End-of-lease garden checklist: get the yard — and your bond — back
The inside of a rental gets cleaned to within an inch of its life at the end of a lease. The outside is where bonds quietly go missing. Here's what property managers actually look at, and how to get it right without giving up a weekend.
What the inspection actually covers outside
Most Sunshine Coast property managers work from an entry condition report with photos. At exit, they're comparing the yard against those photos — not against a perfect garden. Your job is to get it back to that standard, and to be able to prove you did.
- Lawns — mown and edged, including nature strip and the strip down the side of the house that everyone forgets.
- Garden beds — weeded, cut back from paths and walls, dead material removed. Mulch if it was mulched at entry.
- Hedges and shrubs — trimmed clear of windows, gutters and fence lines.
- Paths, driveway and patio — swept and free of leaf litter, moss or grease marks.
- Gutters — clear of leaves and debris (single-storey). This one gets missed constantly and is an easy deduction.
- Green waste and rubbish — gone. Not stacked behind the shed.
- Bins — emptied, rinsed and left where the entry report shows them.
The order that saves you time
- Gutters first. Whatever comes out lands on the garden and lawn below — so clear them before you touch anything else.
- Prune and trim second. Hedges, shrubs and overhanging branches. Let the offcuts fall where they may.
- Weed and edge the beds. Then rake everything you've dropped into piles.
- Mow last. The mower picks up the fine stuff and leaves clean stripes. Edge afterwards and blow the hard surfaces.
- Green waste out. A ute or trailer load to the tip, or a green-waste collection booked ahead of time.
Take the photos that win the argument
Before you start and after you finish, photograph every area the entry report photographed — same angles, same time of day if you can. Send them to the agent with your notice of vacating. In our experience the yard is rarely disputed when the tenant produces a clear before-and-after set; it's disputed when nobody has one.
When it's worth paying someone
An average Sunshine Coast rental yard takes a competent person most of a day with the right gear, plus a tip run. If the property has been let go for a season, double it. A one-off end-of-lease clean-up from a maintenance contractor is usually a fraction of a typical bond deduction — and it comes with the photo set already done.
Moving out on the Coast or in Moreton Bay? BrightHome does one-off end-of-lease yard, garden and gutter clean-ups across Caloundra, Kawana, Buderim, Maroochydore and down through Moreton Bay — with before-and-after photos sent straight to you for the agent.