to only do the washing up/put dishwasher on and no other cleaning on departing our holiday cottage?

[bibbitybobbityyhat]

Oh and empty bins?

Just having a week away in a not inexpensive cottage. Have to be out by 10 on the last day, am planning to leave nothing dirty lying around (apart from sheets, obvs) but shan't be doing any actual cleaning either.

That's not unreasonable is it?

Depends on what the terms of your rental says, really.

No. They will be cleaning ready for the next guests so why would you? I wouldn't leave it a mess, but it doesn't sound like you've done that.

I think that's fine. We left a holiday cottage last week and did the same - bin empty, fridge and cupboards empty, dirty towels all in one place, dishwasher washing remaining crockery form breakfast.

Not unreasonable. They will have a cleaner employed.

The dishwasher should be empty. And you should clean any excess dirt, like mud on the floor and the loos etc.

They might take cleaning money from your deposit. I've recently seen a FB post on someone's cottage page review section where they didn't get it back due to the dirty toilet and muddy floors.

Are there any instructions to do any more? We have been to lots of holiday lets, some have a list of what to do on departure others didn't say anything.

have you paid a deposit that you need returning that might be affected?

You should leave holiday cottages tidy, and make sure there is no washing up left.

That is all.

Part of the money you pay to hire it, is for a cleaner to come in and clean before the next arrival. That's why you have to be out by 10am. Of course you are not expected to clean.

Surely that's the perks of a holiday.

But ask the letting agent if you're unsure. They most likely have cleaners.

Sounds fine.

I can't not help clean all the way through. We go to a beautiful cottage every year and know the owners and would be embarrassed to leave it any other way.

Dh says I'm crackers 😂😂😂

One we went to in Portsmouth said we could clean it ourselves on departure or pay an extra £60 for them to get the cleaner in.

I chose wrong.

I strip the beds, Hoover round quickly, make sure no dirty pots or toilets. That's all. We pay a premium for 'extra' cleaning when we take the dog so I'm certainly not doing an hour or more cleaning of the whole place.

I don't deep clean like I would at home but I empty bins/ fridge/ dishwasher, wipe round kitchen, rinse bathroom and hoover round to get the sand / grass off. Just the basics in case we ever want to go back

I usually strip the beds, empty bins and obv don't leave washing up. I do leave the dishwasher on with the last load in though.

No I never do. I leave it tidy and empty dishwasher but that's it. We came back from a week in Devon in a cottage and got our housekeeping bond back the next day so I guess they found that reasonable

I think it is common courtesy to leave it visually as you found it.

I strip the beds, empty bins into wheelie bins (if i can find them), wash up dishes and leave them to dry, leave towels in the bath tub, tidy up too

When we've stayed in rented houses we've always stripped the beds as requested in the literature.

YANBU
I wouldn't leave a place in a state, but neither would I be hoovering or dusting unless there is a charge if I don't.

A big group of us rent a Highlands house every year and we always strip the beds and put all the laundry by the machine, empty all bins and take recycling to where it should go, take all perishable foodstuffs away, leaving anything that could be used again and won't spoil (herbs, oil, unused loo rolls, unused kitchen towels), chuck all the tea towels in the wash and vacuum our way out.

Oh and out away all dishes, all furniture back where it started out and clean over the worktops.

I once had my deposit withheld as the toilet was dirty and the cleaner had to clean it! I had hoovered through, place was neat and tidy otherwise. There were no instructions to clean before we left and the cottage wasn't cheap. If you rent a cottage out to 6 people do you expect them not to use the toilet?!
I got the deposit back, ridiculous.

Check with the letting agency. We own a holiday property and incorporate the cost of cleaning, linen and towels into the price. Our housekeeper is mortally offended if people do any cleaning and does it all anyway regardless. So I wouldn't bother if I were you.