Have you ever scrubbed your wheelie bin? How about ironed the curtains? These are among a comprehensive list of tasks that a New Zealand company asks of its tenants before they leave a rental.
The list from Xclusive Property Management has caught the attention of experts and renters alike after it was uploaded to a tenants' issues page on social media.
"Wheelie bins are to be FREE OF RUBBISH and WASHED CLEAN. Leaving bins on the road for collection is not acceptable as they need to be cleaned by vacate day," the list said.
Tenants are encouraged to wash the exterior of their dishwasher, "especially areas on the side and under the door".
Curtains are to be uncreased with all the hooks in place. Tenants are also told to remove the filters from their extractor fans and heat pumps and wash them clean.
A tenant of the company, who asked not to be named, said she felt like the company was asking for "showroom quality".
"We got a warning for having a washing basket of dirty washing in our laundry on inspection day," she said.
An inspection notice seen by Stuff also warns tenants to keep lawns tidy, including the external verges.
"Please note that merely stating that weed killer was used is not acceptable. Tidy mowed and weed free is expected on exit."
Most controversially, the list encourages tenants to have carpets commercially cleaned by a company it recommends, and requests a receipt to be left on the kitchen bench.
It's well established landlords cannot require commercial cleaning.
At the bottom of the list, a warning in capital letters says cleaning must be completed by the end of the tenancy.
"Any unfinished items will result in a work order being raised and cost thereof will be deducted from the bond."
Angela Maynard of the Tenants Protection Association said tenants were only obliged to return their rental back to their landlord in a similar state to what they had received at the start.
"Sometimes tenants arrive in a rental and it's filthy, but they seem to be expected to return it pristine."
The Residential Tenancies Act (RTA) only requires tenants to leave a rental "reasonably clean and tidy".
Maynard said it would be up to a tribunal adjudicator to decide what was "reasonable" if neither party could agree on what portion of the bond should be returned.
"[But,] cleaning wheelie bins is not required under the RTA. It's pathetic and petty - who really cleans their wheelie bin anyway?"
Xclusive Property Management managing director Carol Champ told Stuff the checklist was only "a guideline".
She said she didn't believe tenants would be under the impression they had to complete it in order to receive their bond back.
"They never leave it like this. [The list] is just trying to get them to be conscientious, and most are.
Champ said the detailed list was needed because her company would typically hand over a property to a new tenant within four days, leaving little time to clean.
"You always get a few people on social media who attack you, when they take it the wrong way. Its just the industry that we are in."
Xclusive has previously had mixed success in enforcing cleanliness standards in the Tenancy Tribunal.
In October last year, the company tried to get compensation for "a very small orange stain approximately the size of a fifty-cent coin" on the carpet, but the claim was dismissed.
In another property in Rangiora, Xclusive asked the tribunal to enforce $822 in cleaning bills, but the adjudicator labelled that "excessive".
"Landlords must expect to have to do some cleaning between tenancies. A tenant is not required to leave premises clean to a state where another tenancy can commence immediately," he said in the decision.
