One of the most stressful tasks when you’re vacating a tenancy, is ensuring your property is in tip-top shape. Under the General Tenancy Agreement (GTA) you sign at the start of your lease, it’s your obligation to ensure you leave the property in the same condition as when you moved in otherwise you will lose your bond. Some of the top reasons tenants don’t get their bonds back are rent arrears, damage to the property, lack of cleanliness and outstanding invoices. Here are some tips that will ensure you are on the right track to getting your bond back.

CLEAN IS THE WORD
You want to ensure the property appears in the same condition as it did when you first moved in. A vacating clean is a much larger job than just your usual fortnightly clean. To make the job seem slightly more manageable, break it down room by room and work your way from the top to the bottom of the room. Be sure not to miss the smaller details such as window tracks, light fittings, replacing blown lightbulbs, emptying garbage bins, cleaning air-conditioning filters and washing down walls. Also don’t forget the back and front yards and gardens, for example, mowing the lawns and tidying up the gardens. If you want to ensure everything is done correctly and to a high standard you might want to engage bond cleaning specialists or yard maintenance services. Additionally you are required to have the carpets professionally cleaned and hire pest control if there have been any pets on the property. Hold onto the receipts from these services so the owner knows you’ve done the right thing.

DON’T MISS THE FINER DETAILS
Once you have completed all the cleaning jobs there are a few more things to organise before you move on. The major job you need to complete is filling out the exit condition report (ECR). On this report, make sure you have provided your property manager with as much information as possible as it will come in handy if any problems should arise.
You will also want to ensure you have organised for all your utilities to be disconnected and that you have collected the final reading for your tenure. When handing back your ECR you will also want to ensure you are handing over every single key to the property, as you are considered liable for the rent until they have all been handed over. Make sure you also contact your property manager to find out whether you have any outstanding invoices that need to be paid before leaving.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES
As a tenant there are also a few jobs that you are not responsible for. These include: unblocking sewerage pipes blocked by tree roots, replacing 10-year-old carpets, repainting after 10 years and removing asbestos.
If you follow the steps above and do your research on what is and isn’t expected of you, you will generally get your entire bond back. Stay in contact with your property manager throughout the process and they will provide you with all the relevant vacating information. They will also be able to answer any extra questions you have about the process and they can keep you up to date on how your bond refund is tracking.
It’s as easy as that!