An end-of-tenancy cleaning quote should be built from the handover condition in the lease and the actual state of the home. “Deep clean” is too vague for a tenant, landlord and cleaner to compare. Photograph the rooms, list the tasks and agree how unfinished work will be checked before paying the final amount.

What should the brief contain?

Start with the lease, move-out date, inspection date and inventory or handover checklist. This article cannot interpret a lease; if a requirement is disputed, ask the landlord, agent or qualified adviser for a written explanation. Describe the home by rooms and surfaces: bathrooms, kitchen cabinets, oven, windows and tracks, floors, balcony, air-conditioner grilles and any furnished items. Mark what is excluded, such as painting, repairs, pest treatment or professional upholstery cleaning, unless those are separately agreed. Tell the cleaner whether the home will be empty and whether utilities and water will still be on.

Take date-stamped photos before work, especially of existing stains or damage that cleaning cannot fix. Give providers the same photos and written task list. For an illustrative two-bedroom flat, the tenant asks for kitchen and bathroom deep cleaning, inside empty cabinets, accessible windows and floor cleaning before a Friday inspection. Those details are fictional; the real handover standard comes from the signed documents and the home itself. A routine weekly-cleaning package may omit the inside surfaces that matter to a move-out inspection.

How do you compare two quotes fairly?

Ask each provider for crew size, estimated or fixed hours, supplies, equipment, travel, taxes, parking, removal of waste, high-reach exclusions, and whether a return visit is included if a listed area is missed. Ask when the final price can change and who approves extras. The CCCS price-transparency guidance supports checking the payable total and conditions behind a low headline price. It does not set a cleaning standard for your lease.

Keep rework separate from a promise to satisfy the landlord. A cleaner can return to address a missed agreed task; they cannot guarantee that every property dispute or pre-existing stain will disappear. Ask how soon you must report a missed task, what evidence is needed and whether the cleaner can attend before the handover inspection. CCCS's fair-trading guidelines are general context for service claims. The written scope and what was actually done are the practical records for a disagreement.

What should happen at completion?

Walk through the list with the provider while the home is still accessible. Photograph any item you believe was missed and raise it through the agreed channel immediately. Keep the before and after photos, quote, invoice and messages. Separately document repair or wear questions for the handover; cleaning an item is different from replacing it. If a dispute about service remains, CASE's consumer resources provide a route to seek advice, but they do not decide the outcome in advance.

Use the routine-cleaning quote guide if you are still maintaining the home, the moving-quote guide for transport, and comparing guides for other written service decisions. You may send TBYB an unclear handover-scope question as an editorial enquiry; we do not book cleaners or promise deposit recovery or a provider referral.

Common questions

Is “deep clean” a complete end-of-tenancy scope?

No. List the rooms, surfaces, exclusions and handover timing so the cleaner can quote and the work can be checked.

Can a cleaner promise that a landlord will return the entire deposit?

No. Cleaning is one part of handover; lease terms, repairs and any dispute are separate matters.

Does a rework promise cover a stain that could not be removed?

Ask what the written promise covers and distinguish an omitted task from an agreed attempt that did not remove a pre-existing mark.

Sources

Something changed or worth adding?

Send a correction or suggestion

How we research and check our guides