End of Tenancy Cleaning Checklist: What London Inventory Clerks Check (2026)

An end of tenancy clean passes when every room matches the check-in report, allowing for fair wear and tear. The kitchen and bathrooms get the closest look: the oven, the extractor hood, limescale, grout and sealant. After that, clerks check the places people forget, such as the tops of door frames, window tracks and the inside of cupboards.

Work through the list below room by room, with your check-in report open beside you, because that report is the standard the clerk will use. For prices, see our end of tenancy cleaning cost guide. For when to do each step, see the move-out cleaning timeline.

How does a check-out inspection work?

The inventory clerk, or the letting agent, walks through the empty property and compares each room with how the check-in report described and photographed it. Anything dirtier than at check-in is noted, usually with a photo, and can become a claim against your deposit. Three things follow:

• The check-in report sets the bar. If it describes the oven or the carpets as professionally cleaned, the clerk will expect the same standard back.
• Clerks look where dirt hides. Expect them to open the oven, pull out drawers, look under the sink and check the tops of frames and units.
• Smells count. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme's Director of Resolution has pointed to smoke, pet and cooking odours as a source of cleaning disputes (NRLA, 2022). Air the property well in the final days.

Kitchen checklist

The kitchen takes the longest. Work from the top down, so dust and crumbs fall onto surfaces you have not cleaned yet.

• Oven: the inside walls, roof and floor, the racks and shelf runners, the grill pan, the door seal and both sides of the door glass. Soak the racks in an oven cleaning bag or a bucket, following the product label.
• Hob: the burners, pan supports and the gap around the edge. On a ceramic or induction hob, use a scraper made for glass hobs and a hob cream rather than a scourer.
• Extractor hood: the outside, the underside and the grease filter. Metal filters can usually be soaked in hot water with a degreaser. Charcoal filters are normally replaced, not washed, so check the manual.
• Fridge and freezer: emptied, defrosted and washed inside, including the drawers, door shelves and rubber seals.
• Cupboards and drawers: inside and out, plus the tops of wall units and the plinths along the floor.
• Worktops, splashback and tiles: degreased, with the grout behind the hob scrubbed.
• Sink and taps: limescale removed from the taps and around their base, with the plughole and overflow cleaned.
• Appliances: the washing machine detergent drawer and door seal, the dishwasher filter, the inside of the microwave, and the kettle descaled.
• Bin and floor: the bin washed and empty, and the floor mopped into the corners and under the cupboard edges.

A heavily carbonised oven can take hours by hand. Our end of tenancy clean includes the oven inside and out in the fixed price, so you can leave that job to us.

Bathroom checklist

Bathrooms are where London's hard water shows. Thames Water, which supplies much of London, says all the water in its region is hard (Thames Water). Limescale builds up on taps, shower screens and toilets, and a clerk will photograph it.

• Taps, shower head and screen: apply a limescale remover, leave it for the time on the label, then rinse and dry. A shower head can soak in a bag of descaler tied over it. Keep acids, including vinegar, off marble and other natural stone.
• Bath, basin and toilet: including under the rim, the seat hinges, the base of the toilet and the pipe behind it.
• Tiles, grout and sealant: soap scum removed and grout scrubbed. Mould is not part of a cleaning service and is not treated (see below).
• Extractor fan: the cover wiped and the grille free of dust.
• Mirrors, cabinets and shelves: clean inside and out, with no streaks on the glass.
• Plugholes: hair cleared from the bath, basin and shower trap.
• Floor: mopped, including behind the toilet and along the bath panel.

For a step-by-step method on heavy build-up, read our guide to removing limescale in London bathrooms.

Bedroom, living room and hallway checklist

• Wardrobes and chests of drawers: inside, on top and behind, with drawers emptied and any lining paper removed if it was not there at check-in.
• Skirting boards, doors, handles and door frames, tops included.
• Light switches, sockets and light fittings, with dead insects removed from the shades.
• Windows on the inside: glass, frames, sills and the tracks of sash or sliding windows.
• Radiators, including the gap at the back and the valves.
• Curtains and blinds, dusted or washed to match the check-in report.
• Walls: scuffs wiped where the paint allows. Test a hidden spot first, because rubbing matt paint can leave a shiny patch.
• Floors: carpets vacuumed to the edges and under the beds, hard floors mopped.
• Hallway and storage: the cupboard under the stairs, the meter cupboard, coat hooks and the inside of the front door, letterbox included.

A furnished flat adds the furniture itself, so compare the mattress, sofa, table and chairs with the check-in photos. If carpets or upholstery are stained compared with the start of the tenancy, consider professional carpet and upholstery cleaning before the inspection.

What do tenants most often miss?

These small jobs are where a clean-looking flat still picks up deductions, and each takes minutes.

1. The tops of door frames, wardrobes and kitchen wall units.
2. The grill pan and the storage drawer under the oven.
3. The extractor hood filter.
4. Window tracks and the corners of the sills.
5. The washing machine drawer and the rubber door seal.
6. Limescale around the base of the taps and under the toilet rim.
7. Light shades and fittings.
8. Belongings left behind in drawers, under beds or in the meter cupboard.
9. Outside space: the balcony swept, plant pots removed and the bins emptied.

How do you clean safely at the end of a tenancy?

Use one product at a time and rinse the surface before switching to another. The Health and Safety Executive warns never to add other chemicals to products that contain bleach, because this can give off chlorine gas, and advises gloves, good ventilation and following the label (HSE). This matters most in bathrooms, where a bleach spray and an acidic limescale remover often sit on the same shelf.

For mould on sealant or around windows, government guidance says to use mould and mildew products in preference to bleach, to wear a mask, gloves and goggles, and to leave larger areas to qualified professionals (GOV.UK). It also notes that removing surface mould will not stop it coming back. If mould keeps returning, tell your landlord in writing before you leave, so they know about the damp before the check-out. Our cleaners do not treat mould, because removing it properly needs specialist products or building work.

What should you do before handing back the keys?

Do a last walk-through with this list once the property is empty and the clean is finished. Open every cupboard, the oven and the fridge. Then photograph each room from the doorway and close up on the oven, hob, sink, toilet and shower, so you have your own record to set against the check-out report.

After that, keep the property unused until the inspection. If we did the clean, send us the agent's cleaning points within 72 hours of our finish time, and we return to put them right at no charge.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to clean the outside of the windows?

Usually you clean the inside glass, frames and sills, plus any outside glass you can reach safely, such as from a balcony or at ground level. Check your tenancy agreement and check-in report for anything more. Never lean out of an upper-floor window to reach the outside; if the agreement asks for external glass on upper floors, that is a job for a window cleaner.

What if the flat was not clean when I moved in?

You only need to return the property in the condition recorded in the check-in report, allowing for fair wear and tear. If the report notes a greasy oven or limescale on the taps, the clerk should not expect better at check-out. Keep a copy of the report and any photos from your first week, and point to them if a deduction seems unfair.

Should I leave the fridge switched on?

Ask your agent, because practice varies. Some want the fridge cleaned, switched off and left with the door open so mould and smells cannot build up. Others prefer it left running for the next tenant. Either way, empty it, wash the shelves and seals, and dry it fully before the inspection.

Prefer to hand the whole list over? Book an end of tenancy clean online at a fixed price confirmed before the day, or read about moving out in Lambeth.