For a property manager, a vacate clean is rarely just a clean. It sits between a tenant moving out, an exit inspection, a bond, possibly a new tenant and an owner who wants the property back on the market. When cleaning is organised the same way every time, those pieces stop colliding.
This is a simple process an agency can use across a rent roll. The rules mentioned are general information, not legal advice.
1. Decide who books the clean
Agencies tend to work one of three ways:
- The tenant books their own cleaner, and the agency checks the result at the exit inspection.
- The agency books on the tenant’s behalf, usually when the tenant asks, with the invoice going to the tenant.
- The agency books for the owner, for pre-lease cleans or touch-ups after the tenant has left.
Write down which applies to each job, because it decides who receives the invoice and who approves any extra work.
2. Send a complete request
Most delays start with a request that is missing the deadline, the access details or the billing party. A short template removes that problem — our cleaning work order checklist covers what to include.
Two details are worth stating every time:
- The deadline and the reason for it (exit inspection, new tenant, photos for a listing).
- What the clean should be judged against — usually the entry condition report notes or your own vacate checklist.
3. Plan around the exit inspection
Under Victoria’s rules, the rental provider or agent completes the exit section of the condition report within 10 days after the agreement ends, and the renter must be present or given a reasonable opportunity to attend. Working back from the inspection:
- The tenant hands back the property empty.
- Carpet cleaning, if needed, happens first, with drying time allowed.
- The vacate clean is completed.
- The inspection takes place with the condition report in hand.
For rental agreements signed on or after 29 March 2021, professional cleaning can only be required in limited situations, so carpet cleaning should be requested because of the carpet’s condition rather than by default. Consumer Affairs Victoria’s “Moving out of a rental property” page sets out the rule.
4. Handle keys the same way every time
Keys cause more lost time than anything else. Agree a standard for each job:
- where the cleaner collects keys (office, lock box, building manager),
- when they must be returned, and where,
- who to call if access fails.
Lock-box codes and alarm details should only be sent through the cleaning company’s business channel and kept out of shared threads.
5. Ask for a clear completion notice
A short message when the clean is finished — and confirmation of where the keys were returned — means nobody has to chase. If you need photos of particular areas, ask for them in the request.
6. Have a simple path for inspection feedback
If the inspection finds something, send the specific area and a photo to the cleaner straight away. A clear, written note is the quickest way to get it looked at again and avoids a back-and-forth about what was meant.
7. Keep invoicing predictable
Decide in the request who is invoiced — tenant, owner or agency — and include any reference or order number. Itemised invoices make it easy to charge the right party and answer owner questions.
Working with us
Our real estate agency cleaning covers vacate and pre-lease cleans, carpet steam cleaning, key pickup and return as arranged, and invoices to the tenant, owner or agency as the work order says. Send work orders by email or the request form, and each clean is priced from the property size at the same rates as our online calculator, or by agreement for your agency — for example $379 + GST for a two-bedroom apartment vacate clean.
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Sources
- Consumer Affairs Victoria — Condition reports
- Consumer Affairs Victoria — Moving out of a rental property
Rules change. Check the official source for your situation; this guide is general information, not legal advice.