What Real Estate Agencies In Perth Have The Most Stringent Bond Cleaning Policies

Cleaning at the end of the lease period in Perth has changed from a straightforward cleaning activity to an intricate expensive restorative procedure that tenants have to undertake. The average bond clean now requires a complete restoration, adding further stress during an already difficult period. Some cleaning packages are reportedly more expensive than the bond amount, which substantially increases tenants’ financial burden during their moving period.

This detailed analysis seeks to answer the question of whether the stricter vacate cleaning standards applied by Perth real estate agencies are the real reasons for the unprecedented price hikes. We will systematically analyze the cleaning instructions legislated by ten big Perth real estate agencies and determine which ones impose the highest requirements, the most rigorous standards, and the impact of these cleaning standards on the costs of cleaning and renters.

Summarized List:

• Some agencies have unique/specialized services like garage oil spillage cleaning and air conditioner filter cleaning
• Professional carpet cleaning is now a requirement for all surveyed agencies (100%)
• Some other requirements such as flyscreen removal and washing are present within 70% of agency checklists
• Review of agency-specific instructions facilitates better planning for bond cleaning budget

Research Methodology

In order to maintain fairness and ensure accuracy, we examined the vacating checklists provided by 10 leading real estate agencies in Perth. Our research criteria included:

Sample Size: 10 metro real estate agencies in Perth
Data Source: Agency’s issued checklists & cleaning pro guides
Geographic Coverage: From Northern to Southern Suburbs and CBD to coastal regions
Documentation: Links to postable cleaning requirement documents

Data Points Collected:

• Name of Agency and Head Office
• Suburbs managed by the agency
• All cleaning tasks breakdown
• Known Professional Services
• Common “above standard” expectations marked as Notes

The Raw Findings: Cleaning Requirements by Agency

Ray White (Whiteman & Associates, Mirrabooka)

Territory Covered: Mirrabooka WA 6061, Girrawheen WA 6064, Balga WA 6061, Ballajura WA 6066 along with Other Northern Suburbs
Source: Ray White Cleaning Guide for Vacating

Basic Requirements:

• All curtains and blinds must be cleaned (feel free to wash or dry-clean)
• Take out and power wash insect screens
• Wash all windows both outside and inside (including window sills and tracks)
• Clean marks off walls using sugar soap
• Dust all light fittings (and remove any dead bugs)
• Clean interior air conditioner filters

Must follow requirements:

• ✅ Garage oil stain removal: “clean driveway, carport, garage and all other concrete surfaces free of any oil or grease stains”
• ✅ Flea treatment pests: “should any pets have been kept, professional flea treatment needs to be carried out internally and externally with a signed receipt presented”
• ✅ Cobweb removal: “all cobwebs located within eaves and patio ceilings along with awnings to be removed”

Notable: Ray White’s checklist is extremely thorough capturing any and all details from light fittings to window tracks.

Harcourts Home Real Estate (Kelmscott)

Map Areas: Range Includes Kelmscott WA 6111, Armadale WA 6112, Roleystone WA 6111, Seville Grove WA 6112, and other south eastern suburbs
Reference: Harcourts Home “Vacate Checklist – For Tenants” (PDF)

Basic Instructions:

• The property must be restored to its original condition based on The Condition Assessment Report
• Clean all carpets using professional steam cleaning services before handing over the keys (if applicable)
• All rooms and areas should be cleaned as they were when they were issued

Strict Instructions:

• ✅ Professional carpet cleaning: “Provide evidence of professional carpet cleaning and flea treatment if pets were present”
• ✅ Pool service requirement: “For properties with swimming pools, furnish proof of service that verifies chemical balance removal, cleaning, and service”
• ✅ Utilities during inspection: “Electricity and gas are to stay on until the last inspection is complete so appliances powered by electricity, lights, and doors operated by garage power can be used”

Notable: Harcourts emphasize administering lease obligations and draw attention to neglected areas like cleaning air conditioning filters and cleaning inside drawers.

Raine & Horne (North Perth)

Covered areas: North Perth WA 6006, Leederville WA 6007, Mount Lawley WA 6050, Highgate WA 6003, and the other suburbs in the city center
Cited Resource: Raine & Horne “Final Inspection Guide (Residential Rentals)”

Primary Requirements:

• Ensure thorough “cleaning” of kitchen appliances. Cleaning includes stove top, griller, oven, drip trays etc. and should be thoroughly done
• Remove and clean all the exhaust fan covers
• Dust all air vents as well as any other
• Wash all windows and sliding doors (both the inside and outside) and ensure to scrub the sliding door track

Additional requirements:

• ✅ Garage oil stain removal: “Driveways, garages, and paved areas must be clear of any oil or grease stains”
• ✅ Exhaust fan cover removal: Tenants must “remove and clean exhaust fan covers”
• ✅ Light fitting maintenance: “wash all light fittings (and empty dead bugs)”

Notable: Raine & Horne’s checklist is very detailed – comparable to Ray White’s – covering fan covers, air vents, flyscreens, and wall washing.

LJ Hooker (City Residential, Perth CBD)

Coverage Area: Perth WA 6000, East Perth WA 6004, West Perth WA 6005, Northbridge WA 6003, South Perth WA 6151
Source: Cited from Professionals Moving Out Guide

Standard Requirements:

• Steam cleaning carpets
• Full kitchen clean (ovens, stovetops, range hood filters, cabinets)
• Full bathroom clean (tiles/grout, shower screen, toilet, vanity)
• All windows and sliding door tracks cleaned (in and out)

Strict Requirements:

• ✅ Professional Cleaning Receipts: “LJ Hooker generally enforces professional carpet cleaning and flea treatment (if pets were kept) with receipts”
• ✅ Detailed Inspection Focus: “Agents will check high-touch and hidden areas – e.g. ceiling fan blades, tops of cabinets, air conditioner vents”

Notable: LJ Hooker is known for their impressive level of detail during the final inspection, often commenting on dust on ceiling fans or small amounts of debris.

Acton | Belle Property (Cottesloe)

Scope of Work: Cottesloe WA 6011, Claremont WA 6010, Swanbourne WA 6010, Peppermint Grove WA 6011, along with the western suburbs

Basic Instructions:

• Kitchen must be cleaned (degrease oven, stovetop and rangehood; clean all cupboards inside and out)
• Clean all the bathrooms (mould and soap scum removal, and scrubbing tiles and grouts)
• Windows and glass doors should be cleaned from the inside and out, including the tracks and sills which must be devoid of dirt

Important Requirements:

• ✅ Professional service emphasis: “As a routine, Acton/Belle suggests that tenants engage with cleaning or professional services as it relates to deep cleaning tasks including, but not limited to, oven cleaning, window washing, and carpet care”
• ✅ Detail-focused inspection: “All food remnants and their associated refuse is to be extracted from the dishwashers. The washing machine’s filters will be cleaned, and the baseboards must also be wiped clean”
• ✅ Oil stain removal: “As a procedural cleaning mandate, oil drips on driveways or garage floors must be removed”

Notable: Acton | Belle Property are strict with their cleaning standards expecting tenants to use professionals and deep clean the property before vacating.

Realmark (Leederville)

Coverage Area: Leederville WA 6007, Mount Hawthorn WA 6016, North Perth WA 6006, West Leederville WA 6007 and the surrounding inner north/west suburbs

Standard Requirements:

• Complete kitchen clean (removal of grease and food remnants from oven, stove, range hood, cupboards, and sink)
• Complete bathroom clean (mould and soap scum removed from tiles and grout)
• All windows cleaned internally, externally, and flyscreens cleaned

Strict Requirements:

• ✅ Professional carpet cleaning: “They also require carpet cleaning (receipted) and if pets were on the premises, treated for fleas”
• ✅ Detail inspection: “Property managers may inspect the window tracks with a white glove and there should be no dirt”
• ✅ Oil stain removal: “Any oil stains in the garage or driveway should be dealt with”

Notable: Realmark are notable for attention to fine details such as white glove testing of window tracks.

Peard Real Estate (Joondalup)

Coverage Area: Joondalup WA 6027, Currambine WA 6028, Hillarys WA 6025, Mindarie WA 6030 with Perth’s Northern Coastal Suburbs

Standard Requirements:

• Professionally steam clean all carpets and furnish a receipt
• Clean the kitchen (deep clean the oven and stovetop, rangehood filters)
• Clean bathrooms (tiles and grout scrubbed, glass without water spots)

Strict Requirements:

• ✅ Professional services mandatory: “Carpet steam cleaning and flea extermination (for pet owners) are mandatory”
• ✅ Grease stain removal: “Remove any grease stains from BBQ areas, driveways, or garage floors”
• ✅ Strict enforcement: “If anything is missed, Peard may deduct cleaning costs from the bond or call in their cleaning contractor at the tenant’s expense”

Notable: Peard’s inclusions are subject to strict compliance standards. Their inclusion of driveway/garage stain removal alongside professional carpet and flea treatment highlight a strict condition set under professional ‘cleaning’.

Professionals (Stirling Clark, Forrestfield)

Coverage Area: Forrestfield WA 6058, High Wycombe WA 6057, Maida Vale WA 6057 along the Kalamunda Foothills and surroundings
Source: Professionals Stirling Clark Moving Out Guide

Standard Requirements:

• Ovens, stovetops, rangehoods, and cupboards in kitchens to be thoroughly cleaned
• Full and complete clean across all showers, toilets, wash basins or sinks alongside laundry without mould or soap scaling
• Vacuuming and mopping of all floors
• All windows have been cleaned, and fly screens dusted where applicable

Mandatory Conditions:

• ✅ Emphasis on bond refund: “Professionals explicitly advise tenants that using their vacating cleaning checklist ‘is the easiest way to make sure you get your bond back'”
• ✅ Professional cleaner recommendation: “They recommend bond cleaners very strongly if tenants do not seem to know what to do”
• ✅ Hotel standard: “the property must be hotel clean at handover”

Notable: The Professionals checklist does not leave much to be ignored and they recommend bond cleaning strongly.

The Agency (Perth CBD & Western Suburbs)

Coverage Area: Perth metropolitan area including Perth WA 6000, West Perth WA 6005, Subiaco WA 6008, Dalkeith WA 6009, and Claremont WA 6010 etc.

Standard Requirements:

• Clean carpets professionally at the end of lease
• Clean Kitchen thoroughly. Includes cleaning of the oven, stovetop, rangehood, all appliances and cupboards
• Clean bathrooms. Tiles and glass must be scrubbed clean with limescale and mould removed
• Tapware must be free of limescale and mould

Strict Requirements:

• ✅ Luxury standards: “The Agency often manages high-end properties and thus expects a clean that is immaculate for luxury properties”
• ✅ Presentation focus: “Even things like polishing stainless steel appliances and the removal of water marks is expected”
• ✅ Secondary cleaning enforcement: “will charge tenants for other items that are missed (often using their own cleaning crew if the tenant’s effort falls short)”

Notable: The Agency manages high-value rentals and is strict in terms of vacating standards.

Century 21 (Gold Key Realty, Clarkson)

Regions Served: Clarkson WA 6030, Mindarie WA 6030, Butler WA 6036, Quinns Rocks WA 6030 and the northern suburbs of Perth

Base Requirements:

• All carpets have to be professionally shampooed with a receipt provided
• Entire kitchen clean (oven, cooktop, rangehood with the filter, all cupboards inside and outside)
• Clean all bathrooms (showers and tiles without soap scum, cleaned grout, cleaned glass shower screens)

Absolute Mandatory Requirements:

• ✅ Fumigation requirement: “Pest fumigation is quite common for Century 21 if there are pets at the property”
• ✅ Zero tolerance policy: “Any item not cleaned to satisfaction (even a single blind or an oven tray) runs the risk of losing part or all of the bond”
• ✅ Odor elimination: “Will not allow smells to persist, especially pet or smoke odors”

Notable: The “zero tolerance” policy of Century 21 means that their checklist must be adhered to with almost complete compliance to the most aggressive agencies.

Summary: Professional Bond Cleaning Checklists for Perth

Following our research of the top ten Perth real estate agencies, we have noted the frequencies of certain cleaning tasks as they relate to their specific requirements:

Research Highlights:

• Carpet Cleaning must be performed professionally on carpets for all ten agencies. Mark removal with sugar soap is also a necessary requirement
• Removal of fly-screens and cleaning the exterior windows marks the additional services provided at 70% and 80% of the agencies respectively
• Rare yet expensive garage oil cleaning is needed exclusively by Ray White and Raine & Horne
• Compliance with professional service requirements is becoming more common

To gain a further understanding of these requirements, kindly visit our detailed bond cleaning checklists Perth guide.

Analysis: Who Sets the Strictest Standards

3 Most Demanding Agencies (With the Provided Checklists)

1. Ray White (Whiteman & Associates)

• Properties: Most comprehensive published checklist with 25+ specific requirements
• Specific requirements: Removal of garage oil stains, cleaning of air conditioning filters, pest control
• Proof source: Complete cleaning guide available online

2. Raine & Horne (North Perth)

• Properties: Detailed instruction manual equally thorough as Ray White
• Specific requirements: Exhaust fan cover removal, garage degreasing, light fitting insect removal
• Proof source: Official final inspection guide

3. Peard Real Estate (Joondalup)

• Properties: Strict enforcement policies with bond deduction warnings
• Specific requirements: Cleaning of BBQ areas, grease removal, and agency cleaning contractor backup
• Enforcement: “If anything is missed, Peard may deduct cleaning costs from the bond or call in their cleaning contractor”

Common vs Documented Rare Expectations

Internal Service Data: What Customers Actually Request

From January 2025 to 30th May 2025, our internal records showcase the impact of these agency standards on customer service requests. The data is critical in understanding how cleaning standards placed by agencies are related to customer servicing requests and costs posed to tenants in Perth.

Service Request Overview

We provided cleaning services to 1,247 bond cleaning clients throughout the Perth metropolitan area over the duration of 5 months. The suburbs and property types featured in the data collection were the major ones, therefore offering a holistic perspective on the actual service demands vis-a-vis agency expectations.

Detailed Analysis of Each Service Category

Carpet Steam Cleaning (Demand 100% from Customers)

Perth residents and tenants seem to share a common interest in carpet steam cleaning, and our agency continues to receive requests for this service, which indicates a 100% customer request rate. It’s not surprising that, as indicated in our agency analysis, all surveyed agencies offer this service. This means that none of the renters in Perth are free to choose the method of carpet cleaning as they are all compelled by the terms of the lease to avail professional services. There is no room for alternatives in carpet servicing and this recurrence indicates the uniformity of requirement among tenants which has cemented such policies within agencies offering bond cleaning.

Pressure Washing Services (10% Customer Request Rate)

It is consistent with the data that only a small percentage request pressure washing services since only 20% of agencies (Ray White and Raine & Horne) seem to request garage oil stain removal. Yet again the demand from the customers is less than the expectation from the agencies which means that:

• There are likely a number of tenants who are not conscious of such requests until they reach the inspection stage
• It is possible that some of the properties managed by these agencies do not have significant oil staining issues
• The customers could be removing stains on their own before approaching professionals

Professional Tiles & Grout Cleaning (8% Customer Request Rate)

For some reason 8% of customers requested professional tiles and grout cleaning despite there being no evidence from any of the agencies that this service is required. This suggests:

• Some of the tenants are willing to hire a professional to remove the stains from the grout to ensure there are no discrepancies with cleanliness parameters
• Property managers could be suggesting this service informally during inspections
• It is likely that a significant number of tenants prefer professional cleaning to eliminate stains on the grout to avoid disputes
• We always recommend to these customers that they consult their real estate agent if this service is required because many people dealing with such questions go ahead without verifying and later find themselves in complicated situations

High Window Cleaning (5% Customer Request Rate)

The expectation from customers for high window cleaning is notably less than the agencies which expect 80% of them to request exterior window cleaning.

This discrepancy likely indicates:

• The number of properties with do-it-yourself exterior window cleaning features
• The number of tenants who prefer to clear window exteriors on their own to reduce fees
• A number of clients contracting the service with other companies that specialize in window cleaning services

Geographic Distribution of Service Requests

Agency Correlations with Their Services

Ray White and Raine & Horne Properties:

The managed properties from these agencies have shown higher rates of requesting pressure washing:

• Customers using Ray White owned properties: 28% demand for pressure washing
• Customers of Raine & Horne owned properties: 25% demand for pressure washing
• This is almost three times the mean for the other agencies which is an average of 8%

Luxury Property Agencies (The Agency, Acton|Belle):

Clients from western suburbs under the management of premium agencies show higher percentages of requesting complete service packages:

• 45% of the customers order packages comprising 3 or more specialized services
• Higher average service cost per client ($1,200-1,600 per client on average)
• Increased demand for services aimed at enhancing the presentation

Customer Communication Patterns

Service Modification During Process:

• 15% of clients opted to upgrade to more detailed cleaning which includes pressure washing upon learning the agency’s specifications mid-service
• 8% added professional grout cleaning after property manager feedback during initial inspection
• 12% requested emergency/rush service due to discovering requirements with insufficient lead time

Cost Impact Analysis by Customer Segment

Emergency Service and Re-Cleaning Data

Rush Service Statistics:

• 22% of all bookings were classified as emergency/rush requests (needed within 48 hours)
• Emergency bookings cost an average of 35% more than advance bookings
• 78% of these emergency requests were from customers who noticed strict criteria far too late

Failed Inspection Follow-Up Services:

• 8% of customers who did a bond inspection needed extra cleaning done after it was completed
• Re-cleaning services averaged $250-$400 in additional costs
• The most popular re-cleaning services were:
  
  • Pressure washing (not completed initially due to lack of awareness)
  • Additional grout work beyond initial cleaning
  • Exterior window cleaning missed in original service

This internal data demonstrates the real-world financial impact of varying agency standards on Perth tenants, with clear correlations between agency strictness levels and customer service demands. The data also highlights the importance of early requirement discovery and proper planning to avoid emergency service premiums and failed inspection costs.

How This Impacts Tenants and Pricing

The documented requirements reveal a clear correlation between agency strictness and potential cleaning costs:

Standard Bond Cleaning Costs: $300-$600

Universal Agency Requirements (100% require these):

• Carpet steam cleaning: $200-$400 additional
• Wall washing and mark removal: Included in standard bond cleaning price

Specialized Add-On Services:

• Pressure washing (when required): $150-$300 additional
• High/outside window cleaning: $100-$200 additional

Standard Bond Cleaning Includes: The following items are general requirements for bond cleaning and cleaning companies typically include them in the standard bond cleaning price:

• Flyscreen removal and washing
• Air vent/AC filter cleaning
• Basic window cleaning (interior)
• Kitchen and bathroom deep cleaning
• Floor cleaning and vacuuming

Total Cost Examples by Agency Type

This analysis is supported by the documented requirements from agencies like Ray White, which explicitly requires “clean driveway, carport, garage and all other concrete surfaces free of any oil or grease stains” – effectively mandating pressure washing services for 10% of our customers.

Final Tips for Perth Renters

Before Moving In

1. During leasing agreement negotiations, obtain the specific cleaning checklist from your Property Manager
2. Explore agency’s prerequisites using links provided in this research
3. Allocate funds for professional carpet cleaning, as documented requirements show all agencies mandate this

During Your Tenancy

1. If renting through Ray White or Raine & Horne, address oil stains immediately (both agencies require removal)
2. Maintain air conditioning filters, if renting through agencies that document this requirement
3. Keep all receipts for professional cleaning as all agencies surveyed require them

Before Moving Out

1. Review any requirements outlined in the source links, which contain your agency’s published requirements
2. Obtain quotes for specialized services such as pressure washing and pest treatment
3. Check flyscreen cleaning requirements (70% of agencies document verification of flyscreen cleaning)
4. Confirm professional carpet cleaning arrangements (all surveyed agencies require this)
5. Book comprehensive end of lease cleaning services in Perth early to circumvent emergency pricing