End of tenancy cleaning checklist

Checkout inventories are more specific than most tenants expect. Clerks work through a property in a set order with a set of standard photographs, and the same handful of items appear on report after report.

Work through this list and you'll have covered what's actually assessed. Do it once the property is empty — cleaning around furniture is the main reason people lose deposit money on cleanliness.

Kitchen — where most deposits are lost

• •Oven: shelves, racks, trays, door glass inside and out, seals, and the base
• •Grill pan and any removable oven parts
• •Hob, burners, control knobs and the surround
• •Extractor hood, canopy and filter — degreased, not just wiped
• •Fridge and freezer emptied, defrosted, cleaned and left switched off with doors ajar
• •Every cupboard and drawer emptied and cleaned inside, including the bases
• •Washing machine drum, seal, filter and detergent drawer
• •Sink, plughole, taps and drainer descaled
• •Worktops, splashback and grout
• •Bin cleaned inside and out

Bathrooms

• •Shower screen fully descaled, including the seals and the track
• •Tile grout and silicone cleaned; mould treated where it's surface-level
• •Shower head and taps descaled
• •Toilet including behind the pan, the hinges and the base
• •Bath, basin, overflow and plugholes
• •Extractor vent cover
• •Mirrors, cabinets inside and out, and the bathroom floor to the edges

Bedrooms and living areas

• •Wardrobes and drawers cleaned inside, tops of wardrobes dusted
• •Curtain poles, blinds and pelmets
• •Skirting boards, door frames, doors and handles
• •Light switches, sockets and light fittings
• •Radiators, including behind them
• •Windows inside, sills and tracks
• •Carpets vacuumed thoroughly, including edges and under where furniture stood

The jobs people always forget

• •Inside the washing machine filter
• •The tops of kitchen units and door frames
• •Behind and underneath the fridge and cooker
• •Window tracks and the hinges on uPVC windows
• •The letterbox, front door and any external glass panels
• •Loft hatch, cupboard under the stairs and any storage the inventory listed
• •Bins, garden and outside space if the tenancy covered them
• •Removing every last item — anything left behind can be charged as removal

Practical points

Photograph everything once you've finished, with the date visible if you can. Compare it against the check-in inventory rather than against your own memory — that document is what any dispute is judged on.

Also be realistic about fair wear and tear. Cleaning cannot fix a scratched worktop, a chipped bath or a tired carpet, and you shouldn't be charged for cleaning to resolve those. Equally, a hob that's been burnt on for two years may never come back — better to know that before the report than after.

Doing it yourself or booking it

A one-bedroom flat is a long day's work with the right products. A three-bedroom house is more than one person can realistically complete in a day on top of moving. If you'd rather hand it over, our end of tenancy cleaning covers everything on this list.