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QUESTION: We recently moved into a rental property and it was only after we had signed that we realised that carpet hadn’t been properly cleaned. We had it professionally cleaned before we moved our stuff in and we asked the agent to pay for it as the previous tenant should have had it cleaned.
But the agent said there was no need for the previous tenant to have steam-cleaned the carpet and we had agreed to accept the flat in the state it was in, so ‘tough’. How do we get the money back? – NewBroom, Bondi.
ANSWER: You don’t. The landlord doesn’t have to hand over the apartment in pristine condition; they only have to ensure the premises are “reasonably clean and fit to live in when you first move in,” according to a Tenants NSW fact sheet.
Fair Trading goes even further and says you shouldn’t sign a lease that says you have to have the carpet professionally cleaned when you leave, unless you’ve agreed to that as part of a condition to allow you to keep a pet on the premises.
It’s all about your definition of ‘reasonably clean’ and if you thought it wasn’t, you should have said so before you signed up.
Find out more about your rights to a clean rental home in Queensland HERE and in Victoria HERE.
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@JimmyT said:
Fair Trading goes even further and says you shouldn’t sign a lease that says you have to have the carpet professionally cleaned when you leave, unless you’ve agreed to that as part of a condition to allow you to keep a pet on the premises.In NSW, most people I know who rent have a clause in their lease saying that a receipt from a ‘professional’ carpet cleaning company has to be produced before people can hope to get their bond back. As there are so few rental properties fit to live in for a reasonable price, most do not have a choice, because the next 20 people in line for the place will agree to it.