End of tenancy cleaning checklist: what inventory clerks check
A room-by-room end of tenancy checklist covering the areas most likely to cause deposit deductions.
Quick answer
The areas that most often lead to cleaning deductions are the oven, the kitchen, bathroom limescale, inside cupboards, skirting boards and carpets. Clean those thoroughly and you remove most of the risk.
Kitchen
Clean the oven, racks, hob and extractor filters; clean inside and outside every cupboard and drawer; defrost and clean the fridge-freezer and leave it open; wipe tiles, splashbacks and appliance fronts; clean the sink and descale the taps.
Bathrooms
Descale taps, shower heads, screens and tiles; clean grout; clean the toilet including the base and behind it; wipe the extractor fan cover; clean mirrors and cabinets inside and out.
Every room
Wash skirting boards, doors, frames and handles; wipe switches and sockets; clean interior windows and sills; vacuum and mop floors; remove cobwebs; empty bins. Compare against your check-in inventory, because the standard expected is the one recorded when you moved in, allowing for fair wear and tear.
Tenant rights
Landlords in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland must protect deposits in a government-approved scheme, and any deduction can be challenged through that scheme's free dispute service. Keep your receipt and take dated photos after the clean.
Book a clean
Our end of tenancy cleans follow this checklist, and we come back to re-clean any cleaning items raised in the check-out report within 72 hours.
Written by the SK Housekeeping team. Add SK Housekeeping as a preferred source on Google.