Vacate cleans for commercial tenancies
End of Lease Office Cleaning
End of lease office cleaning for Melbourne tenants handing back a commercial space: a vacate clean timed between the removalists and the final inspection, built around what your lease's make-good clause asks for, and closed out with a signed photo report for the landlord or property manager. It is one of our one-off and ongoing office cleaning services.
What the landlord receives
- A clean empty tenancy
- Dated photos, room by room
- A signed completion report
- Return visit if an item is flagged
- $20M insuredCertificate for the building
- Photo recordDated, room by room
- Timed to your moveNights and weekends
- Fixed priceNo contract needed
Moving out of an office is already a project: removalists, IT, redirecting mail, a new fit-out waiting at the other end. The last thing anyone wants is a dispute with the old landlord about the state of the carpet. Most of those disputes come down to two things: what the lease actually asked for, and whether anyone can prove what the space looked like on handover day.
A vacate clean handles the second. The first starts with reading your lease together before we quote, so the clean matches what the landlord is entitled to expect, rather than a generic list. It also stops you paying for work the lease never required, such as cleaning a fit-out that the builder is about to remove.
What does end of lease office cleaning in Melbourne cover?
End of lease office cleaning in Melbourne covers the cleaning part of your make-good obligation: every surface of the empty tenancy, inside joinery and appliances, marks left by furniture, bathrooms, kitchens, glass and floors. Repairs, repainting and carpet replacement are trades work, and the table shows which is which.
| Common lease wording | What it usually means | Who does it |
|---|---|---|
| Leave the premises clean | A thorough clean of every room, fixture and floor | Our vacate clean |
| Professionally clean carpets | Hot water extraction, often with a receipt as proof | Our vacate clean |
| Remove all tenant items | Furniture, signage, cabling and rubbish taken away | Removalists or you |
| Make good damage | Patch holes, fix broken fittings, replace ceiling tiles | Trades |
| Reinstate to original | Remove partitions or fit-out you added, repaint | Builder or fit-out firm |
| Return in good repair, fair wear excepted | Clean and working, with normal ageing accepted | Clean by us, repairs by trades |
If trades are coming in to patch, paint or remove partitions, the clean goes last, after their dust has settled. Booking the cleaner before the builder finishes is the most common timing mistake we see, and it usually means paying for two cleans instead of one.
When a landlord and tenant disagree about condition, the photo record is what settles it. For leases covered by the Retail Leases Act 2003, the Victorian Small Business Commission offers dispute resolution; for other office leases, check the dispute clause in your lease. Either way, dated evidence helps.
Vacate scope
What is cleaned in an empty office tenancy?
An empty tenancy is cleaned room by room, from the ceiling vents to the skirting, including the places furniture hid for years. The four cards below show the standard vacate list. Your version is adjusted to the lease and the floor plan, then agreed in writing before the job.
Open plan and offices
- Walls spot cleaned of marks and scuffs
- Skirting, door frames and switches
- Window sills, frames and tracks
- Blinds dusted or wiped
- Marks where desks stood removed
Kitchen and breakout
- Inside every cupboard and drawer
- Fridge and dishwasher, if staying
- Oven, cooktop and rangehood
- Splashback, sink and taps descaled
- Kickboards and appliance gaps
Bathrooms
- Toilets, urinals and basins
- Tiles and grout scrubbed
- Mirrors, partitions and doors
- Exhaust fan covers cleaned
- Dispensers wiped inside and out
Floors and glass
- Carpet hot water extraction
- Hard floors machine scrubbed
- Internal glass and partitions
- Entry doors and ground-floor windows
- Light diffusers and air vents
Our vacate list starts from the everyday office scope described in what's included in office cleaning, then goes further into cupboards, fittings and the spots furniture covered. Anything the landlord's condition report calls out, such as a stained carpet near the kitchen or marks on a feature wall, is added by name so it gets extra attention rather than the same pass as everything else.
Move-out timeline
When should the vacate clean be booked?
Book the vacate clean two to four weeks before handover, and schedule it for the night after the removalists and any trades finish. That leaves a day or two before the landlord's inspection for anything they flag. The countdown below is the sequence that avoids paying for a second clean.
Send us the make-good clause and any condition report from when you moved in.
We see the space furnished, note problem areas and fix the price.
Removalist, trades and clean confirmed, lift and dock booked with the building.
Removalists take everything; trades patch and paint if the lease needs it.
Top to bottom, carpets last, photos taken of every room as we finish.
Report sent to you and the agent; flagged items fixed before keys go back.
Most buildings need notice for after-hours work in a vacant tenancy: the goods lift has to be booked, security told the space is empty, and sometimes the air-conditioning switched back on so carpets can dry. We arrange all three with the building manager during the week before, so the clean night is not held up at the front desk.
Level 2, Suite 204Cleaned Sat 14:00 to 21:30 · crew of 3
- Open plan and two offices18 photosDone
- Kitchen and breakout12 photosDone
- Bathrooms, male and female10 photosDone
- Carpet extraction, all areas8 photosDone
- Glass, vents and diffusers9 photosDone
Notes for the landlordOutside cleaning scope, recorded for your information
- Chip on kitchen benchtop edge2 photosNoted
- Keys and swipe cards returned6 itemsLogged
Sign-off
What does the property manager receive?
The property manager receives a completion report listing every room, the time the clean finished, and dated photos of each area, signed by our supervisor. You can forward it before the inspection, and it gives both sides the same evidence if a question comes up later.
If the agent's walk-through flags something within our scope, such as a missed mark on a wall or a smear on internal glass, we return to fix it at no charge before the keys go back. Items outside cleaning, like a chipped benchtop or a loose door handle, are noted on the report so you know what the landlord may raise with you.
The report is also useful for your own files. When a bond or security deposit is held against the lease, it is the simplest way to show that the premises were returned clean on a specific date.
Prices
How much does end of lease office cleaning cost?
End of lease office cleaning is a one-off job with one fixed price, set after a walk-through while the office is still furnished. The size of the tenancy matters, but carpet condition, kitchen grease, the number of bathrooms and lift access often matter more. The six factors below explain most quotes.
- Floor area and layout
Open plan cleans faster than a warren of small rooms and offices.
- Carpet condition
Heavy traffic lanes and coffee stains need more extraction passes.
- Kitchen
Years of grease behind appliances and in rangehoods take real time.
- Bathrooms
Each one adds detail work on grout, fans and fittings.
- Access
Goods lift bookings and dock rules can stretch the job.
- Timing
Weekend or very short notice work is priced higher than a weeknight.
The quote covers labour, carpet extraction, products, equipment and removal of cleaning waste. It does not cover rubbish or furniture left behind; if the removalists leave items, we can arrange disposal at a separate, stated price rather than quietly adding it on. For how we price regular work, which is a useful comparison, see our office cleaning price guide.
If you are moving to a new office, many clients book the vacate clean and a pre-move-in clean of the new space together. The same crew does both, often across one weekend, and you arrive on Monday to a new office that is already clean.
Quote
How do I get a vacate clean quote?
Send the address, your handover date and, if you can, the make-good clause from your lease. Within two business hours you will hear back with a time to see the office while it is still furnished, followed by a fixed price and the date we will clean.
- Share the lease terms. The make-good clause and any entry condition report.
- See the space furnished. We note stains, grease and marks hidden behind furniture.
- Confirm the night. After removalists and trades, before the inspection.
Questions
What do tenants ask before handing back the keys?
What people want settled in the final month of a lease. For our ongoing work, visit the Golden Star office cleaning homepage.