The Checklist: What a Professional Bond Clean Covers Room by Room
Use this as a reference when checking a quote or inspecting the finished job. Items marked ✦ are frequently missed and worth confirming explicitly.
KKitchen
- Oven interior: walls, racks, glass door, and door seals
- Rangehood: filter (soaked and cleaned), exterior surfaces
- Stovetop: burners or ceramic plate, burner grates, drip trays and surrounding surfaces
- Cupboards: interior shelves and exterior faces
- Splashback: grease and residue removed
- Sink and tap: descaled and polished
- Benchtops: cleaned and sanitised
- Dishwasher interior: filter, spray arms, door seal ✦
- Microwave interior and exterior (if fitted) ✦
- Skirting boards and light fittings
- Pantry shelves: cleared and wiped ✦
- Fridge (if provided): interior, door seals, freezer defrosted
BBathrooms (repeat for each)
- Shower screen: mould, soap scum, and seal cleaned
- Tiles and grout: scrubbed (check grout against your entry condition report)
- Bath: descaled, cleaned and polished
- Toilet: bowl, under rim, seat, cistern top, base
- Basin and tap: descaled and polished
- Vanity: interior shelves, exterior, and mirror
- Exhaust fan: cover removed and cleaned ✦
- Floor tiles and grout
- Skirting boards and light fittings
- Shower head and taps: descaled
- Towel rails: wiped
RBedrooms & Living Areas
- Skirting boards: wiped down along full length
- Light fittings: cobwebs and dust removed
- Light switches and power points: wiped clean
- Door frames and handles, both sides cleaned ✦
- Walls: scuff marks and fingerprints removed
- Window sills and tracks: dirt and dead insects cleared
- Blinds: slats or fabric wiped/cleaned
- Built-in wardrobe interiors: shelves, rails, floor ✦
- Vacuuming throughout: carpet steam cleaning usually quoted separately (see below)
- Ceilings and corners: cobwebs and mould spots removed
- Ceiling fans: blades and motor housing dusted ✦
- Vents and air-conditioning filters: vacuumed or wiped
- Curtain tracks: dusted
- Curtains: dust only; washing or dry-cleaning is a separate quoted service. Check your entry condition report and lease for anything about curtains before you arrange it
- Sliding door tracks: debris removed
- Fireplace or heater (if present): glass cleaned, ash removed
LLaundry
- Inside washing machine: drum, door seal, detergent drawer
- Dryer lint filter: cleaned ✦
- Tub and tap: descaled
- Cupboards or shelving (if fitted)
- Floor: swept and mopped, including behind appliances
FHard Floors (all rooms)
- Swept and mopped throughout
- Tile grout cleaned (if applicable) ✦
- Threshold strips and door edges cleared
WWindows (interior)
- Glass: smear-free both sides of interior pane
- Tracks: dirt and dead insects removed
- Sills: wiped down
- Exterior window cleaning is usually quoted separately. Confirm scope
GGarage & Outdoor Areas
- Garage floor: swept
- Cobweb removal from walls and ceiling corners
- Balcony or courtyard: swept (confirm with agent what is expected)
- Bins: emptied and rinsed
- All belongings and rubbish removed
What's Usually NOT Included in a Standard Bond Clean
Confusion about scope is a common source of bond-clean disputes. These items are typically excluded from a standard quote. Always confirm scope before you proceed.
NSW-Specific: What Agents Can Legally Require
The NSW Residential Tenancies Act 2010 sets the framework for what can be required of a departing tenant. A few key points worth knowing before your final inspection:
The entry condition report is the benchmark
You are required to return the property to the condition documented in the entry condition report at move-in, accounting for fair wear and tear. The agent cannot demand the property be left in a higher standard than it was at entry.
Professional cleaning is not automatically required
In NSW you must leave the property reasonably clean, having regard to its condition at the start of the tenancy (check your entry condition report). A lease can only require professional carpet cleaning in limited cases, for example, an additional term where pets were kept. Check your agreement or NSW Fair Trading. Otherwise, how you reach that standard is your choice.
Tax invoices and bond claims
If you use a professional cleaner, a tax invoice is useful evidence if a bond deduction is disputed. It should include the cleaner's ABN, date of service, and an itemised description of rooms and tasks completed. Request this from the cleaner before they leave.
Fair wear and tear
Fair wear and tear is gradual deterioration from normal use: faded paint, minor carpet flattening, worn thresholds. Stains, burns, large holes, mould from neglect and broken fixtures are not fair wear and tear.
If a dispute arises
Bond claims are settled between you and the landlord or agent. If you disagree, NSW Fair Trading offers free dispute resolution, and NCAT decides disputed claims, not the cleaner. Keep your entry condition report, exit inspection report, and cleaning invoices as evidence.
How to Review a Bond Cleaning Quote
Before confirming a quote, run through these four points:
Check whether carpet steam cleaning is included
It almost never is in the base price. Ask for a separate carpet cleaning line item and confirm the total all-in figure.
Confirm the tax invoice format
The invoice should include the cleaner's ABN, date of service, and an itemised list of rooms and tasks. Without this, you have less evidence if a bond claim is disputed.
Ask what happens if the agent flags something
Ask whether the cleaner will come back to fix specific items the agent raises, within what time window, and at what cost, and get the answer in writing. Make sure it covers the items in the checklist above, not just a general "satisfaction" clause.
Confirm who attends the final inspection
Some cleaners offer to attend the inspection and address any items on the spot. Many do not. Knowing this upfront helps you plan whether to be present.
Before You Hand Back the Keys
- Take timestamped photos of every room after the clean. They are your best evidence if a claim is disputed.
- Walk through the property with your signed entry condition report and check each room against it.
- Put any repairs you reported during the tenancy that were never fixed in writing to the agent: reported pre-existing damage isn't your cleaning responsibility.
- Get the cleaner's tax invoice (ABN, date, itemised rooms and tasks) before they leave.
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Find a bond cleaner in my suburbFrequently asked
Can my landlord insist on a professional bond clean?
Not automatically. In NSW you must leave the property reasonably clean, having regard to its condition at the start of the tenancy (check your entry condition report). A lease can only require professional carpet cleaning in limited cases, for example, an additional term where pets were kept. Check your agreement or NSW Fair Trading.
How much does a bond clean cost in Sydney?
Indicative 2026 ranges: $320–$480 for a 2-bedroom unit and $420–$650 for a 3-bedroom house, before carpet steam cleaning, which is almost always quoted separately. Each independent cleaner sets their own price. See our bond cleaning cost guide for a breakdown by property size.
What happens if the agent is not satisfied with the bond clean?
Ask the cleaner before you engage them whether they will come back to fix specific items the agent raises, and within what time window. Bond claims are settled between you and the landlord or agent. If you disagree, NSW Fair Trading offers free dispute resolution, and NCAT decides disputed claims, not the cleaner. Keep your tax invoice and any written communication from the agent as evidence.
Is carpet steam cleaning included in a bond clean?
Usually not. Most bond cleaners quote carpet steam cleaning separately because the price depends on room count and carpet condition. Always ask when comparing quotes. Confirm in writing whether carpet cleaning is included, and ask for the total all-in price before you proceed.