The complete end of tenancy cleaning checklist

Why cleaning is the number one deposit deduction

Across the UK, cleaning is the most common reason deposits get reduced: ahead of damage, redecoration and rent arrears. That is not because tenants are lazy. It is because a check-out inspection is a comparison against the check-in report and inventory, not a judgement about whether somewhere looks tidy.

The practical consequence is that you are not aiming for "clean". You are aiming for "as clean as it was when I got the keys, allowing for fair wear and tear". That is why inspections flag things nobody cleans in normal life: the inside of the oven door glass, the extractor filter, window tracks, the top of door frames, the rubber seal in the washing machine drawer.

One legal point worth knowing before you spend money. A tenancy clause that simply requires you to pay for a professional clean is not enforceable on its own. What is enforceable is the requirement to return the property in the same state of cleanliness. For most people a professional clean is the cheapest route to that standard, and a receipt is useful evidence if there is a dispute, but it is a choice, not an obligation.

Before you start

Five things that make the difference between a long day and a wasted one:

1. Find your check-in report and inventory. This is the document you are being measured against. If it says the carpets were professionally cleaned, that is the standard you need to match.
2. Empty the property completely first. You cannot clean behind or under what is still there, and cleaning around boxes is the single biggest reason a DIY check-out clean fails.
3. Work top to bottom and back to front. Dust and grease fall downwards. Do ceilings, light fittings and high surfaces before floors, and work away from the door so you are not walking back over finished floor.
4. Start the oven first. Oven cleaner needs hours of dwell time, not minutes. Apply it, then go and do something else.
5. Take photographs when you finish. Date-stamped photos of every room are your evidence if a deduction is later proposed.

Kitchen. Where most of the time goes

Budget half your total time for the kitchen. It is where the inspection will be most detailed and where almost all the difficult work is.

• Oven interior: roof, base, sides, back and fan
• Oven door glass: including between the panes if the door splits
• Oven racks, runners, trays and grill pan
• Hob, burners, pan supports and control knobs
• Extractor hood exterior and the metal filter (degrease or replace)
• Splashback and tiling, including grout
• Worktops, including behind the kettle and toaster
• Sink, drainer, taps and plughole descaled
• Inside every cupboard and drawer, plus fronts and handles
• Fridge and freezer emptied, defrosted, cleaned, left dry and open
• Washing machine drum, rubber seal and detergent drawer
• Dishwasher filter, seal and spray arms
• Microwave inside, outside, turntable and roof
• Bin cleaned inside and out
• Skirtings, radiator, door frame and light switch
• Floor swept, mopped and edges done by hand

The two items that catch everyone: the extractor filter and the inside of the oven door glass. Both are standard inspection points and neither gets cleaned in ordinary life, which is exactly why agents look at them.

Bathrooms

Second most scrutinised room, and the one where limescale gives you away. Limescale needs an acidic descaler and dwell time: scrubbing harder just scratches chrome and acrylic.

• Shower screen, both sides, fully descaled
• Shower head, hose and holder descaled
• Shower tray or bath, including the sealant line
• Tiles and grout, including the grout above the bath
• Toilet bowl, under the rim, seat, hinges, cistern and base
• Behind and beneath the toilet pan
• Basin, taps, pedestal and plughole
• Mirror and any glass shelving
• Extractor fan cover dusted and wiped
• Towel rail and radiator, front and back
• Window, frame, sill and track
• Any mould on sealant treated and removed
• Skirtings, door, frame and light pull
• Floor, including behind the door and around the pedestal

If mould keeps coming back on the sealant, that is a ventilation or damp problem rather than a cleaning one, and in a rented property it is your landlord's responsibility to address. Clean it off, photograph it, and raise it in writing if it is a recurring issue.

Bedrooms and living rooms

These rooms go quickly once they are empty, and they are mostly about detail rather than effort.

• Inside wardrobes, drawers and built-in storage
• Tops of wardrobes and door frames (standard inspection point)
• Picture rails, cornices and all skirting boards
• Radiators: front, back, between fins and underneath
• Window glass internally, frames, sills and tracks
• Curtain poles, blind slats and pelmets
• Light fittings, shades, switches and socket faces
• Marks on paintwork around switches and handles
• Doors, both sides, plus frames and handles
• Carpets vacuumed including edges, corners and under where furniture stood
• Hard floors swept and washed
• Cobwebs in ceiling corners and behind doors

Hallways, stairs and everywhere else

• Stairs vacuumed tread by tread, including risers and edges
• Bannisters, spindles and handrails wiped
• Front and back door, inside and out, plus letterbox
• Meter cupboard, loft hatch and any built-in storage
• Airing cupboard and boiler exterior
• Garage, shed or outbuilding swept if on the inventory
• Patio, balcony or yard swept, bins emptied
• Garden left as the inventory describes. Lawn cut if it says so
• All keys, fobs and remotes gathered for handover
• Final walk-through of every room with the inventory in hand

The 10 items most commonly failed

Ranked roughly by how often we see them written up on Plymouth check-out reports:

1. Oven interior and door glass, number one by a wide margin.
2. Limescale in the bathroom, screen, taps, shower head.
3. Extractor hood filter, almost never cleaned by tenants.
4. Window tracks and frames, the gritty channel at the bottom.
5. Inside kitchen cupboards and drawers, crumbs and sticky rings.
6. Carpets, particularly where the inventory says professionally cleaned at check-in.
7. Marks on paintwork around light switches and door handles.
8. Behind and under the toilet, plus the sealant line.
9. Tops of wardrobes, doors and frames, inspectors genuinely run a finger along them.
10. Fridge and freezer, left wet, or not defrosted.

Should you do it yourself?

Honest answer: it depends on three things. How long you have, how the property was handed to you, and whether carpets are involved.

Do it yourself if the property is small, it was clean when you arrived, you have a full day free after it is empty, and nothing on the inventory requires machine cleaning. A one-bed flat in good condition is a realistic solo day's work with the checklist above. Hire someone if the inventory specifies professional carpet cleaning, if the oven has not been cleaned in a year, if you are moving out of a shared house, or if your check-out is the same day as your move. Our end of tenancy cleaning in Plymouth starts from around £140 to £180 for a one-bed flat and includes a free re-clean if your agent flags a cleaning item within 48 hours, which is really what you are buying.

Whichever you choose: photograph everything when you finish, and keep the receipt if you paid someone. Evidence is what wins deposit disputes, not effort.