Move-out cleaning checklist
An end-of-lease clean is judged against an inventory, not against how tidy the place feels. This sheet is written the way an inspector reads a property: fixed surfaces first, then everything the previous tenant's furniture was hiding. Print two copies and get one signed.
Before the visit
- Get the property empty — an empty room cleans in half the time
- Read the inventory or check-in report if there is one
- Photograph existing damage before you touch anything
- Check the utilities are still on: no water is no clean
After the visit
- Photograph every room from the doorway, plus the oven and fridge open
- Get the sheet signed and dated by whoever is present
- Keep your copy for at least six months
Kitchen
- Oven, grill and racks to bare metal40 min
- Extractor and filter degreased20 min
- Fridge and freezer emptied, defrosted, washed, left open30 min
- Every cupboard and drawer, inside and out30 min
- Sink, taps and drain descaled10 min
- Splashback and grout12 min
Bathrooms
- Limescale off screen, taps, head and tiles25 min
- Grout and sealant scrubbed20 min
- Toilet, including behind and the cistern12 min
- Extractor cover8 min
- Mirror and cabinet interior8 min
Everywhere
- All interior windows, frames and tracks35 min
- Skirting, door frames, doors and handles30 min
- Light fittings, switches and sockets15 min
- Carpets vacuumed including edges and under where furniture stood30 min
- Hard floors mopped last20 min
- Marks and scuffs spot-cleaned off walls20 min
- Bins emptied and washed, nothing left behind10 min
What the deposit standard actually is
The test is almost always 'the same condition as at check-in, minus fair wear and tear'. That is a comparison, not an absolute — which is why the check-in report matters more than any cleaning product you own.
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 the deductions that come up again and again.
If the check-in report says the property was professionally cleaned, the property has to leave professionally cleaned. Say that in your quote so nobody is surprised.
The oven decides the job
More end-of-lease deposits are argued over the oven than over anything else. Budget the full forty minutes on this sheet, use a dedicated oven product with its stated dwell time, and take the racks out.
If the oven is beyond a normal clean — burnt-on carbon in layers, a cracked door seal — say so before you start and price it as a separate line. Do not absorb it.
Cleaning an empty property
Everything moves, so nothing has an excuse. Carpet edges, the wall behind where the sofa was, the floor under the washing machine: those are exactly the spots an inspector checks, because they are the spots that prove the clean was real.
Work top to bottom and finish at the front door. The last thing you do in an empty flat is mop yourself out of it.