Vacating A Barry Plant Rental Property

The Residential Tenancies Act 1997 is explicit about how a tenancy ends. It can only occur when one of the parties to the Residential Rental Agreement gives the required notice to the other in writing.

If you want to vacate the property at the end of the Residential Rental Agreement, or a date after the end of the lease, you must provide at least 28 days’ notice in writing of your intention to vacate and specify the date that you will leave the property.

Please note: Rent will be payable until the 28th day or until you remove all of your possessions from the property and return the keys to our office.

When vacating a property, it’s the responsibility of the renter to organise the final metre reading and/or disconnection of utilities including electricity, gas, water, phone (landline) and internet. Your Barry Plant property manager can assist you with both connections and disconnections. Our connections partner helps to streamline the moving process and to make sure everything is ready for both vacating one property and moving into another. Chat to our team about assistance in this area.

All keys, security fobs, garage remotes, and access cards provided at the start of your tenancy must be returned to our office. As well as any that you have cut or obtained yourself during the tenancy.

• Rent Charge Notice: Under Victorian tenancy rules, rent continues to accrue daily until all keys and access devices are safely handed back to our office.
• Missing Keys or Remotes: If any original keys or remotes are lost, stolen, or not returned, the costs to replace the locks, cut duplicate keys, or reprogram garage devices will need to be paid for or deducted from your bond.
• After-Hours Drop-off: Please note that we are unable to arrange key returns after standard business hours. Please advise your property manager prior to your vacation date of your intended key return time.

Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic), renters are required to return the property in a reasonably clean condition that matches the original condition report, excluding fair wear and tear.

• General Cleaning: Ensure all surfaces, appliances (especially ovens, cooktops and range hoods), bathrooms, light fixtures, and windows and window tracks are thoroughly cleaned and free of grease, dust, or grime.
• Carpet Cleaning: Under Victorian tenancy regulations, professional carpet steam cleaning is required if:
  1. The carpets were professionally cleaned or brand new immediately prior to your move-in, or
  2. Professional cleaning is necessary to restore the carpets to the level of cleanliness stated in your original Condition Report (excluding fair wear and tear).

• Proof of Service: If professional carpet cleaning or specialised end-of-lease cleaning is carried out, please provide a copy of the paid tax invoice/receipt when returning your keys so we can verify the service.

To avoid delays with your bond refund, ensure the following steps are completed before handing back your keys:

Remove All Personal Items & Belongings: Ensure all furniture, personal items, and rubbish are completely removed from the property, including all cupboards, gardens, sheds, under house storage areas and garages. Items left behind may incur removal and disposal fees and could delay the refund of your bond.

Garden & Exterior Maintenance: Lawns should be freshly mowed, edges trimmed, and garden beds left tidy and free of weeds. Grass clippings, leaf debris and garden clippings should be removed and paths cleared.

Smoke Alarms & Light Bulbs: Ensure all light globes are working and smoke alarms remain installed and undamaged.

Repairing Renter Damage: Any damage caused during your tenancy (e.g., wall holes, scratches or gouges, unapproved picture hooks, or pet damage) must be professionally repaired prior to handing back keys.

Pet Disinfection / Pest Control: If pets were kept at the property , you should conduct pest control or flea treatment upon vacating. Please ensure that all pet droppings are removed from lawns, garden beds and any other areas of the property. Any pet damage must be rectified and pet odours removed.

Disconnect Utilities & Final Readings: Renters are responsible for all utility charges up to the official handover date. Please schedule final meter readings and disconnections for your move-out date

Redirect Mail & Update Your Address: Set up mail redirection through Australia Post prior to your vacate date to prevent sensitive mail from arriving after you leave. Be sure to update your official address with key organisations including:

• Banks, financial institutions, and superannuation funds
• Government agencies (VicRoads, ATO, Medicare, Centrelink, and Electoral Roll)
• Insurance providers (car, health, contents) and online shopping accounts

Once keys are received at our office, we will then carry out the final inspection as soon as practicable. Renters are invited to attend the final inspection at a scheduled time.

Provided that all rent and outgoings are paid and the property is clean and undamaged, a digital bond claim will be completed. This will be emailed to the Renters to be signed by all parties who signed the original Bond Lodgement. If there are no deductions or disputes over the bond, you will usually be able to obtain your bond refund from the Residential Tenancies Bond Authority (RTBA) within approximately 5 days of returning the signed Bond Claim form to the RTBA.

The RTBA will email you the claim form to sign and you will be able to nominate a bank account where you would like your bond to be refunded. Ensure that you check your emails, including your junk mail, for this important communication.

Notify your Property Manager in writing as soon as possible by completing a formal Notice of Intention to Vacate, specifying your intended departure date. The sooner you notify us, the sooner we can start searching for a replacement renter.

You remain legally responsible for paying rent up until the day a replacement renter’s lease begins, or until your original lease end date, whichever occurs first.

If the Residential Rental Provider is planning to rent out the property, Barry Plant will coordinate leasing inspections to commence and will give notice on when the inspections will commence.

To help us find a new renter quickly and minimise your rent liability, please ensure the property is well-presented and accessible for scheduled leasing inspections.

Under Victorian tenancy regulations, you are responsible for covering reasonable costs incurred due to the early termination, calculated on a fair pro-rata basis:

• Pro-rated Re-letting Fee: Calculated based on how much time is remaining on your lease fixed term.
• Advertising & Marketing Costs: The actual cost incurred to advertise the property. This may include a for lease board, listing the property on rental portals etc and will be charged on a pro-rata basis.
• Rent Compensation: Payment of rent until the replacement tenancy commences or the lease expires, whichever occurs first.

You must still complete all standard end-of-tenancy obligations including a thorough final clean, professional carpet cleaning (if applicable), utility disconnections, and returning all keys and access devices to our office on your move-out date.

If you are breaking your lease due to severe hardship or family violence, specific statutory exemptions apply. Please contact your Property Manager directly for confidential advice.