VIC vacating tenant responsibility?

Hi, I have 1 vacating tenant in Vic, who left all 3 heavily loaded garbage bins full after returning the keys. My Pm is expecting my answer before refunding the tenant bond.
1. ALSO there are lots smudges, marks on the white wall in each room (It was freshly painted with no marks on the walls before tenant moved in a year ago)
2. The tenant left rusty cup marks on the outside aircon unit under the deck and those mug circles are now rusty. who's responsibility to clean the rust?
3. weeds and gardening, weeding were not done upon vacating the property in the tiny paved backyard.

My Q, I had thought the tenant need to leave the place the way they found it? Since the tenant moved into my newly refurbished unit, I expected less tear and wear.

Also, I i understand the tear and wear term and know to some extent, there are always unnecessary "tear and wear" but legally you cant do anything about them.

I do recall when I was renting some time back, our then PM asked us to do a through vacate clean, replacing aircon filter, empty bins, steam clean carpet... replacing garage light etc...

This is the second time the tenant has come back to clean the place as the 1st clean was unacceptable. The keys are with my PM now. We live far away from the IP. Can PM deduct some fees for cleaning the wall marks off etc, Also to empty the 3 heavy bins?

Thanks

 

Are the bins common bins? Or is it just the bins for that particular property?

Re wear and tear - it really depends how bad the wall marks are - repair vs reasonable wear and tear? Bearing in mind newly painted walls show up marks very easily.

Unless tenant agreed, you would be going to VCAT to get part of bond. Is it enough that you could be bothered?

 

PM can request the tenant go back again, if not then organise their own people to deduct from bond. But it depends on how bad it all is and whether it’s likely to fall into fair wear and tear as then you’re stuck with the invoice anyway.

I would get the tenant back to clean the walls (sugar soap, magic erasers), they can clean the marks on the A/C, weeding the same thing.

With the bins, just have the PM or tenant put them out the next bin day.

None of it sounds major and all sounds very straightforward to be honest.

 

Thanks, I don't think they are major but just want to know who's responsibility are these things by the book? The bins are used for the property only. they were nice and clean before leased out, now all heavily loaded, all the way to the top. the tenant refused to clean the wall, I just not clear on 1. tear and wear on walls? 2. returning the property the way you found it? How do these 2 points work? almost like they can work against each other?

 

Thanks. not the property was on the market for sale and dressed to impress, no bins were used, everything was cleaned well etc, anyway, i expected no one treats my property as their own, some marks, but I believe you need to return it to the same condition How you found it? Not? When I vacated out of my rental, it was obvious i hired cleaner do a proper Vacate cleaning. including remove marks on the walls, its not hard, but time consuming. My Q is what if the tenant refuses to come back to remove the bins or to weed? they walls were freshly painted before the tenant moved in, and no one lived there after the reno except the tenant.

 

Aren't bins there to be used and filled? I don't get it.

 

Wear and tear is also determined by the length of the tenancy, a condition report is to ensure the tenant doesn’t damage the property and returns in a similar condition - keeping in mind fair wear and tear. So it’s not a 100% the same approach.

Most of the time bins are left full, I usually just put them out - no biggy. The other things depends on how bad it is and the length of the tenancy, your PM should be advising of the best approach on this.

From what you’ve said the cleaning is quite minor and any VCAT member would consider this reasonably clean, if the tenant is refusing to go back, they will likely refuse to pay. This will likely see you out of pocket $100+

Gardens are a lot easier to prove as there’s no ambiguity of “reasonably clean” and is not up to interpretation. I’d see if you can get this over the line as cleaning varies constantly between tenancies and you may find the next one does go through and clean all walls when they leave.

** Obviously I haven’t seen the property so I have no idea whether it is actually reasonable or not, just going off my interpretation of what’s been said.

 

It's worth mentioning that the allowance for fair wear and tear over a 12 month tenancy is VERY small, almost non-existent as far as I'm concerned.

I don't think it's unreasonable to get someone back for those minor items. A good cleaner might be happy to weed the garden and there should only be $100 or so worth to do there.

 

In Perth we do garden clean ups all the time when tenants vacate. Unfortunately for the owners there is usually a lot to do by the end of the rental agreement. May be worth looking for a good local business that can regularly maintain the gardens so that you do not have the hassle next time.