If your agent has asked you to have your home professionally cleaned before you vacate, you're not alone.  But did you know that you cannot be required to have the home professionally cleaned?

Your residential tenancy agreement requires you to leave the home reasonably clean, having regard to the condition of the home at the commencement of the tenancy.

As well as this, agents cannot require you to have the carpet professionally cleaned when you leave, unless you have agreed to clean the carpets professionally as part of a condition that allows you to keep a pet at the home.

This being the case, you might be very surprised to hear, as we were, that end-of-lease clean-ups are tenants nearly $200M.

Apparently, 20% tenants lose an average of $1,224 of their bond when landlords find the property is dirty upon departure.  With 821,830 bonds lodged in NSW currently, this could cost renters as much as $191 million.  It seems that the CBD, Liverpool and Bondi are the worst geographies at keeping their bond.

Tenants do need to leave their homes reasonably clean, however how the tenant achieves this is their decision.  For some, professional cleaning is the way to go: perhaps they don't like cleaning or they're busy or they want the job done well.  It's true that if the home is not left in reasonable condition and the tenant fails to rectify this, their bond may be withheld.  However, landlords and agents cannot require a tenant to have the home professionally cleaned unless animals have been kept at the premises.

Melissa Maimann is a licenced Buyer's Agent and Rental Search / Relocation Agent in Sydney. She saves tenants time and frustration by offering an affordable service that finds and secures the best rental properties quickly, easily and efficiently. If you need a Licenced Real Estate Agent to find your next rental home for you, don't hesitate to make contact.