17 October 2013

Rental property carpet and inspections in Canberra?

17 October 2013 | corny_jim

So we’re living in a rental at the moment and we’ve just got a notice that we’ve failed our inspection and that there’ll be a re-inspection.

This is quite surprising as we’re generally fairly clean. In past inspections, we haven’t made any extra effort at all and things have been fine.

So we suspect that as we told them that we’re in the market to buy a house and probably won’t be extending our lease (which ends in a couple of months) that they’re being overly strict in case they need to claim some of our bond.

They’ve listed a bunch of minor stuff which I can address. They did list that the carpet needs cleaning. Now this is the bit that I’m not sure what I can do about.

We vacuum once a week but there are a few small marks and stains near the heavily trafficked areas like near the entrance which isn’t going to come out in a vacuum.

We need to professionally clean the carpet before we leave which we’re happy to do but I was wondering, if the marks don’t come out, can they charge us to replace all the carpet?

The carpet is fairly old – we’ve been there for 2 years, the previous renters (friends of ours) was there around 4-5 years, so at minimum it is 6-7 years old. Most likely, it’s probably never been changed (the unit I reckon is probably 20 years old).

It would seem fairly unfair to have to pay for a whole new set of carpet when the existing carpet was old. In addition to this, are there any other advice you can give to someone vacating a rental property to ensure we get most of our bond back?

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zllauh8:55 am 04 May 15

Hi Mate,

This real estate inspection can actually turn out to to be quite a dirty game. The who reason i assume for the inspection was to ensure that the tenants keep the property in good condition and that the real estate person keeps an eye about the same.

As few other mentioned a) Make sure you get a receipt for the carpet cleaning. b) Make sure that if possible you spend a bit and get that end of lease cleaning. There is no doubt that moving itself is such a stressful task and to top of it if you are a bit unorganised like me health can take a quick U turn and you could be possible a bit sick .

We had used http://kingscarpetcleaningcanberra.com.au who did the carpet cleaning and end of lease cleaning. Not the most amazing mob, but they get the job done.

My 2 cents.

miz8:00 am 19 Oct 13

Mysteryman summed it up at #9. They usually want to see the receipt as evidence of the carpet cleaning. And another tip: make sure you clean the light fittings. My sister lost a bond once over a few insects in the light fittings.

khepri12:22 pm 18 Oct 13

Buckaroo_Banzai said :

Also, lodge the bond refund form for the full amount with the office of rental bonds yourself. Do it before the agent does. Then it’s up to them to prove their case if they want to hold back bond, not the other way around. They might claim only they can lodge the form, but that’s bollocks.

Echo this point, we had a massive fight with our last agent (after having been on very good terms for the duration of the tenancy) over the carpet.
The tenants advice line were excellent, and highlighted that carpets over 7 years (from memory) old are considered too old to request any repairs as the owner should have replaced them.

They also tried to sting us for cleaning up after work that had been done by tradies after we moved out! Ironically they work they carried out was to fix a leaky roof which we had to manually empty every single day was work we were chasing them up for 10 months!

I always find it funny that Rental agents can be so rude to renters, especially those who are leaving to buy a home. I now have two agencies I will most certainly not be using when I choose to rent out my home in the future. In many cases they aren’t even representing the owner’s wishes, just trying to crawl as much money in as possible. When I saw the signiture block of the person I was dealing with last time as end-of-lease manager I knew we’d be in for some ‘fun’ times.

Buckaroo_Banzai12:04 pm 18 Oct 13

Also, lodge the bond refund form for the full amount with the office of rental bonds yourself. Do it before the agent does. Then it’s up to them to prove their case if they want to hold back bond, not the other way around. They might claim only they can lodge the form, but that’s bollocks.

jett1810:52 am 18 Oct 13

The biggest lesson that I learnt when moving out of a rental property: You are only obliged to leave the property as you found it– that includes taking into consideration fair and natural wear and tear in high traffic areas on the property.

As far as total carpet replacement, no, they cannot take your bond for that unless the carpet is that far gone that it has rips etc in it that you have contributed to. The most they can do is charge your for cleaning– which you would have already done upon exit.

After you notify the RE that you are vacating, they should give you an exit pack that contains preferred cleaners / trades people– use these, because if anything comes back to you regarding state of carpet etc you can let the RE know that you have used their preferred cleaners and they should take the matter up with them.

Best advice, know your rights and do not be scared to challenge them on anything that they bring up that seems to be unreasonable or out of the ordinary.

There are many RE’s in Canberra who will try and take you for a ride because they assume that you do not know your rights or are banking on you giving up rather than going through tribunal.
Showing that you have a little knowledge goes a long way.

Good Luck.

zorro2910:33 am 18 Oct 13

gentoopenguin said :

Our rental is immaculate to the point of OCD but our real estate agent insists on always picking up one thing to write in the inspection note comments. We guess she feels obliged so the landlord knows she is doing her job. In our latest inspection, the comment advised us to clean out the lint catcher in the dryer more regularly. I went and had a look and it had two bits of lint in it but nowhere near full.

The funny thing is, we’ve lived here for five years and have NEVER used the dryer because we have a clothes horse. The lint would have been from previous tenants. The RE Agent must have really thought herself really clever for thinking up a new tardy to put in the inspection notes haha. What a joke.

lol, “new tardy” indeed

reading some of these comments, i am pretty shocked at (what i would consider) an invasion of privacy in many cases

i am both a tenant and a landlord…so can see both sides here

however, in the stories mentioned here i really don’t think agents should be opening dryers etc (i didn’t think they were allowed to open cupboards etc at all). unless they have a safety concern (or there is damage), it should be a quick skirt around and then leave. what landlords want to know is that the property is being kept in good condition, they’re paying rent on time, and there is no damage or breaking of rental terms (like pets or something when they’re not meant to). this nitpicking is ludicrous

but let this be a lesson to you – don’t even think of being considerate of the next tenant by leaving toilet paper or roach baits so the place isn’t swarming with insects…

those power-hungry, mad-at-the-world type of agents are the worst

gentoopenguin10:23 am 18 Oct 13

Our rental is immaculate to the point of OCD but our real estate agent insists on always picking up one thing to write in the inspection note comments. We guess she feels obliged so the landlord knows she is doing her job. In our latest inspection, the comment advised us to clean out the lint catcher in the dryer more regularly. I went and had a look and it had two bits of lint in it but nowhere near full.

The funny thing is, we’ve lived here for five years and have NEVER used the dryer because we have a clothes horse. The lint would have been from previous tenants. The RE Agent must have really thought herself really clever for thinking up a new tardy to put in the inspection notes haha. What a joke.

Mysteryman10:21 am 18 Oct 13

arescarti42 said :

Mysteryman said :

It’s pretty common for rental leases to state that the tenant agrees to have the carpet cleaned before vacating the premises. Perhaps that’s why they mentioned it. Check the lease you signed.

Watson said :

…AFAIK the only occasions where this isn’t the case (it has been endorsed by the ACAT) is where the carpet was cleaned before you moved in (and the agent/landlord can provide a receipt to prove this) and possibly also where you had pets.

I’m yet to move into a rental property where the carpets were not cleaned before I moved in. In every case, they were cleaned before I arrived, and it was written into the lease that I would have them cleaned when I left.

Madam Cholet9:56 am 18 Oct 13

I was once chided by an RE agent for leaving small plastic inoffensive cockroach baits on the kitchen floor. My reasoning was that they would continue to provide assistance to one of Sydney’s worst problems in their absence of a tenant. Said RE person dragged me back to the unit for a second time (for what I don’t know), but forgot the keys and so had to call her little game quits and refund my bond at that point! This was the same agent who I had to advise that she was no longer able to inspect the unit as she and the owner had use up their 4 allowed visits in the space if 6 months.

The story there was that they were looking at renovating – a relatively modern, one bed, tiny kitchened apartment. Yeah, right!!! I was much younger then but it still makes me feel good to know that I won the day over a darstatdly agent!!

The first agent we rented from Canberra was great. Unfortunately they were sold to the agency across the street. And they were woeful. At inspection time the agent wanted me there and promptly engaged in an inspection which went on for over an hour. She tried to ping me on things, but again I won the day when I pointed out that a dangerous outdoor deck and leaking windows trumped her small bits of fluff on the bathroom floor. They still withheld the bond for two weeks before signing off. Arseholes. Mr Hooker I do not consider you the best.

Obviously some people are made to be RE agents.

zorro299:34 am 18 Oct 13

^^^ lol spare roll of toilet paper…how infuriating that inspection must have been. if you kept your cool, you are a patient person!

but i’ve heard some crackers on here (and experienced some) as well

arescarti4210:33 pm 17 Oct 13

Mysteryman said :

It’s pretty common for rental leases to state that the tenant agrees to have the carpet cleaned before vacating the premises. Perhaps that’s why they mentioned it. Check the lease you signed.

Watson said :

According to the Tenant’s Union landlords are not allowed to demand that you get the carpets cleaned during your lease unless that is specifically written into the lease contract.

They actually can’t even do that. As a tenant your only obligation is to leave the premises in substantially the same condition as when you moved in, minus fair wear and tear.

Yes, it’s pretty common for rental leases to include clauses stating that the tenant agrees to have the carpet cleaned before vacating the premises, and in most cases these clauses are completely and utterly unenforceable.

Part 2, Division 2.1 of the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 states that additional terms to the standard tenancy agreement are void if they are inconsistent with the standard residential tenancy terms, and have not been endorsed by the ACAT. In most cases a carpet cleaning clause is inconsistent with the standard tenancy agreement, and so even if it’s in the lease you signed, it is void and can’t be enforced.

AFAIK the only occasions where this isn’t the case (it has been endorsed by the ACAT) is where the carpet was cleaned before you moved in (and the agent/landlord can provide a receipt to prove this) and possibly also where you had pets.

When I moved out of my last rental, I hired a carpet cleaner and cleaned the carpets myself as an act of good faith to the excellent landlord (It was a no pets, no kids, no indoor shoes household so the carpets were pristine anyway).

When I met with the leasing agent for the final inspection (which she was 30 minutes late to) she went totally nuts that I didn’t get them professionally cleaned, threatened to terminate the inspection and proceeded to go around the place making up reasons to fail the inspection, to the point where she noted a spare roll of toilet paper i’d left in the bathroom cupboard as an issue to be rectified (I’d left it there for the next tenant, as it’s a rotten thing to realise you don’t have when you’re half way through moving your stuff in).

Long story short they I got my bond back in full without having to go to the ACAT.

My advice to others is know your rights and don’t let shithead RE agents push you around.

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