Guides · Bond cleaning
The complete end of lease cleaning checklist for Victorian renters
Handing the place back spotless is how you get every dollar of your bond. Here is exactly what agents check — room by room.
Getting your full bond back comes down to one thing: handing the property back as clean as the day you moved in. Below is the room-by-room checklist Victorian property managers actually inspect against — use it to do the job yourself, or to know exactly what you're paying a professional for.
Before you start
- Do the clean after everything is moved out — you can't clean around furniture.
- Dig out your entry condition report. You're cleaning back to that state, not to "brand new".
- Take date-stamped photos of every room when you finish — your proof if there's ever a dispute.
Kitchen
- Oven degreased inside and out — racks, trays, grill and glass door (the #1 thing agents fail people on)
- Cooktop, rangehood and filter
- Splashback and wall tiles
- All cupboards and drawers, inside and out
- Sink and taps descaled; bench tops; dishwasher
Bathrooms & laundry
- Shower, screens, tiles and grout — mould and soap scum removed
- Bath, basin and taps
- Toilet, inside, out and behind
- Mirrors and cabinets; exhaust fans dusted
- Laundry trough and behind the machines
Living areas & bedrooms
- Walls spot-cleaned (marks and scuffs)
- Skirting boards, architraves and doors wiped
- Light switches and power points
- Cobwebs and ceiling corners
- Wardrobes and shelves, inside
- Windows inside, plus tracks and sills; blinds dusted
Floors
- Hard floors vacuumed and mopped
- Carpets vacuumed and steam cleaned — most Victorian leases require professional carpet cleaning, so keep the receipt. Our carpet steam cleaning is included free in an end-of-lease clean.
Outside (if it's your responsibility)
- Balcony or courtyard swept; garage swept and de-cobwebbed; bins rinsed
The two things renters miss most
1. Oven and rangehood grease. Baked-on grease is the most common reason a clean gets rejected. 2. Window tracks and carpet steam cleaning. Both are on every inspection sheet and both are easy to forget.
DIY or hire a pro?
A proper bond clean on an empty home takes most of a day, the right products and a lot of elbow grease — and if the agent isn't satisfied, you're either re-cleaning or losing part of your bond. A professional end of lease clean from RNS is a fixed price from $330 (inc GST), carpets included, backed by a 48-hour bond-back guarantee. We cover all of Melbourne.