A cleaning claim should address a proven difference in condition. It should not be a standard charge imposed on every departing tenant.
Compare like with like
- Check ovens, bathrooms, floors and other claimed areas against the starting evidence.
- Distinguish dirt from permanent wear, staining or a repair defect.
- Consider corrections the tenant made to the initial inventory.
Define the work
- Specify which areas need cleaning and why.
- Obtain a proportionate cost rather than charging for a whole-house service when only one item needs attention.
- Avoid claiming work that improves beyond the documented starting cleanliness.
Resolve the claim
- Send the evidence and calculation, allowing the tenant to respond.
- Credit any agreed correction and return undisputed money through the scheme.
- Keep the final invoice or other cost evidence where available.
Specify the work and the evidence for its cost
Photographs should show the condition of the particular item or area, not merely that someone attended.
- Identify the affected oven, bathroom, flooring or other area and the check-in standard. Explain what additional cleaning was reasonably required at check-out.
- Separate that work from decoration, routine maintenance and improvements. Retain an itemised quote or invoice; an unexplained whole-house charge is difficult to assess.
- Apply the country's fee restrictions and the actual scheme rules. A professional-cleaning clause is not permission to demand a higher standard than the evidenced starting condition.
Example: only the oven needs additional cleaning
A fictional checkout shows an otherwise clean flat and a dirty oven that was clean at handover. Assess the reasonable oven-cleaning cost. A full-property deep-clean package is not automatically justified.
What to do
- Compare the same areas against check-in evidence.
- Identify the cleaning actually required.
- Provide a reasonable itemised cost and use the scheme process.
Evidence to keep
- Check-in and checkout descriptions and photographs.
- Cleaning scope, quote or invoice and tenant response.
Sources and guidance
- Tenant Fees Act: current statutory guidanceUK Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Renting Homes (Fees, Discrimination etc.) (Wales) Act 2019Welsh Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Taking a deposit as a private landlordScottish Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Deposit protection schemes and landlordsUK Government · checked 20 October 2026
- Fair wear, betterment and reasonable deposit claimsDeposit Protection Service: scheme guidance · checked 20 October 2026
- Deposit dispute resolution and evidenceDeposit Protection Service: England and Wales scheme process · checked 20 October 2026