Most renters who lose part of their bond did not clean badly. They cleaned hard in the wrong places, missed a handful of spots agents check, or had no evidence when a claim came through.
First, the numbers
According to the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority's 2023-24 Annual Report, 95% of Victorian bonds are settled by mutual agreement without a tribunal hearing. Of those repayments, 64% went back in full to the renter, 26% were split, and 10% went in full to the provider. Roughly one in three renters does not get all of their bond back.
Victoria's RTBA does not publish a breakdown of why bonds are claimed, but cleaning is widely regarded as the most common single cause of end-of-lease disputes.
The spots agents actually check
In Brighton and Bayside, claims rarely start with the obvious surfaces. They start in the places people forget.
- Oven interior: racks, trays, door glass and rubber seals
- Rangehood and filters
- Window and door tracks
- Grout and shower screens
- Skirting boards, light fittings and ceiling corners
- Behind and under appliances
The part that wins or loses disputes: evidence
Keep entry and exit condition reports, dated photos at move-in and move-out, and receipts for any professional cleaning. The rental provider has 10 business days from the end of the tenancy to lodge a bond claim with the RTBA; once lodged, you have 14 days to accept or dispute it.
A professional clean is not legally required in most cases, but it shifts the risk off you. end of lease cleaning in Brighton targets these inspection points and includes a re-clean guarantee. Read what "reasonably clean" means to understand the standard first.
Bottom line
Bond losses usually come from predictable cleaning gaps and missing evidence, not mystery failures.
End of lease cleaning in Brighton
A fixed quote and re-clean guarantee remove last-minute inspection risk.
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