Most deposit deductions are for cleaning, and most of those are for the same five things. We clean around forty move-outs a month, and the agent's note almost always points at one of them.
The five that cost money
- The oven, especially the door glass and the racks
- Limescale on the shower screen and around the taps
- The inside of kitchen cupboards and drawers
- Marks on the skirting boards and around light switches
- The extractor fan filter
None of them are hard. All of them take longer than you expect on the last day, with a van waiting outside.
Clean to their list, not yours
Ask the agent for the inventory or the check-out checklist before you start. It tells you what they will look at and how the home was described when you moved in. If it says "professionally cleaned", you will usually need a receipt.
Do it empty
A home can only be cleaned properly once the boxes are out. Plan the clean for the day after the movers, not the same afternoon. If the keys are due back that day, book the earliest slot.
Take photos
Photograph every room, the inside of the oven, the fridge and each bathroom, with the date showing. We send a set with every move-out clean for this reason.
A time-stamped photo ends most arguments before they start.
If the agent still finds something
Ask for it in writing, with a photo. If we did the clean, send us the note within 72 hours and we go back at no charge. If you did it yourself, an hour on the one item they named is nearly always cheaper than the deduction.
