In 2016, the number of renters overtook the number of homeowners in London for the first time. This tendency continues in 2022. The reasons are pretty obvious. End of tenancy cleaning cost
With the city’s population growing every year, the housing supply can’t keep up with the demand. Naturally, this drives property prices up and makes them unaffordable for most people.
Renting seems to be the only option for more than 50% of Londoners. And that number is expected to rise to 60% by 2025.
With such a high number of tenants, there’s been a natural increase in the demand for end of tenancy cleaning services in London.
Landlords want to get their property back in the best possible condition. Tenants want to get their security deposits back. It seems like a match made in heaven.
Yet people want to get the best value for their money. And with the average end of tenancy cleaning prices hovering at over 200 quid, it’s not hard to imagine why.
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End of tenancy cleaning is the process of deep cleaning a property at the end of a tenancy. It’s the tenant’s responsibility to perform this thorough cleaning, otherwise, they risk losing their deposit (or at least a part of it).
Seems simple and straightforward enough. Yet end of tenancy cleaning is usually the Apple of Discord between tenants and landlords.
Landlords expect to find the property in the same condition it was when the tenants moved in. This especially pertains to the level of cleanliness.
Tenants, on the other hand, feel they’ve done a good enough job at cleaning the property themselves. A dispute ensues.
The landlord refuses to give part of the deposit back. They whip out the landlord inventory (which usually includes photos) and claim the property is in a worse condition.
At this point, tenants feel the landlord is being unreasonable. They need their deposit back since they need to pay the deposit for their new place. The situation is getting out of hand.
You can see how easily something so minor can escalate. It’s unpleasant for everyone involved. This is where professional end of tenancy cleaning comes in.
Once tenants book end of tenancy cleaning with a cleaning company, they’re off the hook as far as cleanliness goes. Needless to say, cleaning companies can’t fix damage to the property. So if your dog’s chewed out the sofa, that’s not something any cleaning company can help you with. But those tea stains on the carpet can probably get out.
An invoice from a cleaning company is usually enough to get landlords off the tenants’ back. Even if the landlord is not happy for some reason, there’s a 72-hour guarantee, so the cleaners will come back and re-clean the property if needs be.
Note: If you’re a tenant, your landlord can’t force you to hire a professional cleaning company under the Tenant Fees Act 2019. You can do so at your own accord and for your own convenience, but neither your landlord nor the letting agent can make you.
The average cost for end of tenancy cleaning in London is £225. That number doesn’t say a whole lot, though.
Let’s break it down according to property size and actual prices you can find on the market. The prices below are based on market research in 2022.
Property type | Property size | Price range* |
Flat | Studio | From £94 -£161 |
Flat | 1 bedroom (1 bathroom) | From £114 -£161 |
Flat | 2 bedrooms (1 bathroom) | From £139-£226 |
Flat | 2 bedrooms (2 bathrooms) | From £143-£258 |
Flat | 3 bedrooms (1 bathroom) | From £181-£258 |
Flat | 3 bedrooms (2 bathrooms) | From £181-£322 |
Flat | 3 bedrooms (3 bathrooms) | From £181-£387 |
Flat | 4 bedrooms | From £203-£451 |
Most companies only list end of tenancy cleaning prices for flats. This is intentional because the price of the service for houses is 15% higher, on average.
By only listing flats, they make their prices seem lower than they actually are. With this in mind, here’s our estimate of the end of tenancy cleaning prices for houses in London.
Property type | Property size | Price range* |
House | 1 bedroom (1 bathroom) | From £145-£185 |
House | 2 bedrooms (1 bathroom) | From £165-£259 |
House | 2 bedrooms (2 bathrooms) | From £165-£299 |
House | 3 bedrooms (1 bathroom) | From £209-£299 |
House | 3 bedrooms (2 bathrooms) | From £209-£369 |
House | 3 bedrooms (3 bathrooms) | From £209-£449 |
House | 4 bedrooms | From £239-£519 |
You can check out our own end of tenancy cleaning prices here. We’re not the cheapest company on the market and we don’t want to be. We believe our cleaners and our clients deserve more than the bare minimum and our prices reflect that.
As you can see, there’s quite a bit of range. I should note these are minimum or starting prices. The actual quotes are going to be higher. Yet this should give you an idea of how much your end of tenancy cleaning is roughly going to cost.
There’s a variety of pricing factors when it comes to cleaning services and end of tenancy is no exception. One thing is for certain – end of tenancy cleaning costs a fraction of the deposit.
Also, bear in mind some companies cut corners in order to keep prices low. So before you make up your mind about which company you want to hire, be sure to research them first.
Even if you have to make an upfront payment, it’s not a problem if the company is legitimate.
When I say end of tenancy cleaning is a detailed, top-to-bottom cleaning service, I mean it. Here’s a comprehensive (but not complete) list of what you’re getting for the cost of end of tenancy cleaning service.
The kitchen is usually the room that takes the most time to clean. Even if you clean it regularly, there are always limescale deposits, grease, mould, and dirt in places people rarely think about. This is what a detailed kitchen cleaning looks like:
Bedrooms also need special attention. While they’re usually the best-maintained rooms in an average home, they’re still some specifics people often miss. This is what I’m talking about:
The bathroom(s) compete with the kitchen on which is more difficult to clean. The number of bathrooms affects the end of tenancy cleaning price. While the bathroom doesn’t present the same level of greasiness as your average kitchen, there’s a whole other set of challenges that need to be addressed. Here’s what I’m talking about:
The reception room is the place where we entertain visitors. So naturally, it’s oftentimes the best looking since we want to put our best foot forward. However, it still needs a detailed cleaning, included in the end of tenancy cleaning price. Here’s what I mean:
Finally, the high-traffic areas. Here’s what we do:
As you can see, quite a bit of work goes into end of tenancy cleaning. It will take you quite a while to do this all on your own. There are many parts people simply forget. Those are the parts landlords love the most. It gives them the justification to withhold a part of the deposit or even the whole thing.
End of tenancy cleaning seems to be expensive at first. However, once you factor in all the benefits, in some cases you’re practically making money off of it.
Cleaning is the top reason deposits get slashed or outright withheld. But when you hire a cleaning company, you’re guaranteed this will be a non-issue. Since every reputable company offers a re-clean in case of any issues, your landlord can’t withhold your deposit on the grounds of cleaning.
Even if for some reason they do, you have a strong leg to stand on in the dispute. However, if you do your own cleaning, it’s a lot harder to argue you did a good job. You risk losing the lion’s share of your deposit to cover the cost of end of tenancy cleaning and your landlord will be very happy about it.
Many people think cleaning is easy. Many people are wrong. In order to do a good job, you need to know what you’re doing. You need a system. Also, you need to know how to combine different cleaning detergents and not poison yourself.
On top of that, end of tenancy cleaning is not your typical cleaning on the weekend. It’s a deep, top-to-bottom cleaning that requires you to seriously apply yourself.
This means you need to work your fingers to the bone for hours on end. Furthermore, if the property was professionally cleaned before you moved in, you need to match that level of cleanliness. You need to match the level of people who do this for a living. I’m not saying it’s not possible, but it’s going to take a lot of work.
Moving is stressful. It requires a lot of organization. That’s why many people use real estate agencies and moving companies to ease their burden. Adding a cleaning agency on top of that isn’t going to increase the expenses that much. But it will ensure you don’t lose time off work.
If you don’t manage to do all your cleaning on the weekend, you will have to take a day off to finish it. Unless you love cleaning, I seriously doubt you want to spend your day off scrubbing, sweeping, wiping, and washing.
On the other hand, if you work in a competitive environment, losing time off work comes with its own cons. Even if you seem to be saving money for the end of tenancy cleaning cost by doing it yourself, you might be wasting an opportunity at work. Not to mention the deposit risk.
Last, but not least, you don’t need to worry about cleaning materials, equipment, and insurance. Reputable companies will take care of everything for you.
This means they’ll use quality detergents (unless they skimped on those to keep prices low), professional equipment (especially important for carpet cleaning), and they’ll be insured (because accidents do happen).
Moving is stressful enough as it is. You don’t need to add cleaning to the mix for some extra anxiety. As you can see, end of tenancy cleaning prices in London are very competitive, but that doesn’t mean the cheapest route is the most valuable. If you need help, we’re always here to lend you a hand.
Hi, I’m Atanas - brand consultant and writer. I’m helping Samyx Cleaning create the best cleaning company blog on the Internet. Join us on our journey and learn how to live a cleaner, healthier, happier life in the process.
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