Why you should use a professional for bond cleaning

When your lease expires, your landlord is going to expect to see their property at least as clean and tidy as it was when you moved in. Some landlords are stricter than others and you could lose half your bond or more if your house isn't spick and span.

Bond cleaning is a one-time investment that can potentially save you a lot of money. Rental bond cleaning services are specialists who know what to do to make sure your rental property is left in spotless condition.

If you're not sure whether bond cleaning prices are worth it, or you want to know the average bond clean cost, read this guide to find out:

• Average bond cleaning price in Australia
• What does bond cleaning include?
• Outdoor bond cleaning
• Is the bond cleaning cost worth it?
• Getting quotes for bond clean prices

Average bond cleaning price in Australia*

Rental bond cleaning prices start from $15 per hour, but the average is closer to $30 per hour.

On average, the total bond clean cost is around $250 to clean a two-bedroom house or $400 to clean a three-bedroom home. Bond cleaning prices can be lower or higher depending on the amount of cleaning the service provides. If you're looking to clean appliances as well, such as your oven, you will need to budget extra. 

The bond clean price you're quoted should be compared against the possible loss of your rental bond. In general, a rental bond costs four weeks' rent. For more information, check out our rental bond cleaning cost guide.  

What does bond cleaning include?

A full bond cleaning service will clean every room of the home, including laundry rooms. Their services normally include:

• Cleaning floors
• Cleaning walls and doors
• Cleaning windows
• Wiping clean skirting boards
• Cleaning cupboards inside and out
• Cleaning small items such as light fixtures and air conditioning units

Steam cleaning for carpets is usually not included in the bond clean price, but it can be arranged at extra cost.

If you only need certain cleaning services, see our house cleaning prices list to save money on your bond cleaning price.

Outdoor bond cleaning

Rental bond cleaning services do not normally clean up yards, but they may clean the garage, shed, patio and other outdoor structures for an added fee.

Hiring bond cleaning professionals to do all your cleaning will leave your time free to make sure the lawn is mowed and the garden is tidy. If you're too busy juggling work with organising your move to clean up the yard, a garden maintenance service can take care of any necessary garden work for you.

Is the bond cleaning cost worth it?

Hiring a cleaner for end-of-lease cleaning does cost you money, but they also save you money. You should decide whether you'd rather pay a professional service $250 to $400 and get all of your rental bond back or take the DIY approach and risk losing some or all of your bond.

If your landlord feels that their property needs cleaning, they will usually deduct more than the price of a cleaning service from your bond, and you could risk getting nothing back.

You can spend a week tidying up your house for your rental bond clean-up and still overlook something. The best way to guarantee you'll get your bond payment back in full is to hire a rental bond cleaning service.

When your landlord inspects your property after bond cleaning, you should get all of your bond back. If they have a complaint, you will be covered by the service's warranty. The service will come back and complete the job and your landlord should have no excuse not to give you back your full bond. Many services even guarantee that you will get a full refund.

Getting quotes for bond clean prices

When you get quotes from bond cleaning services, don't just go for the cheapest service until you've done your homework. A professional service should be:

• Well-established
• Able to provide you with references
• Insured
• Willing to give you an itemised list of the areas of your house they will be cleaning
• Willing to give you a warranty

*Costs and prices in this article are indicative and should only be used as a guide. They also vary locally and are subject to market forces.