End Of Lease Cleaning – How To Take Back Your Deposit? What should you do to take back your deposit? You must understand your rights as a tenant, so you can effectively negotiate with the landlord. One of the requirements will be the cleaning of the home after the lease.
Click here to know how to clean your home after the rental period to secure your deposit!
1. Know what your tenancy agreement says about the deposit
Your tenancy agreement will state how much deposit is required and what sort of refund it will be paid out in. The deposit will usually be one month of your rental amount if it is a one-year lease. The money will be held by the landlord until you move out.
2. Apply for a refund within 1 week of moving out
You should apply for your deposit money within 1 week of leaving the rental property so you do not lose any of your rights!
Most people think that they have 14 days from when they hand their keys back; however, if you want a full refund (which you usually do!) you need to make sure your application is in before one week has passed since you moved out.
Keep an eye on dates, and don’t let yourself fall into this common trap because once the time is up, there’s nothing else you can do about it.
3. Don’t be afraid to negotiate
When you speak to your landlord/agent, don’t be scared to negotiate. Be sure to outline what has been done and provide all receipts for any repairs or cleaning completed by yourself or professionals. It’s important because if there is ever an issue later on, where there is a disagreement about what should have been refunded.
4. Apply for joint refunds
If you are sharing your bond with any other tenants, you can apply for a refund of the bond as a group. However, if one person does not agree to this, the bond will be paid out to them and Fair Trading may charge everyone else a ‘non-occupant fee.
This means that you could find yourself paying the whole non-refundable bond amount, even though you didn’t use all of it.
5. Don’t leave without getting your money back
End Of Lease Cleaning – How To Take Back Your Deposit? When you sign a tenancy agreement, you agree that once the tenancy has ended, you have no more rights to stay at that premises or have access to your belongings inside.
Unfortunately, there have been many cases where people who lost their jobs or had a serious accident have been locked out of their own rooms and belongings by landlords just wanting to get people out as fast as possible.
You should never be intimidated into handing the key over before you have your refund money in hand – if it seems too easy, it probably is.
6. Know what deductions can be made from your bond
There are many cases where a landlord may want to make deductions from the bond for issues such as cleaning costs or damage done during the tenancy. However, Fair Trading has set out very specific allowances for things that can be deducted from the bond – these include Unpaid rent (maximum of 1 week’s rent).
Damage caused by tenants or their visitors (up to 4 weeks’ rent) Water damage (up to 2 weeks’ rent) Unpaid electricity bills (up to 4 weeks’ rent). If you want a copy of the list detailing what can and cannot be deducted.
7. Always get everything in writing
Tenants should always ask for all verbal agreements in writing, plus copies of any emails or text messages. This is an important step because if there was ever a disagreement about what had been said or agreed upon, there would be something in writing that states exactly how much money has been paid and why.
Verbal agreements often lead to disagreements, and when tenants leave, they usually don’t have anything legally binding in place. So remember. Never enter into verbal agreements! Always get everything done in writing.
8. Cleaning Fees
One way landlords abuse their tenants is by charging them excessive fees to clean the unit at the end of their tenancy. If you fail to clean the unit properly, you could be charged huge fees.
You can avoid such drastic charges by taking some simple steps:
- Clean everything before you move out
- Be accountable for your actions and respond to the landlord’s requests quickly. If they ask you to do something, make sure it gets done right away, if not directly with them, through your email, or through a close friend.
- Hire professional cleaners at half the price. It will cost you around $150-$250, but it’s worth hundreds of times that amount in savings! They don’t usually give receipts after cleaning, so this is an excellent way to claim back all those big sin numbers on your credit card bill.
- If all else fails, make sure you get your landlord’s consent in writing to let the unit be uncleaned after moving out.
9. Lost Keys & Security Deposit
One of the biggest fears is losing keys. You can avoid such drastic charges by taking some simple steps:
- Get duplicates cut from home depot for only $5 every few months
- Lose them less frequently.
- When you lose them, report them to your landlord right away. You might be charged only the price of the keys, not full replacement costs.
Conclusion
End Of Lease Cleaning – How To Take Back Your Deposit? We all know that deposits can be a tricky thing to understand, and often times people find themselves wondering if they’re entitled to get their deposit back.
While there are always exceptions to every rule, it’s important to remember that many landlords do not want tenants coming straight from one lease term to another without giving any time between, so tread carefully! If you’ve been in this situation, we hope our blog has helped clarify your particular circumstances.