End of tenancy cleaning checklist: what letting agents actually look for

How a check-out inspection works

When you moved in, someone made an inventory: a room by room record of the property's condition, usually with photos. At the end of the tenancy, a check-out clerk walks the property with that inventory in hand and notes anything that's changed. The two reports are compared line by line, and any deduction from your deposit has to be justified by the difference between them.

That's the detail worth holding onto. The standard isn't showroom-perfect. It's the property as clean as it was on the day you got the keys, allowing for fair wear and tear. If the place was professionally cleaned before you moved in, the check-in report will usually say so, and the clerk will expect the same standard handed back.

The clerk doesn't care how many hours you spent or how hard you scrubbed. They photograph what they find. A greasy extractor fan is a greasy extractor fan, and it goes in the report.

The checklist, room by room

These are the things check-out reports pick up most often. Work through the lot and you've covered what the clerk will look at.

The kitchen

The kitchen decides more check-outs than any other room. Start here and give it the most time.

• The oven, cleaned inside and out: racks, trays and the glass in the door
• The hob and the extractor, including the filter above the cooker
• Inside every cupboard and drawer, crumbs and rings wiped out
• The fridge and freezer emptied, defrosted and wiped inside
• Limescale off the taps, the sink scrubbed and the plughole clear
• The washing machine drawer and door seal, where mould likes to hide

The bathroom

• Limescale off the taps, the shower head and the shower screen
• Grout and sealant scrubbed: mould on a sealant line always goes in the report
• Mirrors and glass polished, no smears
• Plugholes cleared of hair and running freely
• The toilet done properly, under the rim and behind the base

Bedrooms and living rooms

• Skirting boards, ledges and the tops of door frames dusted and wiped
• Inside the windows, plus the sills and frames
• Behind and under any furniture that's staying
• Carpets vacuumed right to the edges, and stains dealt with
• Wardrobes, drawers and cupboards empty and wiped inside

Everywhere else

• Marks and scuffs on walls wiped off where the paint allows
• Light fittings, shades and switches: dust on top, finger marks off
• Doors, handles and banisters wiped down
• Bins emptied and washed out, lid included
• The hallway, the stairs and the cupboard under them

What agents let slide, and what they never do

Fair wear and tear is the gradual decline that comes from someone living in a property. Carpet pile flattened in the walkways, a small scuff where a chair sat, curtains faded by the sun. A landlord can't charge you for it, and a decent check-out clerk records it as exactly that.

Dirt is different. Limescale, grease, mould on sealant, a fridge with something growing in it: none of that is wear and tear, however long you've lived there. Cleaning is the one category where deductions rarely get argued down, because the photos speak for themselves.

So the split is simple. Worn carpet in the hallway: let slide. Unvacuumed carpet: never. A pale patch on the wall where a picture hung: let slide. Grease on the extractor: never. If it can be cleaned off, the clerk expects it to have been.

Doing it yourself, or booking it

An honest answer: a thorough tenant can pass a check-out. There's no rule that says the clean has to be professional, and in England a tenancy agreement can't make you pay for one. What decides it is hours and kit. Done properly, a 2-bed is a full day's work, sometimes two, plus oven cleaner, limescale remover, a decent vacuum and the patience for the fiddly bits at the end. If you've got the time, work down the list above and photograph every room before you hand back the keys.

If you'd rather hand it over, our end of tenancy cleaning works to an agency-style checklist like this one, priced by the size of the property rather than by the hour. It starts from £150 for a 1-bed, and every from-price is on the pricing page. It also comes with the put-it-right promise: not happy? Tell us within 24 hours and we'll put it right. That covers you if the agent flags anything after the inspection.

One thing before you book anything: if you're staying put and the place just needs a reset, that's a deep clean, not an end of tenancy clean. Same thoroughness, different job.

If there's stuff left behind

A proper end of tenancy clean needs an empty property. If there's still furniture, bags or rubbish to go, we arrange a house clearance and the clean in one booking: cleared first, cleaned after, inspection-ready in a day. One point of contact, one price for the lot, and no chasing two firms hoping the dates line up.

We need at least 24 hours' notice for cleaning, and clearances are often same or next day. Send a few photos of the property and we'll price it before anyone turns up.