Cleaning is one of the most common reasons deposits get partially withheld, and it is also the easiest to avoid. Here is what actually gets checked, based on what agents pull us up on.
Start with your tenancy agreement
Read what it actually says about the condition the property should be returned in. Some agreements specify professional cleaning with a receipt. Some specify professionally cleaned carpets. If yours does, doing it yourself will not satisfy the requirement no matter how well you clean.
The things most commonly missed
These are the ones agents flag most often, and they are almost always missed rather than deliberately skipped.
- •Inside the oven, including the racks and the glass door
- •The extractor fan above the hob, which collects grease invisibly
- •Inside and behind the fridge and freezer
- •Limescale on shower screens, taps and around plugholes
- •Skirting boards, especially behind where furniture stood
- •Window ledges and inside window frames
- •Light switches and door handles
- •Bin areas, including outside bins
Take photographs
Photograph every room once you are finished and the property is empty. If there is ever a dispute, dated photographs of the property in a clean state are worth far more than your recollection of it.
It is also worth photographing anything that was already damaged or marked when you moved in, if you did not do this at the start.
Is it worth paying someone?
It depends on the size of your deposit and the value of your time. A one bedroom end of tenancy clean costs around £110. If your deposit is over a thousand pounds and cleaning deductions typically run to a few hundred, the maths usually works out.
The other advantage is a receipt. If your agreement requires professional cleaning, having proof you paid for it removes an entire category of argument.
We clean to check-out standard across Kent, with everything included in one price and photographs on completion.
End of tenancy cleaning