End of tenancy cleaning and what a landlord can deduct

The clause that is no longer enforceable

In England, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 made it unlawful to require a tenant to pay for professional cleaning as a condition of the tenancy. A clause saying the property must be professionally cleaned at the tenant's expense, with a receipt produced, is a prohibited payment and cannot be enforced. Wales has equivalent provision under the Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019.

What did not change is the standard. A tenant still has to return the property in the condition it was let in, allowing for fair wear and tear, and a landlord can still deduct the reasonable cost of getting it there. The difference is that the deduction has to be for work actually needed and actually done, at a real cost, rather than for a receipt from a named company.

What the deposit scheme actually looks at

Deposits in England and Wales must be protected in one of three schemes, and a disputed deduction goes to that scheme's adjudicator rather than to a court. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes on the same principle.

Adjudicators look for three things and are unimpressed without them: a check-in inventory with dated photographs, a check-out report against the same list, and an invoice for work actually carried out. A claim with no check-in inventory usually fails outright, because there is nothing to show what condition the property started in.

Fair wear and tear, in practice

Fair wear and tear is the deterioration expected from normal use over the length of the tenancy, and it is not deductible. A carpet that is flatter in the hallway after three years is wear. The same carpet with a red wine stain is damage.

Adjudicators also apportion for the age of the item. A landlord replacing a seven-year-old carpet that had two years of life left cannot charge the tenant for a new one, only for the value of the life lost. The same reasoning applies to paintwork, worktops and white goods.

What a tenancy clean covers

An end of tenancy clean is not a regular clean done harder. It reaches the places a weekly clean never touches, and the list is fairly standard across the trade: inside the oven, inside the fridge and freezer, inside all cupboards and drawers, limescale off taps and shower screens, skirting boards, door frames, light switches, sockets, extractor grilles, inside windows, and the floors last.

Two things are usually quoted separately. Carpet cleaning is a different machine and often a different visit, and exterior windows need access equipment. Check which of the two your quote includes, because they are the two items landlords most often deduct for afterwards.

Getting the timing right

Book the clean for after the furniture and belongings are out and before the check-out inspection, and leave the property empty in between. A clean done around boxes is a clean that has to be done twice.

Most companies will return free of charge if the check-out flags something they missed, usually within 48 or 72 hours. That guarantee is worth more than a small difference in price, and it is worth having in writing rather than in conversation.