End of tenancy cleaning checklist: what letting agents actually check

Moving out is stressful enough without the worry of what an inspector will find when they walk through your old home with a clipboard. The good news is that letting agents are remarkably consistent about what they check at the end of a tenancy. Once you know where they look, you can clean with purpose rather than panic. As a local, family-run cleaning team working across Torquay, Paignton, Brixham, Newton Abbot, Totnes and the wider South Hams, we have seen hundreds of check-out reports, and the same items come up again and again. Here is exactly what gets inspected, room by room, and how to give yourself the best possible chance of a clean pass.

The kitchen: where most deductions happen

The kitchen is the single biggest source of cleaning disputes, and the oven is almost always the first thing checked. Inspectors open the door, look at the glass, the racks, the interior walls and the grill. Baked-on grease is obvious and hard to fake your way past, so this is the one job worth doing thoroughly or handing over to a professional.

• Oven interior - glass, racks, walls and the grill pan, all free of carbon and grease.
• Hob and extractor - the extractor fan and its filters collect a surprising amount of sticky residue. Inspectors do check behind the grease guard.
• Fridge and freezer - emptied, defrosted, wiped inside and out, including the seals and salad drawers. Leave the doors ajar if the appliance is being switched off.
• Inside cupboards and drawers - crumbs, sticky rings and forgotten items are all noted. Pull out the drawers and wipe the runners.
• Worktops and splashbacks - in our hard water area, limescale around the tap and on tiled splashbacks is one of the most common flags.

Bathrooms: limescale is the giveaway

South Devon has notably hard water, so limescale builds up faster here than in many parts of the country. Inspectors know this and look closely. Taps, shower screens, tiles and around the base of the toilet all get scrutinised.

• All limescale - taps, showerheads, screens, tile grout and around plugholes. A cloudy shower screen reads as dirty even when it is just mineral deposit.
• Toilet - under the rim, behind the pan and the base, not just the bowl.
• Extractor fans - the bathroom extractor often hides a thick layer of dust. It gets checked.
• Sealant and grout - mould spotting in the corners is noted, though heavy black staining can sometimes count as wear rather than dirt.

Every room: the details that catch people out

Beyond the obvious surfaces, check-out reports go into a level of detail that surprises most tenants. These are the items people genuinely forget.

• Skirting boards - wiped along the top edge where dust settles, all the way round.
• Window tracks and frames - the runners collect grit, dead flies and, near the coast, a film of salt. Inspectors run a finger along them.
• Windows - interior glass cleaned and smear-free. Condensation marks on the glass and frames are common in our coastal climate.
• Walls and scuff marks - light marks around switches, behind furniture and along hallways. Gentle removal is fine, but avoid scrubbing paint off.
• Doors and handles - finger marks around handles and light switches.
• Floors - hard floors mopped into the corners, carpets vacuumed thoroughly.
• Light fittings and dust - cobwebs in ceiling corners, dusty light shades and the tops of door frames.

A few practical tips before the clean

A little preparation makes the whole job faster and the result better.

• Empty the property first. For an end of tenancy clean to be done properly, the home needs to be completely empty of furniture and belongings. We cannot clean inside a cupboard that is still full, or a floor that is still covered.
• Dig out your check-in inventory. It tells you the standard the property was in when you arrived, which is the standard you are being measured against.
• Tackle limescale early. A good limescale remover often needs time to sit, so it is not a last-minute job.
• Do not forget outside. If you have a garden, patio or bin store, clear it of rubbish and leftover items. It is part of the property.

What about carpets?

Carpet cleaning is a separate, specialist task and is treated as an add-on rather than part of a standard end of tenancy clean. If your tenancy agreement or check-in report mentions professionally cleaned carpets, it is worth arranging this, as a thorough vacuum will not match a machine clean. Just let us know in advance so we can plan for it.

Our 48-hour come-back

Even the most careful clean can occasionally miss something that an inspector spots from a different angle. If your letting agent flags anything within 48 hours of the clean, we come back and put it right at no extra charge. It is a simple, fair way of making sure the property meets the standard, and it takes a lot of the worry out of the process for you.

End of tenancy cleaning is one of those jobs that rewards experience, because knowing where inspectors look is half the battle. If you would rather hand the whole thing over and focus on your move, we are happy to help. For a free, no-pressure quote, give our friendly local team a call on 01803 500721 and we will talk you through exactly what your clean would cover.