Sally Coleman and her housemates were locked in a legal battle with their landlord after refusing to pay a cleaning fee… now they’ve just been handed a major victory

A tenant got her security deposit back after her landlord took her to court when she and her roommates refused to pay more than $1,000 for end-of-lease cleaning fees.

Sally Coleman from Sydney rented a house with four people and insisted that they do everything right, spending days meticulously cleaning before they left.

However, when the agent came by for the end-of-rent inspection, he noticed some minor issues, such as dusty cupboards and small hairs on the floor.

So the manager hired a professional to clean the house again, for which he charged $1,100.

Ms. Coleman and her roommates refused to pay the bill, so their landlord went to court and withheld the tenants’ $6,500 security deposit until the matter was resolved.

On Monday, Ms. Coleman and the landlord’s agent met for a mediation session, the first stage of a legal case in which the parties attempt to resolve the matter amicably.

“My roommates and I agreed in advance that we would not pay $1,100 in cleaning fees,” Coleman said in a video she posted to Instagram on Tuesday.

The housemates agreed that they would each pay $50 toward the cleaning costs, totaling $250 as a “symbolic amount” to “fix the problem.”

However, when the agent came by for the end of lease inspection, they noticed minor issues such as dusty cabinets and small hairs on the floor. They also claimed that the sink was not clean.

Mrs Coleman produced a 40-plus page document containing photographs and notes on the cleaning the housemates had done and the estate agent’s criticisms.

“Because I’m self-righteous and want to be right, I went into that meeting with over 40 pages of printed photos and notes,” Coleman said.

“We spoke to the officer and he barely looked at it.”

The agent told Ms. Coleman that her landlord “wouldn’t budge” and asked the former tenant to make her “best offer.”

“It quickly became clear that this was not about negotiating the cleanup, but rather about how much money they could get out of this meeting,” Coleman said.

‘Our response to that was that they should show us what had been cleaned and why it needed to be cleaned, and then we could discuss how much it should cost.

‘There was no itemized invoice or receipt for exactly what had been cleaned, making it virtually impossible to prove why certain things needed to be cleaned.’

One of the landlord’s complaints was that hair was found on the floor

At a mediation hearing – the first stage of a tribunal – Ms. Coleman presented a 40-plus page document of notes and photographs of the property. She and her housemates agreed to pay $250 of the cleaning bill and were awarded their security deposit

Ms Coleman said the $250 offer was eventually accepted after the agent realised they weren’t going to agree after all.

She added that the agent was given an extra push to accept the offer after she pointed out that if an itemised invoice was provided afterwards it would be a breach of section 165 of the NSW Tenancy Act.

Section 165 of the NSW Tenancy Act requires a landlord or his agent to provide a copy of all estimates, quotations, invoices or receipts for works within seven days of claiming the rental deposit.

Anyone who fails to provide documentation within seven days without a valid reason risks a fine of more than $2,000.

Ms Coleman said the hearing showed the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) process needed tougher penalties for landlords and agents who tried to abuse the system.

“The officer specifically said that punishment doesn’t scare me,” Coleman said.

‘There is nothing about the NCAT process that is scarier to an agent than the prospect of losing a valuable client with a large property portfolio.

“If it involves pissing off tenants, breaking the law or going to court, they will take all those things if they want to keep the customer happy.”

Ms. Coleman and her roommates paid $250 of the cleaning bill and were refunded their full security deposit.