According to the Australian bureau of statistics, the number of people living in rented accommodation in Australia has come to 31 per cent.  The majority of rental properties are leased through agents who, in agreement with their contract with the landlord, perform background checks on potential tenants. Only after these background checks have been made, and a bond (deposit) has been paid, are new tenants allowed to move into their leased property.

When originally paid, the bond is lodged, along with a copy of the inspection report for the leased property, with the Rental Bond Board. This is to ensure that neither landlords, nor tenants, are left out of pocket due to damage that happens to a property while it is under lease.

The issue of end of lease cleaning comes into this process for a multitude of reasons. Commonly, if the leased property is not left in its original state after a tenant has moved out, the letting agent reserves the right to not release part — or in some cases all — of the bond paid when the lease agreement was made. In reality this means that if, as a tenant, the end of lease cleaning of a rental property is not completed to the agent's or landlord's standards, you could stand to lose between four and six weeks' rent (or, in the case of some luxury furnished properties, the bond could be as high as eight months' rent).

For any tenants, these potential deductions can make life extremely difficult, often resulting in an inability for the tenant to pay the necessary bond on their next rental property. Proper end of lease cleaning, to a standard where the property will pass the end of lease inspection, is essential in order for the bond to be reimbursed. With dirty, or ruined carpets accounting for a large portion of failed end of lease inspections, ensuring that thorough carpet cleaning is undertaken upon vacating the property is one of the best things a tenant can do in order to ensure their bond is reimbursed to them.

Not only can inadequate end of lease cleaning leave tenants without the necessary cash for the bond on their next rental property, it can also jeopardise the rental process itself. A key part of an agent's work is gathering references for potential tenants, most notably seeking reference from previous landlords. This means that if the end of lease cleaning was poor, or moving our carpet cleaning needed to be completed after then tenants vacated the property, this can seriously jeopardise this process and make it very difficult for someone to be successful in acquiring a new lease.

As a tenant there is no trick to guarantee that your bond is returned to you at the end of your lease. However, by being astute and undertaking complete end of lease cleaning, along with moving out carpet cleaning, you stand a far higher chance of seeing that bond money again.