End of tenancy clean

[squirrel42]

I'm moving out of my one bed flat to a different area in a month or so. It's the first time I have rented a whole property before - until now it's been shared houses so I've only been responsible for giving the bedroom and one and a half kitchen cupboards a good clean before I hand back the keys!

I've been a bit spooked by the cleaners that offer an "end of tenancy" cleaning service - they seem to suggest that letting agencies expect flats and houses to be returned to a brand-new fresh-out-of-the-box state. The flat is a bit dated but I seem to remember it being reasonably clean and tidy when I moved in, and I want to make sure that a) the new tenants have it nice and clean for when they move in and b) the letting agency can't sting me for any of the deposit because I didn't de-limescale the shower head!

So does anyone have any advice for what level of cleaning I should be looking at? Do I need to wash down walls, dismantle the washing machine to clean inside the door seals and hoover the understairs cupboard? Would I be expected to clean the outside of the windows? If it's going to be a major chore is it a good investment to hire one of these cleaning companies? Help!

I used carpet shampoo , only a couple of quid from Wilkos and that brought it up nice and clean. Apart From that I agree with others, deep clean kitchen and bathroom. Wipe walls and skirting boards etc congrats on new house

huge thanks to moderators assisting me yesterday! I hate being sloppy.

So, I did decent research and quite a few phone calls for the last few days (top 10 google companies) and.. According to these two guides End of tenancy cleaning - TheTenantsVoice and End of Tenancy Cleaning Tips 101, my landlord can NOT force me, nor my room mates to hire professionals, BUT according to Professional Tips for DIY Tenancy Cleaning we should have started this at least 2 weeks prior to moving out and we only have a bit over a week (which is infact the #1 thing that worries me the most right now). From all the phone calls, I've narrowed my list to cleaners who guarantee my deposit refund and should reclean within 72 hours: fantastic cleaning, these move out mates, a company called domestic cleaners (but they do tenancy jobs) and strong moving. all 4 gave me estimates ranging from 300 to 360 quid and all 4 said they can do it either this or next weekend. We are 4 tenants in total and splitting the cost sounds sort of reasonable, considering the deposit amount, BUT here's comes my next question: Could we, and if yes, should we, and if so, what is the best way to ask our landlord to cover at least some of the cost? I found another 2 forums where I plan to ask the same thing, but I'm running out of time and I should literally do this by Friday! Need advice fast! ty

Hi Dmitri, I guess you have resolved this issue now and moved!

It is highly unlikely that your landlord will meet any portion of the costs since he possibly had to pay for the place to be cleaned before you moved in. I might be wrong though...

Good luck in your new home anyway!

I've never paid for a cleaner to do it.

I bleach the bathroom, clean the kitchen, vacuum, mop and bugger off.