Best end of tenancy cleaning in London: what to compare before you book

Does the price come from your check-out list?

At the end of a tenancy, someone walks each room against the check-in inventory. The three approved deposit schemes, the Deposit Protection Service, mydeposits and the Tenancy Deposit Scheme, describe cleanliness in the same way in their guidance: it is judged against how clean the property was when the tenancy started, as the inventory and the check-out report record it. That guidance is the schemes' view, not law, and some of it predates the 1 May 2026 changes. It still tells you what to aim a clean at.

A price built from a bedroom count alone has not read your list. It may be a fair price. You just cannot tell what it covers. So ask your landlord or agent for a copy of the inventory, then send every company the same details:

• Your postcode and the number of bedrooms.
• The day the keys go back.
• Anything your inventory names beyond the standard clean, such as the oven, the fridge, cupboards or carpets.
• An honest note on condition, because the price should follow how the property looks now, not how long you lived there.

Ivory's end of tenancy cleaning works through a written list for the kitchen, the bathrooms and the rest of the property, and it is priced from £190. The final figure follows the rooms and their condition, and you see it before you book. The room by room checklist shows what such a list looks like.

How fast does a re-clean follow a query?

Queries happen, and they can be put right. What matters is the time they take, because your check-out date does not move. A promise to sort it out has no deadline in it, so ask for one.

• Does the company come back at all if a point is queried?
• Within how many hours or days?
• Can you read that in writing before you pay?
• What counts as a query, and who decides?
• Does the return visit cost anything?

Ivory re-cleans within 48 hours if an end of tenancy clean is queried. Send us the points the agent raised and the team goes back to those areas. The window is stated on the end of tenancy page, so you can read it before you commit.

A re-clean deals with cleaning. It does not repair damage and it does not decide what a landlord claims. End of tenancy cleaning and your deposit in London sets out where that line falls.

Which end of tenancy cleaning jobs cost extra?

Two quotes can look identical and hold different jobs. One includes the oven. The other leaves it out and adds it later, and you find out when the invoice arrives.

Ask each company which of these it treats as an extra: the inside of the oven, the inside of the fridge once it is emptied, cupboards and drawers, a machine carpet clean and a full wall wash. Get each one named and priced before you book.

With Ivory, inside the oven, fridge and cupboards are paid extras, and a machine carpet clean and a full wall wash are priced on top. The hob and extractor are degreased as standard. Tell us what your inventory lists and it goes into your price. If only the oven needs doing, oven cleaning is a separate service.

Ask what is left out as well. Cleaning is the job, so repairs, redecoration and garden work sit outside it. Ivory is not a clearance service either, which means rubbish and left-behind items need to be gone before the team arrives. If you have already cleaned most of the property, ask for a targeted top-up of the awkward spots instead of a full clean.

Can the clean fit between your removals and the check-out?

Moving days slip. The van turns up late, a sofa sticks on the stairs, the agent offers a different time. A clean has to survive that.

Work backwards from the check-out. Your things need to be out first, then the clean, then the key handover, then the inspection. Book the clean before the boxes have gone and the team works around them; let it run past the start of the inspection and it arrives too late to count. Tell every company three things: when removals end, when and where the keys go back, and your check-out time if you have one. Ask also what they do if you overrun, and how fast they respond when plans change the night before.

If you rent in London, confirm the handover date in writing too. GOV.UK says most existing assured shorthold tenancies automatically became assured periodic tenancies on 1 May 2026, that an assured tenancy can no longer have an end date, and that a tenant can end one by giving two months' notice in writing. Its overview for tenants (opens in a new tab) has the detail. Whatever your tenancy type, agree the handover date with your landlord or agent in writing before you book a cleaner.

Ivory takes enquiries 7 days a week from 8am to 10pm, offers same-day availability and replies within 30 minutes. Most customers hear back in under a minute. When to book an end of tenancy clean in London covers the order of events in more detail.

What can a clean change about your deposit?

None of the deposit rules were written by cleaning companies. GOV.UK sets them: a landlord or agent has 30 days from receiving your deposit to place it in a government-approved scheme, and 10 days to return it once you have both agreed the amount. If you are in a dispute, GOV.UK says the deposit remains protected until it is settled. Read the full rules on its page for tenancy deposit protection (opens in a new tab).

Two things follow. The 10 days run from the moment you both agree an amount, not from check-out day. And no cleaner decides what a landlord claims, because damage, unpaid rent and missing items are separate questions from how clean the property is. mydeposits adds that fair wear and tear applies to the condition of an item and not to the standard of cleaning, so a worn carpet and a greasy hob are different matters. Its fair wear and tear guide (opens in a new tab) explains how it weighs them.

So ask any company that talks about your deposit how it could know the outcome. Ivory stands behind the clean, not the claim, which is the landlord's or agent's decision and, if you dispute it, the scheme's.

Which questions go in the message to every company?

Paste these into one message and send it to everyone on your shortlist, Ivory included. The right-hand column is what Ivory can show, so check it as hard as you check anyone else.

Watch how each company answers as well as what it says. A dodged plain question before you have paid rarely becomes a clear answer afterwards.

Where does Ivory stand on each check?

Ivory's own pick is Ivory. That is the view of the company that wrote this guide, not a ranking, a vote or an award, so weigh it accordingly. Here is what sits behind it, one line per check.

• The list: the clean works through a written list, and the price starts from £190, with the final figure confirmed before you book.
• The re-clean: within 48 hours if the clean is queried.
• The extras: oven, fridge and cupboard interiors, a machine carpet clean and a full wall wash are named and priced, so nothing appears for the first time on the day.
• The handover: open 7 days from 8am to 10pm, with same-day availability and a reply within 30 minutes.
• The people: £2m public liability, vetted cleaners, and a team that brings its own equipment and eco products.
• The record: 5.0 on Google, there for you to read.

That is Ivory describing Ivory, so ask every company the same questions and go with the answers you can check. The same method applies to the whole company, in best cleaning company in London, and to a deep clean, in best deep cleaning service in London. For a ranked shortlist with the sources behind it, Ivory has also written best cleaning companies in London.

Ivory has a London team covering all 32 London boroughs and the City of London, listed on the areas page. To get a price, send the postcode, the size of the property and the day the keys go back through the contact page.