The Swan Hill Renter's End of Lease Cleaning Checklist

This end of lease cleaning checklist for Swan Hill renters is built from the vacate lists local property managers actually inspect against. Under Victorian tenancy law you must leave the property "reasonably clean", but in practice agents in Swan Hill, Kerang and Murray Downs walk through with a printed list and photograph anything that misses. Work through every item on this end of lease cleaning checklist, or hand it to a professional, and the final inspection becomes a formality rather than a fight over the bond.

Before you start: the week before the inspection

• Read your entry condition report and photos. You only need to match the condition at move-in (minus fair wear and tear).
• Book carpet steam cleaning and any professional help for a day or two before the inspection, so carpets are dry and there is time to fix anything.
• Move all furniture and belongings out first. You cannot clean inside a wardrobe or behind a fridge that is still there.
• Confirm with the agent whether they want the outside of windows, the garage and the garden included — most Swan Hill agencies do.

Kitchen vacate checklist

The kitchen is where most bond deductions happen, and on every Swan Hill end of lease cleaning checklist the oven is the single most common failure.

• Oven: racks, trays, door glass (inside and between panes if accessible), door seal and the roof of the oven
• Rangehood: filters washed or replaced, underside and light cover degreased
• Cooktop: burners, trivets and knobs removed and cleaned; glass cooktops polished streak-free
• Cupboards and drawers: emptied, wiped inside and out, crumbs out of drawer runners, cupboard tops dusted
• Benchtops, splashback and sink: degreased, tap base descaled, plug and drain cleaned
• Dishwasher: filter cleaned, door edges wiped, run empty on a hot cycle
• Fridge cavity: floor and walls behind where the fridge sat

Bathroom, toilet and laundry

Swan Hill has hard water, so mineral build-up on glass and tapware is the first thing agents tick off their end of lease cleaning checklist.

• Shower screen: descaled inside and out, tracks and frames cleaned, silicone free of mould
• Tiles and grout: scrubbed; grout mould treated
• Toilet: bowl, under the rim, cistern, seat hinges, base and behind the pedestal
• Vanity: basin, cupboard inside, mirror polished
• Exhaust fans: covers removed and washed
• Laundry: trough, cupboards, behind the washing machine, taps and outlet cleaned
• Floor drains and grates lifted and cleaned

Bedrooms, living areas and the whole-house items

• Walls: scuffs and marks spot-cleaned with sugar soap (do not scrub flat paint hard enough to leave a shiny patch)
• Skirting boards, door frames, doors and door handles wiped
• Light switches and power points wiped; light fittings and ceiling fans dusted and washed
• Cobwebs removed from ceilings, cornices and corners
• Wardrobes: shelves, rails and tracks cleaned; mirrored doors polished
• Windows: glass inside (outside if required), sills, tracks vacuumed and wiped, flyscreens washed
• Blinds and curtains: blinds dusted and wiped; curtains washed if stated on the entry report
• Air conditioner: filters cleaned, vents wiped
• Floors: hard floors vacuumed and mopped including edges; carpets professionally steam cleaned with the receipt supplied

Outdoors, garage and the final walk-through

• Garage and carport swept, oil stains treated, cobwebs removed
• Verandahs and paths swept; outdoor light fittings cleaned
• Lawns mowed and edged, garden beds weeded, if the lease makes you responsible
• Bins emptied and washed out
• All rubbish removed from the property, including the shed
• Every key, remote and swipe card accounted for

Then walk through the empty property with this end of lease cleaning checklist and the entry condition report in hand and look at it the way the agent will: open every cupboard, look up at every light and down at every skirting board.

Using this end of lease cleaning checklist with your Swan Hill agent

Print this end of lease cleaning checklist, tick each item as you finish it, and take a photo of every room once it is done. If the agent raises anything at the final inspection, you have dated evidence of the condition you left the property in. Under the Residential Tenancies Act the agent must give you a copy of the exit condition report, and any bond claim goes through the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority, where you can dispute a deduction you do not agree with.

Most Swan Hill agencies use a checklist that looks very much like this one, so if you have covered everything above the inspection is usually a five-minute walk-through. Where renters come unstuck is the oven, the shower screen, the window tracks and the carpet — the four items agents photograph first.

Carpet cleaning and the bond

Most rental agreements in Swan Hill require carpets to be professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy, particularly if pets were approved. Agents ask for a receipt from a professional carpet cleaner, and a hired supermarket machine does not count. Ultraclean does carpet steam cleaning and the full bond clean on the same visit, provides the receipt, and returns free of charge to fix any item the agent picks up.

If you would rather not spend your last weekend with a bucket of sugar soap, send the property details through the quote form. A fixed price for the whole vacate clean comes back the same business day.

Frequently asked questions

Need it done? Ultraclean Swan Hill

Ultraclean Swan Hill is an owner-operated cleaning business based in Lake Boga, servicing Swan Hill and surrounds — Lake Boga, Kerang, Nyah, Murray Downs, Cohuna, Barham, Balranald, Sea Lake and the Murray River towns on both sides of the border. Over 10 years experience, fixed quotes, truck-mounted equipment, fully insured. Call 0417 327 173 or request a free quote and hear back the same business day.