In what conditions must the residence be be upon return?

The tenant is obligated to return the residence in the agreed upon condition. If you have agreed to anything in particular about the condition the residence must be in upon return, it will usually be written in the contract.

If nothing else is agreed upon, the tenant must return the residence cleaned, tidied and in the same condition as it was when made available to the tenant. The tenant is however not responsible for defects that is a result of normal wear and tear, and those defects the landlord himself is responsible for repairing.

When moving out, a residence should be so clean that the next tenant would be able to move right in, without any additional cleaning. That the residence must be returned in the same condition also means that the tenant must clean the drain, change batteries in the smoke detector, change light bulbs and repair damages like bigger screw holes and scratches. If furniture and other inventory was includes, this must also be returned in the same condition, apart from what is a result of normal wear and tear.

Even if the cleaning was inadequate when moving in, the tenant is obligated to clean. If the tenant was unhappy with the cleaning, he should have made a complaint to the landlord within a reasonable time.

Upon returning the residence the tenant no longer has access to the residence, and no longer has a right to remedy defects.

The landlord, on his part, cannot claim compensation for wear and tear that was already there when the property was made available to the tenant.