Key points
- Start with the check-in inventory. Ask your agent for a copy, because the check-out is a comparison against it.
- A check-out goes through the kitchen surfaces, bathroom limescale, skirting boards, switches, windows and floors, room by room.
- Inside the oven, fridge and cupboards are paid extras with Ivory on every service. Tell us if your list includes them.
- Professional carpet cleaning is its own service, separate from an end of tenancy clean.
An end of tenancy cleaning checklist only helps if it matches the list your letting agent works from. A check-out compares each room with the check-in inventory, so the checklist that matters is that inventory, read room by room with the property in front of you.
This one walks through the property room by room, the way a check-out does. Use it to check your own clean, or to see what a professional clean needs to cover before the keys go back.
Where should an end of tenancy cleaning checklist start?
With the check-in inventory. It records the condition of each room when you moved in, and the check-out is measured against it. Ask your agent or landlord for a copy before you clean anything, then read it with the property in front of you.
Where the inventory describes a room in detail, clean to that description. Where it says little, clean to what you can see, and photograph the result. If you are weighing up whether a clean is enough on its own, read what a clean can and cannot change about your deposit.
Then work through the property in this order:
- Empty every room and cupboard you are responsible for clearing.
- Dust high surfaces first: light fittings, the tops of wardrobes and door frames.
- Wipe the middle layer: switches, sockets, door handles, window frames and sills, skirting boards and radiators.
- Give the kitchen and bathroom their own pass, using the lists below.
- Do the floors last, finishing at the door you leave by.
- Take dated photos of each finished room.
What do letting agents check at check-out in the kitchen?
Grease and limescale collect on the kitchen surfaces, so give the room a pass of its own. Clear your own food and belongings off the worktops first, so every surface can be wiped. These are the items to go through:
- Hob, including the rings and the area around them.
- Extractor hood and filter, if the filter lifts out.
- Sink, taps and splashback, with limescale cleared from the taps.
- Worktops, wiped clear of marks and crumbs.
- Cupboard and drawer fronts, plus handles.
- Floor, swept and mopped.
If your check-out list also names the inside of the oven, the fridge or the cupboards, those are paid extras with us. They are covered in their own section below.
What do letting agents check in the bathroom?
Clear your toiletries from the shelves, cabinet and sills first. Then look at limescale and sealant, because both show clearly in a bathroom.
- Limescale on taps, tiles and the shower screen.
- Mould or staining on the sealant around the bath, shower and basin.
- Toilet, including the seat, the hinges and the base.
- Bath, shower tray and basin.
- Extractor fan cover and mirror.
- Floor, swept and mopped.
What do letting agents check in the bedrooms and living areas?
These rooms have fewer fixtures, so the check is about the details between the big surfaces. They are the details that get missed when you are packing at the same time.
- Skirting boards, wiped along their full length.
- Light switches, sockets and door handles, where fingerprints collect.
- Window frames, handles and sills, inside and out as far as you can safely reach.
- Radiators, wiped down.
- Light fittings and curtain rails or blinds, if they came with the property.
- Marks on walls and paintwork. Wipe what lifts, and photograph what does not.
- Wardrobes and drawers, emptied.
- Floors, vacuumed or mopped to suit the surface.
Your own inventory may name items this list does not. Mention them in the form when you ask for your price, so they are accounted for from the start.
Which items on an end of tenancy cleaning list cost extra?
Some items on a check-out list are not part of the standard clean. Inside the oven, fridge and cupboards are paid extras with Ivory, on every service, and carpets are a separate service:
| On your list | With Ivory |
|---|---|
| Inside the oven | Paid extra |
| Inside the fridge | Paid extra |
| Inside the cupboards | Paid extra |
| Professional carpet cleaning | A separate service |
If your list includes any of the first three, tell us in the form and we will add them to your price. If the oven is the only thing your list needs, our oven cleaning is a job of its own.
Carpets are a different question. Professional carpet cleaning is its own service, so check what your inventory and tenancy agreement say about carpets, and ask your agent if it is unclear. If a carpet clean is on your list, our carpet cleaning covers it.
What if the agent queries something after the clean?
Photograph every room once the clean is finished, dated, ideally on the day the keys go back. Keep the photos with the check-in inventory so you can compare them side by side if a question comes up.
If the agent queries something, ask them to name the room and the item, so you know exactly what you are answering.
If it is queried after one of our cleans, tell us and we come back. For end of tenancy, the re-clean happens within 48 hours.
The order of events matters as much as the list. Read when to book an end of tenancy clean so the clean lands between your belongings leaving and the check-out.
How does Ivory work to your list?
Our end of tenancy clean works to the check-out list agents inspect against. The cleaners are vetted, bring their own equipment and use eco products, and we carry £2m public liability insurance.
Your price comes back within 30 minutes, and you see it before you pick a day. We are open seven days, 8am to 10pm, with same-day availability. The price reflects condition, not history.
Questions people ask
It should follow your check-in inventory room by room. In the kitchen that means the hob, extractor, sink, taps and worktops. In the bathroom it means limescale, sealant, the toilet, bath and basin. Elsewhere it means skirting boards, switches, windows, radiators and floors.
That depends on your check-out list, so read your inventory and ask your agent. Inside the oven is a paid extra with Ivory, on every service, so tell us in the form if your list includes it.
Carpets are part of the room-by-room check, but professional carpet cleaning is its own service. Read what your inventory and tenancy agreement say about carpets, and ask your agent if it is unclear.
Ask the agent exactly what they are querying, and keep your dated photos to hand. If something is queried after an Ivory end of tenancy clean, tell us and we come back to re-clean within 48 hours.
Ask your letting agent or landlord for a copy. Do it before you start cleaning, so you clean to the description of each room instead of to a guess.
Written by M.A. Published .
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