What to Do at the End of a Tenancy
The end of a tenancy is where a year of good record keeping either pays off or falls apart. Bond disputes, arguments about cleaning, a carpet stain nobody can date — almost all of it comes down to what you can show, not what you remember. Here is a practical order of events for handing a property over cleanly.
Before the tenant leaves
- Confirm the end date in writing, and keep the notice that triggered it.
- Tell them what “good condition” means while they can still act on it — a short list of what you will be checking beats a dispute afterwards. Most tenants would rather clean the oven than lose the bond over it.
- Book the final inspection for after they have moved out and cleaned, not the morning of, giving whatever notice your local rules require.
- Arrange meter readings and key return, including any copies cut during the tenancy.
The final inspection: compare, do not judge
Walk the property with the entry condition report open beside you. The only question that matters is what has changed since move-in, and whether that change is fair wear and tear or damage. A carpet worn along the hallway after three years is wear. A cigarette burn in it is not. Without the entry report you are arguing from memory, and memory loses.
Photograph everything you intend to raise, and photograph it in context — a close-up proves the mark, a wider shot proves which room it is in. Dated images attached to the inspection are what make a claim straightforward.
Fair wear and tear, honestly
This is where most disputes are really decided, and where landlords most often overreach. Wear and tear is the deterioration you would expect from ordinary use over the time the tenant was there: faded paint, worn carpet in traffic areas, minor scuffs. Damage is what would not have happened with reasonable care — holes, burns, breakages, pet damage, or a mess left behind. Age matters too: you are not entitled to a new carpet at the tenant’s expense because the old one reached the end of its life during their tenancy.
The bond
Whatever the bond system where you are, the principle is the same: deductions must be evidenced and reasonable. That means a quote or invoice for the work, before-and-after photos, and the dated reports. Return the undisputed portion promptly rather than holding the whole bond over one item — it is fairer, and far less likely to end up in front of a tribunal.
Close out the money and the paperwork
- Final rent apportionment, and any arrears.
- Invoices for cleaning or repairs, filed against the property as expenses.
- Utilities transferred or closed.
- The final inspection report, stored with the entry report and every routine inspection in between.
- A note of anything to fix before the next tenancy — this is the cheapest moment to do it, with the property empty.
Then get ahead of the next one
An empty property is the best time to deal with deferred jobs and to check the compliance items — smoke alarms, safety certificates, insulation or heating requirements — so the next tenancy starts clean. And take a fresh set of entry photos. The next end-of-tenancy argument is won right here.
Keep the whole chain in one place
LandlordMate is a free Android app that holds the whole rental business on your own device: properties and tenancies, room-by-room inspections with photos exported as a PDF report, maintenance jobs and a contractor directory, compliance documents with expiry reminders, and income and expenses with proper tax handling and year-end reports. Because every inspection from entry to exit sits against the property in one place, the comparison that settles a bond dispute is two taps away rather than a hunt through a camera roll. Offline-first, no account, no subscription.
More on the app: the LandlordMate page. General information only — bond rules, notice periods and what counts as fair wear and tear are set by local tenancy law, so check the rules that apply where your property is.
Frequently asked questions
What is fair wear and tear?
The deterioration you would expect from ordinary use over the length of the tenancy — faded paint, worn carpet in traffic areas, small scuffs. Holes, burns, breakages and mess are damage, not wear.
Can I keep the bond for cleaning?
Only for what you can evidence and justify, with photos and an invoice or quote, and only where the property was left worse than fair wear and tear. Return the undisputed part promptly.
Do I need the entry condition report?
It is the single most important document at the end of a tenancy. Without it you are comparing against memory, and that rarely holds up.
When should the final inspection happen?
After the tenant has moved out and cleaned, with whatever notice your local rules require — not on moving day, when nothing can be judged fairly.
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