End of Tenancy Cleaning – What Landlords Look For

This article will share with you what you need to know if you’re a tenant moving out, the things your landlord will expect from you and will check if they are up to standard. We will also give you some tips on finding a professional end of tenancy cleaning service and ways to secure 100% of your deposit.

Keep End Of Tenancy Cleaning To A Minimum By Cleaning Regularly

By staying on top of cleaning while living on the premises, you can reduce the job the professional cleaning company carries out at the end of your tenancy. We thought you might find this video useful to help keep you on top of your cleaning in just one hour on a regular basis.

The Importance Of End Of Tenancy Cleaning

When you move out, the landlord will often come by for a move-out inspection to ensure the property is still in a quality condition for future tenants. If the property is in good condition, you are more likely to get all of your security deposit back.  The landlord is mainly looking for damage to the walls, doors and furnishings. They may look in places such as the kitchen (particularly dirty ovens), the bathroom, and the backyard to check for any signs of damage.

Making sure you clean thoroughly before the end of your tenancy and repair any damages is very important for several reasons, like: 

1. Don’t lose your deposit

The biggest reason that people think about why it’s important to clean your rented property is to get their whole deposit back. If your landlord deems the areas unsanitary or too damaged (and has good reason to do so), they can withhold part of or all of the deposit you placed when you moved in.

The UK Tenancy Deposit Scheme states that landlords can claim money from your deposit to cover cleaning costs if necessary. You should have received a checklist before moving in about any damages to the property and any problems the landlord is already aware of. If there is substantially more dirt or clutter, you are likely to lose some of your deposit when you move out. 

Don’t be surprised by this when you move out and take the time to do a thorough cleaning before your landlord inspection. If you’re not sure whether you’ll be able to get it up to standard, hire a professional company to do it for you. 

2. Maintain a positive landlord-tenant relationship

One of the biggest causes of a breakdown in landlord-tenant relationship is disagreements over the cleaning of the property. Whilst you may believe you have left it to an acceptable standard, your landlord may disagree and decide to seek reimbursement for additional cleaning. 

Maintain a good relationship and make sure you get the cleaning right, first time. You never know when you may run into them or other landlords they know later on down the line. 

3. Get a Good Reference

Similar to maintaining a good relationship, by knowing what landlords look for in end of tenancy cleaning and sticking to this, you’re more likely to get a good reference. When moving into another rented accommodation, your new landlord will often seek a reference from your previous one. 

If you have left the property in good condition, were communicative about your plans to move out, and did not leave any damages behind, your old landlord will most probably endorse you for another renting contract. 

Damages to your rented property

Other than the cleanliness of the area, landlords will also look for any damages that may have occurred during your tenancy. These can be particularly costly when getting your deposit back or maintaining good relationships with your landlords. 

If there was any existing damage to the property before you moved in, be sure to agree on it with the landlord initially, take photographs and fill out an inventory form of wear and tear or scuff marks and get your landlord to sign it with you. If any property damage could have been fixed, it is better to have it repaired during your tenancy and seek reimbursement than at the end, where it could be a point of argument.

You can do things before you move out to keep the property in order (and avoid any damages to your rented property), such as:

  • Keeping large gatherings (ones that could potentially result in some property damages) to a minimum close to your move out date.
  • Regularly cleaning the house on a schedule.
  • Running a dehumidifier to take care of moisture in the house.
  • Creating a checklist with your landlord so you have agreed upon a list of specific areas they want to be cleaned or any damages to be repaired. 

Professional landlord-standard end of tenancy cleaning 

You will often want to save money and clean the property yourself, but it is often more reliable and cleaned to a higher standard if you hire a professional end of tenancy cleaning service instead. This will ensure the house will be clean enough if new tenants are coming through to look at the property. 

Another way to find a good cleaning service is through referrals. Ask your friends (Facebook can also be a good tool for this) and family if they have used any cleaning services before, how they find them, what the prices were like, and the customer service they received.  By knowing exactly what landlords look for at the end of a tenancy, you’re setting yourself up to succeed when it comes to the final inspection.

Get in touch about our professional end of tenancy cleaning services below:

Fields marked with a * are required