Mandatory professional carpet cleaning in Tasmanian rent agreements ruled invalid

One of the most hated rules in a standard rental contract has been ruled invalid by the commission in one Australian state.

Renters have walked away with a win after a recent bond dispute over a “small yellow stain” ended with a ruling a tenant is not necessarily required to have the carpet professionally cleaned when vacating.

The Residential Tenancy Commission (RTC) ruled Tasmanian tenants are only required to get on the tools if they leave the carpet in a worse state than when they began their lease.

It is understood the requirement appears in rental contracts “all the time” as it is in the standard lease agreement provided to landlords by the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania.

The finding by the RTC reads: “A tenant is not responsible for carpet cleaning performed as a matter of general practice as opposed to any real need or genuine failure of the tenant, in accordance with their obligations.”

It is understood the requirement appears in rental contracts “all the time” as it is in the standard lease agreement provided to landlords by the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania.

The Tenants Union of Tasmania represented the tenant regarding the Burnie property.

It said this was the first definitive ruling on the matter and was a legally enforceable decision.

“It really shines a light that a blanket clause in standard tenancy agreements that says you have to have premises professionally cleaned is invalid,” Tenants Union senior solicitor Andrew Smith told ABC News.

“A tenant has the right not to do it, if they’ve left it in the same condition as when they moved in and there’s proof of that.

“So as always, tenants should take their own photos when moving in and carefully make any notes in any condition reports they (are) provided,” he added.

The case which led to the ruling was over a “small yellow stain” on the carpet of one of the bedrooms in a Burnie property. Picture: NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

“It is in the standard Real Estate Institute lease that almost all real estate agents will use and a lot of private landlords will choose to use, even some social housing providers are using these leases.”

The case which led to the historic ruling was regarding a “small yellow stain” on the carpet of one of the bedrooms – which was not recorded in the ingoing condition report at the start of the lease.

No other photos of the carpet’s condition were provided at the end of the lease period, with the commissioner ruling the tenant was only responsible for the cleaning of that one stain.

“Given the stain in question is very small … the owner is awarded $25 for carpet cleaning.”

The Real Estate Institute of Tasmania has been contacted for comment.

Originally published as Mandatory professional carpet cleaning in Tasmanian rent agreements ruled invalid