Published 16 September 2026 · by the Hightym team
Moving house is stressful enough without worrying about your bond. In Western Australia, the bond is usually several weeks of rent, so it's a decent chunk of money to get back. The good news is that most cleaning-related bond disputes come down to the same handful of areas being missed. Get those right and you give yourself the best chance of a smooth handover.
This checklist is general guidance from a cleaning team's point of view, not legal advice. For your rights and obligations, check your lease and the information published by the WA Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (Consumer Protection).
Start with your property condition report
Before you pick up a cloth, find the property condition report you received when you moved in. In WA, this report records the state of the property at the start of the tenancy, and it's what the property manager will compare against at the final inspection. The general expectation is that you leave the property in the same condition, allowing for fair wear and tear.
Read through it room by room. If something was already stained, marked or damaged when you moved in and it's noted on the report, you're not expected to make it better than it was. If you took photos at the start of your lease, have those handy too.
Kitchen
The kitchen is where most cleaning issues are found, so give it the most time.
- Clean the oven inside and out, including racks, trays and the glass door
- Degrease the cooktop and the rangehood, including filters
- Wipe the splashback and remove any grease build-up
- Clean inside and outside all cupboards and drawers
- Clean the sink and tapware until it shines
- Wipe the dishwasher inside, including the filter
- Clean the fridge space if a fridge was standing there
- Wipe light switches and power points
Bathrooms and laundry
- Scrub the shower, screen and tiles, paying attention to grout and soap scum
- Clean the bath, basin, vanity and mirror
- Clean the toilet thoroughly, including the base and behind it
- Clean exhaust fans and vents
- Wipe the laundry tub, taps and cupboards
- Clean the lint area around where the dryer sat
Living areas and bedrooms
- Vacuum and mop all floors, including corners and under where furniture stood
- Wipe skirting boards, door frames and doors
- Clean light switches and remove cobwebs
- Wipe inside built-in wardrobes, including shelves and tracks
- Clean window sills, tracks and the inside of windows
- Dust ceiling fans and light fittings
- Spot clean scuff marks on walls where it's safe to do so
Outside
- Sweep paths, patios and the garage
- Remove rubbish and garden waste as required by your lease
- Deal with oil stains on the driveway or garage floor if they weren't there at the start. A pressure clean can help lift built-up grime.
Common things that get missed
From our experience, these are the usual suspects at final inspections:
- Rangehood filters
- Window tracks full of dust and dead insects
- Exhaust fans in bathrooms
- Tops of doors and skirting boards
- Inside the oven door glass
- Shower screen water marks
Timing is everything
Leave cleaning until the property is completely empty. It's much easier to clean floors and wardrobes properly with nothing in the way. Ideally, book or do your clean after the removalists leave and before you hand back the keys, leaving a little time to fix anything you notice.
Do it yourself or get help?
Plenty of people do their own vacate clean, and with time, energy and this list it's very doable. But if you're juggling a move, work and family, it can be worth handing it over. A professional end-of-lease clean is thorough, done in one go, and means you're not scrubbing an oven at midnight before handover.
We do vacate and end-of-lease cleaning for tenants, owners and real estate agents in Malaga and Wangara, and we can add a driveway or patio pressure clean to the same visit. If anything comes up at the inspection that relates to our clean, talk to us and we'll sort it out.
Final tip
Keep your receipts and take dated photos after the clean, room by room. If there's any disagreement later, clear evidence makes life much easier for everyone.
Ready to hand it over? Get a free vacate cleaning quote or give us a call on 0439 659 127.
Need a hand?
We're a hands-on local team servicing Malaga and Wangara. Request a free quote or call 0439 659 127.
