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Cleaning checklists

End of Tenancy Cleaning Checklist

This is the list an inventory clerk works from, not a tidy-up reminder. Cleaning disputes are the single largest cause of deposit deductions in England and Wales, and almost all of them come down to the same dozen items. Print it, work it top to bottom, and tick as you go.

Free, no signup, no email Prints to A4 Written for UK cleaning businesses
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End of Tenancy Cleaning Checklist

Work top to bottom, dry before wet, floors last. Photograph anything already damaged before you start.

Property address
Date
Cleaner(s)
Tenancy end date
Checked by

Before you start

Five minutes here prevents most disputes later.

  • Photograph every room as found, including inside the oven and fridge
  • Photograph any existing damage, stains or marks and note the location
  • Check the property is fully empty: no items in lofts, sheds, cupboards or under stairs
  • Confirm utilities are on: no hot water or electricity makes a full clean impossible
  • Take meter readings if asked to
  • Note anything outside the agreed scope in writing before starting

Kitchen

The oven and the seals are where deposits are actually lost.

  • Oven: interior, base, roof and back panel degreased to bare metal
  • Oven door glass cleaned between the panes where it separates
  • Oven shelves, runners and grill pan degreased
  • Hob, burners, caps and pan supports; splashback degreased
  • Extractor hood cleaned and filter degreased or replaced
  • Fridge and freezer: defrosted, emptied, shelves and drawers washed, seals cleaned
  • Fridge left switched off with the door propped if the property is empty
  • Washing machine: drum, rubber door seal, and the detergent drawer removed and descaled
  • Dishwasher: filter removed and cleaned, spray arms, door seal
  • Microwave: interior, roof, turntable and door seal
  • All cupboards and drawers emptied, wiped inside, fronts and handles cleaned
  • Worktops cleaned and sealed edges wiped; behind and under free-standing units
  • Sink, drainer and taps descaled; plughole and overflow cleaned
  • Tiles and grout degreased; sealant cleaned of any mould
  • Bin cleaned inside and out
  • Skirting, radiator, light switches and sockets wiped
  • Floor swept and washed, including under and behind appliances where they can be moved safely

Bathrooms and en-suites

  • Limescale removed from taps, shower head, screen and tiles
  • Shower screen cleaned including the runners and the seal
  • Bath, basin and shower tray cleaned; overflow and plughole cleared
  • Toilet: bowl including under the rim, seat both sides, hinges, cistern and base of the pedestal
  • Grout and sealant cleaned; any mould treated
  • Mirror and any glass shelving polished streak-free
  • Extractor fan cover cleaned and the vent cleared of dust
  • Cabinets and drawers emptied and wiped inside and out
  • Towel rail, radiator and pipework wiped
  • Skirting, light pull, switches and door wiped
  • Floor washed including behind the toilet pedestal

Bedrooms and living areas

  • Cobwebs removed from ceilings, corners and light fittings
  • Light fittings and shades dusted; bulbs present and working
  • Doors, frames and handles wiped, including the tops of doors
  • Skirting boards, picture rails and dado rails wiped
  • Switches, sockets and thermostats wiped
  • Windows cleaned inside; frames, sills and runners wiped
  • Window and door tracks vacuumed out
  • Curtain poles and blinds dusted; blinds wiped slat by slat
  • Radiators cleaned including the back and behind where reachable
  • Wardrobes and drawers emptied, wiped inside, mirrors polished
  • Marks removed from walls where they will come off without damaging paint
  • Carpets vacuumed including edges and under any remaining furniture
  • Hard floors swept and washed

Hallway, stairs and communal

  • Front door cleaned both sides; letterbox, handle and any glass
  • Stair carpet vacuumed including risers and the edges
  • Bannister, spindles and handrail wiped
  • Meter cupboard cleared of anything left behind and wiped
  • Under-stair cupboard emptied and swept
  • Any communal area within scope left clear

Finishing and handover

  • All bins emptied and removed from the property
  • Any cleaning waste taken away, not left in the outside bin unless agreed
  • Windows closed and locked; doors secured
  • Heating set as instructed by the agent or landlord
  • Keys accounted for and returned as agreed
  • Photograph every room as left, matching the before shots
  • Note any item that could not be completed and why

This checklist is a cleaning specification, not legal advice on a deposit dispute. Where a tenancy agreement or inventory sets a different standard, that document governs.

Photographs taken before and after are the single most useful evidence in a deposit dispute. Take them even when nobody has asked for them.

Free to print, copy and use commercially, including with your own clients and staff. From CleanFlo, cleaning business software for UK companies.

In CleanFlo

The same list, on the cleaner's phone

In CleanFlo this is a job template: every item lands on the cleaner's phone, ticks off as they work, and the before and after photographs attach to the job automatically. It works with no signal and the client gets the finished report as a page of its own.

Start free trial End of tenancy software →

Why end of tenancy cleaning gets disputed

Cleaning is consistently the most common single cause of deposit deductions in England and Wales, and the reason is rarely that the property was dirty. It is that "clean" was never defined, so the tenant, the cleaner and the inventory clerk each applied their own standard and two of them disagreed.

The remedy is a specification. A list that says "oven cleaned to bare metal including the door glass between the panes" can be checked and either passed or failed. A list that says "clean the kitchen" cannot, and an adjudicator faced with it will side with whoever has photographs.

That is the whole reason this checklist is written as it is: every row is something an inventory clerk can stand in front of and tick.

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The dozen items that fail most often

Across most end-of-tenancy re-cleans, the same small set of items comes back. If you are short of time, these are the ones to get right.

  • Oven door glass. Between the panes, where most cleans stop at the surface.
  • The washing machine detergent drawer. Removed, not wiped in place.
  • Extractor filters. In the kitchen and the bathroom, both usually skipped.
  • Shower screen runners. The channel the screen slides in, not the glass.
  • Under the toilet rim and the pedestal base.
  • Window tracks and runners. Vacuumed out, not just wiped.
  • Tops of doors and door frames. Checked by hand, and by every clerk.
  • Behind and under white goods where they can be moved safely.
  • Blinds, slat by slat.
  • Skirting boards behind furniture that was there on the inventory.
  • Fridge seals, which hold mould and are checked routinely.
  • Light fittings and lampshades, especially in rooms with high ceilings.

What to agree before you quote

End of tenancy is the easiest cleaning job in the trade to underquote, because the scope is elastic and the standard is somebody else's. Settle these five things in writing before you price it.

  • Is the property empty? Cleaning around belongings is a different job and cannot be guaranteed to pass an inventory check.
  • Are carpets in scope? Professional carpet cleaning is usually priced separately, and many agreements require it specifically.
  • Are windows in scope, and externally? Interior is normally assumed, exterior almost never is.
  • Is there a re-clean guarantee, and for how long? Seven days is common. Define what triggers it.
  • Who is checking, and against what? Ask for the inventory. A clerk checking against a document you have not seen is a dispute waiting to happen.

Our end of tenancy price calculator builds a quote from bedrooms, bathrooms and condition, and the time estimator will tell you whether the hours you have allowed are realistic.

Frequently asked questions

01 What is included in an end of tenancy clean?
A full clean of every room to the standard set by the property inventory: oven cleaned to bare metal including the door glass, all appliances cleaned inside, limescale removed throughout, all cupboards emptied and wiped inside, windows cleaned internally with tracks and frames, all skirting, switches and fittings wiped, and floors and carpets cleaned. Carpets and exterior windows are usually priced separately.
02 How long does an end of tenancy clean take?
For an empty, reasonably maintained property, roughly 4 to 6 hours for a one-bedroom flat, 6 to 9 for a two-bedroom and 8 to 14 for a three-bedroom house, for one cleaner. A heavily soiled oven alone can add an hour. Properties that are still furnished or occupied take considerably longer and cannot be guaranteed against an inventory.
03 Does an end of tenancy clean guarantee the deposit back?
No cleaning company can guarantee a deposit, because deductions cover damage, missing items and rent arrears as well as cleaning. What a professional clean with before-and-after photographs does is remove cleaning from the list of things that can be argued about, which in practice is the most commonly disputed item.
04 Do tenants have to use a professional cleaning company?
A tenancy agreement cannot generally require a tenant to use a professional company, only to return the property in the condition recorded at the start, allowing for fair wear and tear. In practice most tenants use one because meeting an inventory standard without professional equipment is difficult and the cost of a failed check usually exceeds the cost of the clean.
05 Is this checklist free to use commercially?
Yes. Print it, hand it to your cleaners, attach it to a quote, or give it to a client as a specification. There is no signup, no watermark and no restriction on commercial use.

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