
- Burns, tears and missing material need a repair assessment.
Use the entry record when discussing the difference.
Your evidence: reports, photos and receipts
The entry condition report, the exit report, and dated photos of every room after the clean settle most cleaning arguments. Keep them, and any cleaner's invoice, until the bond is paid out.
- Entry condition report: what you're measured against.
- Exit condition report: ask for a copy. In Queensland you fill it in yourself and hand it over with the keys.
- Dated photos after the clean: each room, plus close-ups of the oven, rangehood filter, shower screen, window tracks and anything the agent raised.
- Your cleaner's invoice: it shows what was booked, not the result. What's assessed is the home's condition, not who cleaned it.
Ask for their evidence too
In NSW the landlord must give you the exit condition report and any quotes, invoices or receipts within 7 days of a claim you didn't agree to; in Queensland, supporting evidence within 14 days. From 13 October 2026, a Victorian rental provider must tell you in advance of a bond claim and give evidence. In WA only actual costs can be charged, and a quote is weaker evidence than an invoice.
How a bond claim is disputed in each state
Each state has its own body and deadline, and most give you 14 days to respond to a claim you don't agree with. In Victoria and Queensland a free service tries to settle it first; in WA the Commissioner decides free of charge.
Each state guide has the full process: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and the ACT.
| State | Who decides | Deadline | How to dispute | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | NCAT | 14 days from the notice of a claim (s 164(5)); either side can still apply up to 6 months after a payout | Apply to NCAT, then tell Fair Trading in Rental Bonds Online before the due date | NSW Fair Trading; RTA 2010 s 164(5) |
| Victoria | Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria (free), then VCAT | An online claim lapses if not accepted within 14 days; VCAT within 14 days after the agreement ends (s 419A(2)) | Ask for a change to the claim, or apply to RDRV | Consumer Affairs Victoria; RTA 1997 s 419A(2) |
| Queensland | RTA conciliation (free), then QCAT | Form 16 within 14 days of the notice of claim | Lodge a dispute resolution request (Form 16) with the RTA | Residential Tenancies Authority |
| Western Australia | Commissioner for Consumer Protection (free); appeal to the Magistrates Court | Respond within 14 days (6 more for posted notices); appeal within 7 days of the decision | Dispute the application; it goes to the Commissioner | Consumer Protection WA |
| South Australia | CBS assesses; SACAT decides disputes | By the date on the notice of claim; counter-offers last 10 days each, up to 7 | Accept, counter-offer or escalate to SACAT in Residential Bonds Online | Consumer and Business Services SA |
| ACT | ACAT | Dispute with the ACT Revenue Office within 14 days; appeal within 28 days of a decision | Your dispute is referred to ACAT | ACT Renting Book; ACAT |
Read from each regulator on 12 October 2026. General information, not legal advice: if a deadline is close, contact your state's tenancy authority. Sources are listed at the end of this guide. Checked 12 October 2026. General information, not legal advice.
What not to do
Don't hand back the keys without the list, don't accept a claim you disagree with, and don't let a deadline pass while you're still talking.
- Don't hand back the keys without the list. Once they're back, getting in is up to the agent. But don't keep them past your end date: in the ACT, unreturned keys can mean you're treated as still in possession and charged lost rent.
- Don't sign or accept a claim you disagree with. In Victoria you can ask for a change to an online claim instead. In WA, the bond release form itself says not to sign it until the tenancy has ended and the amount for each person is filled in, and never to sign a blank or part-completed form.
- Don't ignore a notice. In Queensland and the ACT, silence for 14 days means the bond is paid as the other side asked; in South Australia, CBS assesses the landlord's evidence without you.
- Don't pay a later invoice without evidence. In NSW either side can apply to NCAT within six months of a payout, so ask for the report, photos and invoice, and get advice.
Questions people ask
Do I get a chance to re-clean after the final inspection?
Not as of right in most states: we found no law giving you a set time to come back. Ask on the day, in writing, and offer a time. In the ACT, the Renting Book says that if you agree you're responsible for damage, you must get a reasonable opportunity to fix it.
Can the landlord take cleaning costs out of my bond?
In most states, yes, for cleaning you didn't leave reasonably clean compared with the start, never for fair wear and tear, and backed by evidence. The ACT's list of what the bond can pay for doesn't include cleaning, and we haven't found official guidance on how a shortfall is handled there.
Does a professional clean guarantee I get my bond back?
No. A claim can also cover rent, damage and keys, and no cleaner can promise the outcome. What a cleaner can promise is to come back: ours re-cleans the areas you booked, free, if you tell us within 48 hours of the clean.
What if I've already handed back the keys?
Ask in writing for a time to fix the items, and send your cleaner the list. If the agent won't let you back in and claims the cost, you can still dispute it through your state's process.
When you're ready
Moving out soon? Book the clean close to the inspection
Get a fixed price for your home, then pick a date a day or two before the final inspection. If something we cleaned is flagged, tell us within 48 hours of the clean and we re-clean it within seven business days of the clean. Nothing is booked or paid at this step.
Already had your clean with us? Report something we missed
Sources
The laws, regulators and services this guide relies on, with the date we read each one.
- Dealing with bond disputes for tenants, NSW Fair Trading. Read 12 October 2026. Telling Fair Trading of a dispute before the due date; the landlord's evidence within 7 days; NCAT within six months of a payout.
- Moving out of a rental home, NSW Fair Trading (2025-05-19). Read 12 October 2026. A reasonable opportunity to attend the final inspection; returning keys.
- Fair wear and tear versus damage in rental properties, NSW Fair Trading. Read 12 October 2026. Examples of wear (traffic marks, furniture dents, paint worn near a switch) and damage (carpet stains or burns, paint damaged by Blu-Tack or tape).
- Residential tenancy agreements, NSW Fair Trading. Read 12 October 2026. Terms that can't be added: a particular person or business; professional carpet cleaning except for an indoor pet.
- Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW), NSW Legislation. Read 5 October 2026. One-sided claims and the 14-day window (s 164(5)); landlord's evidence (s 165). Read for the NSW guide on 5 October 2026; not reachable on 12 October.
- New changes to the rental laws, Consumer Affairs Victoria (2026-09-27). Read 12 October 2026. From 13 October 2026, advance notice of a bond claim, with evidence.
- Bond claims and refunds, Consumer Affairs Victoria (2026-06-28). Read 12 October 2026. Accepting or asking to change an online claim within 14 days; not reasonably clean; no claims for fair wear and tear.
- Resolving bond issues and disputes, Consumer Affairs Victoria (2026-06-30). Read 12 October 2026. Rental Dispute Resolution Victoria asks for evidence, then VCAT.
- Free support now available for rental disputes in Victoria, Consumer Affairs Victoria (2025-06-23). Read 12 October 2026. RDRV is a free service for bond disputes.
- Condition reports, Consumer Affairs Victoria (2025-03-24). Read 12 October 2026. Reasonably clean; when professional cleaning can be asked for (agreements from 29 March 2021).
- Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic), Victorian Legislation. Read 5 October 2026. VCAT bond applications within 14 days after the agreement ends (s 419A(2)). Read for the Victoria guide on 5 October 2026.
- Bond refunds, Residential Tenancies Authority. Read 12 October 2026. Form 16 within 14 days; payment if no one responds; evidence within 14 days.
- RTA dispute resolution service, Residential Tenancies Authority. Read 12 October 2026. Free conciliation; a Notice of unresolved dispute refers the matter to QCAT.
- Cleaning, Residential Tenancies Authority. Read 12 October 2026. Professional or DIY; dirt, grime and grease aren't fair wear and tear.
- Exit condition report, Residential Tenancies Authority. Read 12 October 2026. Ideally completed together so issues can be addressed quickly; photos recommended.
- Special terms, Residential Tenancies Authority. Read 12 October 2026. A special term can't require a specific bond-cleaning company or a set fee.
- The new bonds process FAQs, Consumer Protection WA (2026-03-30). Read 12 October 2026. The Commissioner decides disputes free; 14 days to respond (plus 6 for posted notices); appeal within 7 days; quotes weaker than invoices.
- Commissioner's Blog: Leaving a rental home, Government of Western Australia (2023-06-14). Read 12 October 2026. Attend the final inspection to sort out issues on the spot; no insisting on a specific cleaner; actual costs only.
- Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (WA), WA Legislation. Read 5 October 2026. Release forms before the tenancy ends or without each party's amount (s 81C(5)). Read for the WA guide on 5 October 2026.
- Settling a bond dispute, Consumer and Business Services SA. Read 12 October 2026. Accept, counter-offer, escalate to SACAT or stay silent; 10-day counter-offers, up to 7.
- The Renting Book (January 2026), ACT Government. Read 12 October 2026. Disputes within 14 days referred to ACAT (p. 14); professional cleaning, disagreements on the report, a reasonable opportunity to fix agreed damage, and keys (p. 104).
- Ending a tenancy, ACT Government (2026-05-07). Read 12 October 2026. Bond deductions: damage, keys and rent owing.
- Rental bond and security deposit disputes, ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Read 12 October 2026. List of claims 7 days before the conference; evidence to bring; appeal within 28 days.
- What if something isn't right?, Simply Maid. Read 12 October 2026. Reporting within 48 hours through the rating link; re-clean within seven business days; credit or refund.
- Happiness Guarantee, Simply Maid. Read 12 October 2026. Re-clean conditions and exclusions.
- Terms of service, Simply Maid. Read 12 October 2026. Happiness Guarantee: 48 hours, seven business days, then a fair credit or refund.
- End of lease cleaning, Simply Maid. Read 12 October 2026. Price by home size; interior window glass; what isn't included.
General information, not legal advice. Tenancy law differs by state and changes; check the official source for your state before you act.