If you’re leaving a rental property in Sydney, Melbourne, or anywhere else in Australia, you’ve probably heard about the end of the lease cleaning that must be done before you leave. You might be able to clean the property on your own, but in a lot of the cases, you will need to hire an expert end-of-lease cleaner to get your security deposit back.
This article will talk about what an end-of-lease clean includes, how long it usually takes, how much it usually costs, and if it is really necessary to hire the pros.
1. What does it mean to clean at the end of a lease?
A bond AKA end-of-lease cleaning usually involves scrubbing all the rugs, mopping the floors, thoroughly dusting any hard furniture, cleaning the kitchen, bathrooms, and oven inside and out, and washing the windows.
These duties can be put into different groups. Think about the following areas:
- Vacuuming all rugs and soft furniture;
- Mopping the floors;
- Wiping the inside of windows;
- Wiping the inside and outside of kitchen cabinets;
- Deep cleaning the oven;
- Dusting and cleaning all skirting boards, window sills, light fittings, window tracks, and door knobs.
You could also plan these other things:
- Spot cleaning the walls;
- Cleaning the outside windows;
- Cleaning a patio or observatory;
- Deep cleaning the carpets and furniture;
- Cleaning the fridge and freezer;
- Washing the curtains;
- Cleaning the dishwasher.
- Tasks that need to be done and need to be planned separately
- Have a professional clean your carpets and furniture if you have pets;
- Treat your pets for fleas if you have them while you are renting.
2. How much does it cost to hire a professional end-of-lease cleaner?
On average, end-of-lease cleaning costs anywhere between $300 and $800 in Sydney. It mostly depends on the type and size of the property, such as a studio flat, a home or apartment with one bedroom, or a two, three, or four-bedroom house. It makes sense that the cost of cleaning goes up with the size of the house as well as the items that need to be covered.
The amount of people hired to clean your rental home or apartment is another important factor that may affect the price. Depending on how big the job is, it might be done by a single cleaner or a team of two or three cleaners.
The number and types of jobs that need to be done are the next most important things to think about. For instance, if you want your rugs to be steam cleaned, the price will go up because this isn’t usually part of the normal end-of-lease service.
You could be charged more if you had the external windows cleaned or the fridge and freezer cleaned. Once you know where all the places that need to be cleaned are, the cost will be figured out to include any extra jobs.
When services are booked together, they are sometimes much cheaper than when they are booked independently.
It’s also important that the house be in good shape. A house or flat that has been well taken care of or hasn’t been lived in for a long time will take longer to clean.
To sum up, the size of the property, the cleaning inclusions and the status of the property are the most important things that go into a price for end-of-lease cleaning.
3.How long does it take to carry out end-of-lease cleaning?
Depending on the size of the property and the number of workers, an end-of-lease cleaning could take anywhere from 3 to 8 hours.
The cleaning staff can move any light furniture so they can clean the rooms well, but they probably won’t move any larger pieces. We suggest calling the service ahead of time if you need to move big pieces of furniture, so that the cost and time it takes the cleaners to do the job can include this.
Obviously, the service will take longer if you’ve asked for extras like professional carpet or furniture cleaning, wall spot cleaning, or window cleaning on the outside.
The number of people working on the job determines how long it will take. Most cleaning jobs need a team of two or three professionals, but since the service is totally customizable, more cleaners can be sent if needed to speed up the process.
For instance, for a studio apartment in Sydney in good shape, two professionals can clean it in two to three hours. Two or three expert end-of-lease cleaners can clean a two-bedroom unit in four hours.
4.Do you have to pay for a professional cleaning at the end of your lease?
Each property agent or owner has his or her own rules about how you should clean at the end of your lease. But there are a few things that tenants have to do in certain situations. Here are the most important cleaning tasks for renters to remember:
- Steam cleaning of carpets, rugs, and furniture. If you have dogs, your owner will probably also want you to hire a professional carpet cleaner. Plan ahead and get it done as soon as you can, because your rugs will need time to dry after they’ve been cleaned.
- Getting rid of fleas. Again, if you have furry pets in your rented house or flat, make sure you don’t leave any evidence of them behind when you leave. Consider calling a professional pest control service to avoid problems with your owner and agency.
- Clean the property as instructed on the list. It is often sent to you when your lease starts. Professional cleaning services usually use plans that have been accepted by the industry. If your landlord has a different list, you should let the cleaners know so that everything is taken care of.
If you want to get your bond back without spending hours and hours on cleaning by yourself, the safest thing to do is book the service with a professional end-of-lease cleaning company like Ocean Power Cleaning, which help you to get the full rental bond back.