So you’ve made the leap from renting to owning your very own house.
Alternatively, your previous tenant has just vacated, and you need to get the property ready for inspection.
Either way, cleanliness is paramount.
To help you get the best possible outcome, we’ve put together the essential cleaning checklist to ensure you don’t miss a single thing.
Need help? You can always call Master Cleaners for end of lease cleaning in Hobart!
Why end of lease cleaning matters for tenants
Get your bond back in full
You want to get your bond back when you move out, right?
If so, you’ll need to leave the place absolutely spotless once you move out!
Landlords and agents can be picky. Many will home in on tiny stains and marks, using that as an excuse to hang onto your bond.
That’s money that could be very important – especially if you need to furnish your new place, or if you’re moving into an area with higher rents!
If you want to get your bond back in full however, you’ll need to ensure that you don’t leave a mess behind. And that means cleaning.
Certain tenancy agreements require it
Obviously, this will depend on the agreement you sign with your landlord or agent. If your tenancy agreement explicitly states that you are responsible for end of lease cleaning however, it might be time to roll up your sleeves and get to work.
Each state has slightly different laws regarding end of lease cleaning, and which tasks are the tenant’s responsibility.
As a general rule, however, tenants are required to leave the property in the same condition as they found it.
Say your place had its carpets steam cleaned shortly before you moved in. In order to restore it to the condition you found it in, you may have to book a steam vacuum and set aside a weekend for cleaning.
Common courtesy
Think back to when you first moved into your rental property. Think back to how spotless it would have been, and how little cleaning you had to do to make yourself comfortable.
Why should the tenant after you have to put up with a mess?
End of lease cleaning doesn’t just help you get your bond back – it’s also a common courtesy. By thoroughly cleaning the place out, you’ll make things easier for the following tenants. In particular:
- They won’t have to spend as much time cleaning
- They’ll feel more comfortable
- You’ll help them feel more at home
We’re sure you wouldn’t want to move into a dank, dingy apartment or house. So why would you leave your former residence in such a state?
Why end of lease cleaning matters for landlords
Make a good first impression
While Photoshop can cover up stains and messes in your listing photos, it can’t hide messes in-person. To do that, you’ll need to ensure that the place is absolutely spotless before the first inspection.
First impressions matter. If potential tenants are greeted by a rental property that’s dirty and dingy, they aren’t going to sign a lease (unless you offer it to them for free, and even then there’s no guarantee!)
If you want to get a good offer, you’ll need to make a solid impression. And that means presenting a clean and tidy rental property.
The previous tenants didn’t clean up after themselves
Just like everyone who’s ever rented has stories of the landlord from hell, many landlords also have stories of tenants that were unpleasant to deal with.
Most tenants will be courteous and will do a good job cleaning the property up before leaving. Even if they don’t quite manage to get everything, it certainly helps, and reduces the amount of work you need to do.
However, some tenants aren’t so considerate, and will leave a large mess behind.
Sure, you could clean it up yourself. But that would take considerable amounts of time (especially if they leave a large mess behind). Not to mention, your tight deadline simply may not allow for it.
Need help? Master Cleaners is ready to provide it. Our professional end of lease cleaners have plenty of experience cleaning up big messes. Many of our clients are factories and warehouses – we can certainly handle messes left behind by a dirty tenant.
It’s part of your duty of care
Landlords have a responsibility to provide a safe and habitable property. That means ensuring that electrical appliances are fit for purpose, the gas lines are up to date and that smoke alarms work.
However, many landlords don’t seem to realise that cleanliness is part of that!
Many potential tenants will have certain health conditions that can make them sensitive to an unclean living environment. People with asthma and other respiratory conditions are a great example of this.
By starting them off with a clean property, you’re helping fulfil your responsibility to protect your tenants.
Master Cleaners offers a range of deep cleaning services that help protect more vulnerable tenants. Some of our specialised cleaning services include:
Each of these messes can trigger asthma attacks and other health problems. Protect your tenants and avoid a costly lawsuit by removing these messes from the premises before the tenant signs the dotted line.
Your end of lease cleaning plan
End of lease cleaning isn’t like your weekly chores. Think of it as a deep clean, but on steroids – in many cases, you’ll be cleaning out corners that haven’t seen the light of day (or the business end of a vacuum cleaner) in months, or even years.
In particular, you’ll deal with a lot of deep-seated messes, grime and dust.
Sometimes, this can take a considerable amount of effort – these stains may have had years to dig themselves in.
In other cases, it could simply be a lot of work – just imagine having to wipe down all the baseboards on the property. While it isn’t exactly difficult, it can be extremely time-consuming.
To help make the process as simple and easy as possible, our team of end of lease cleaners have put together this essential checklist…
1) Choose a time
It doesn’t matter whether you’re vacating a studio apartment or a mansion – either way, planning is crucial!
The first thing you’ll want to do when planning your clean is to choose a time. We recommend at least a weekend, though in many cases it might take several.
To ensure everything gets done before the first inspection, you’ll need to carefully plan out a timeframe.
While it varies from room to room, we suggest allocating at least an hour for each room. It might sound like overkill, until you realise that you’ll have scrub away thick grease that’s had months to settle.
Trust us, many household messes can be just as stubborn as those found in factories, construction sites or commercial kitchens!
2) Make an end of lease cleaning checklist for each room
Cleaning a bathroom is different from cleaning a laundry room, or lounge.
As such, each room needs its own end of lease cleaning checklist.
Start by making a list of all the cleaning tasks involved in cleaning out each room – certain rooms also have unique cleaning requirements. For example, you won’t need steam cleaning in tiled rooms such as bathrooms or laundry rooms.
Once that’s done, you’ll want to start thinking about…
3) Get your products in order
As we mentioned before, end-of-lease cleaning is a lot deeper than your regular weekend clean. In many cases, it’ll also involve specialised cleaning products and tools.
For example, say your end of lease cleaning plan (see above) includes steam cleaning the carpets. The problem is that very few of us have steam cleaners just lying around. You’ll need to rent one in advance.
Another example is kitchen grease. Over time, grease can build up to the point where it’s impossible to remove with ordinary spray. You’ll need heavy-duty cleaning products, as well as metal sponges.
That’s just two examples of the type of “hardware” end of lease cleaning often involves. Much of the time, it’s the type of thing that you won’t have lying around the house.
As such, the next thing you should be doing as part of your end of lease cleaning is organising any cleaning products and equipment beforehand.
Need end of lease cleaning in Hobart?
Master Cleaners is proud to announce that we’re expanding our business to Tassie. And we’re bringing our entire range of cleaning services with us!
Whether you’re a tenant or a landlord, Master Cleaners are the team to call if you need end of lease cleaning in Hobart.
We’ve made a name for ourselves on the mainland thanks to our unmatched skills and attention to detail, which we’re now bringing to bear on houses in Hobart!
Make the end of lease process just that little bit easier – contact Master Cleaners on 1800 11 2234 or fill in the form to get a quote from us today.
