Rental agent - Bond dispute

[thevoyager]

Will try and keep this story as concise as possible and am looking for some advice to see if I can get my full bond back.

* Have been with the rental agent/property for the last 20 months, just vacated the property.
* the property was given in unclean condition, things were recorded in the condition report. There was mold on the bedroom walls which we reported a month into our stay, agent said mould is tenant's responsibility even though it was there when we moved in
* We used vinegar to clean the mold on the walls, taking as much care not to spill it onto the carpet.

We vacated property last week, cleaned up as much as we could (by ourselves, not professionally), but arranged professional steam cleaning of carpets.

* I Firmly believe property is returned in much better condition than it was given to us
* Agent wants to deduct $300 from the bond ($200 for carpet discoloration at the edges, $100 for mopping, general cleaning their cleaner thinks we used a spray that damaged the carpets), photos attached

Things I want some feedback on..

1) From the photos, would you consider the discoloration in the edges as fair wear and tear? I am not 100% sure if it was the vinegar or if the discoloration existed. The person that steam cleaned it for me said the carpets are in good condition

2) For the mopping general cleaning, should the agent give us a reasonable chance to fix issues? we had the final inspection on wednesday morning (tuesday was the last day of our lease) and new tenants moved in on thursday. She was complaining about things not being cleaned professionally and a small amount of dirt here and there, but its way better than how they gave the property to us

Sorry for the long post and thanks for your time

 

[wylie]

I'm not sure about NSW but if you were in Queensland, I would suggest you lodge the refund of bond paperwork immediately, claim the full bond be returned to you. That way, the agent has to prove their case to keep any bond. Call the appropriate department first up tomorrow to check how it works in NSW.

The carpet looks fine to me. If you can lodge paperwork first (if this is the same way that things work in Qld) the agent would have to pay the small fee and take you to tribunal to get your bond. That is when the dot point list of how you had to clean the house on moving in plus your photos of the cleaned carpets would make a strong case for you to get the full bond back.

 

[thevoyager]

adding a couple of more photos

 

[thevoyager]

Thanks wylie for taking the time to reply, I will contact Fair trading tomorrow.

Apart from the carpets, should the agent give reasonable chance for tenant to fix the issue or there is no such thing? The agent really cut it short between us moving out and the other tenant moving in.

 

[kathryn d]

Thanks wylie for taking the time to reply, I will contact Fair trading tomorrow.

Apart from the carpets, should the agent give reasonable chance for tenant to fix the issue or there is no such thing? The agent really cut it short between us moving out and the other tenant moving in.

The agent didn't cut it short, as the property is supposed to be ready for the next tenant.If it isn't, it needs to be taken care of asap by the owner (PM)...however....
The place looks fine to me. I wish our tenants would leave it that clean.

Do as Wylie suggests, and lodge for the bond.

 

[Doovalacky]

While the photo's are not the greatest quality I believe I can see the discoloration. From where it is sunlight damage would be unlikely. I would be inclined to think it was the vinegar which I personally would not consider wear and tear. $200 is then fair vs replacing the carpet.

Cleaning is nearly always an debated issue.
If there was stuff on the condition report you can use it to nullify any of the minor issues they have found/cleaned.