Move-out cleaning cost
/ 8 min read
An end-of-lease clean is the only domestic cleaning job with a referee. It is judged against a check-in report by somebody holding a deposit, which changes both the scope and the price.
Before you quote
- Get the property empty before you quote
- Read the check-in report if one exists
- Photograph existing damage first
- Check the water and power are still on
Before you leave
- Photograph every room from the doorway
- Get the sheet signed
- Keep the file for six months
The standard you are being measured against
Almost every tenancy uses the same test: the same condition as at check-in, minus fair wear and tear. That is a comparison against a document, not an absolute state of cleanliness — which is why the check-in report matters more than any product on your van.
Fair wear and tear covers a faded carpet and scuffed paint. It does not cover a greasy oven, limescale, or a fridge left dirty. Those three are where deposits are actually deducted.
Where the hours go
Our move-out checklist runs to 375 task minutes — a little over six cleaner-hours on a two-bed flat — and the shape of it is unusual: the kitchen alone is 142 minutes, because the oven, the extractor and the fridge all have to reach bare-metal standard rather than clean-looking standard.
| Block | Task minutes | Why it is heavier than a normal clean |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | 142 | Oven to bare metal, fridge defrosted, every cupboard inside |
| Bathrooms | 73 | Limescale and grout judged against a photograph |
| Everywhere else | 160 | Windows, tracks, skirting, and everything the furniture hid |
The empty property is what makes it heavier. Nothing has an excuse: the wall behind where the sofa stood is exactly the spot an inspector checks.
What operators charge
At $45 to $60 a cleaner-hour, six and a quarter hours of work is roughly $280 to $375 for a small flat, before extras. Larger properties scale close to linearly with bathrooms and bedrooms rather than with floor area.
Do not quote an end-of-lease clean sight-unseen from a bedroom count. The oven is the single largest variance in the job and you cannot see it down a phone. Quote a range, then confirm on arrival, in writing.
The re-clean guarantee question
Many agents expect a re-clean guarantee: if the inventory clerk fails the property, you come back. It is worth offering, and it is worth bounding — 48 hours, the named items only, and only where the property has not been re-occupied.
An unbounded guarantee on a property that has already had furniture moved back in is a job you will do twice for one fee.
Who is actually paying
Tenants pay to protect a deposit and are price-sensitive. Agents pay to turn a unit round and are speed-sensitive. Landlords pay to relet and are standard-sensitive. The same clean, quoted three ways.
Agent work is the volume, and it comes with the tightest windows and the fussiest sign-off. Price the window, not just the property.