The end of tenancy cleaning checklist Bristol landlords actually use

When a tenancy ends in Bristol, the checkout inspection is quick and it is predictable. An inventory clerk walks the property with the check-in report and marks anything that has changed. Cleaning is where most deposits are lost, because it is the one thing a tenant controls completely and often runs out of time for. This is the standard they are checking against.

How the checkout works

Your tenancy agreement almost certainly says the property must be returned cleaned to a professional standard, or to the standard recorded at check-in. The clerk is not judging whether the home is tidy. They are comparing its condition, room by room, against photographs taken the day you moved in. Fair wear and tear is expected. A dirty oven is not wear and tear.

If cleaning is flagged, the agent or landlord can deduct the cost of putting it right from your deposit, usually at professional rates. Getting it right yourself, or booking it, is almost always cheaper than losing it from the deposit.

Kitchen: where deposits are won and lost

The kitchen is the single most disputed room. Work through it in this order:

1. Oven inside and out: racks, door glass, the roof of the cavity, the grill and the grill pan
2. Extractor hood and the metal filter, which usually lifts out and can be soaked
3. Hob, including under the burners or around the ceramic surround
4. Behind and underneath the cooker, fridge and washing machine, as far as they pull out safely
5. Inside the fridge and freezer, fully defrosted and dried, with the seals wiped
6. Inside every cupboard and drawer, and the tops of the wall units
7. Worktops and splashbacks descaled, not just wiped
8. Sink, taps and plughole, with limescale removed
9. Bin cleaned inside and out
10. Floor washed, including the edges and the gap beside the units

Bathrooms

• Limescale removed from taps, shower screen, tiles and shower head
• Grout scrubbed, and treated where it has gone mouldy
• Toilet cleaned inside, under the rim, and behind the base where it meets the floor
• Extractor fan cover dusted
• Mirror and any glass shelves polished
• Inside the cabinet and vanity unit
• Sealant around the bath and basin wiped down
• Floor washed into the corners

Living areas and bedrooms

• Skirting boards, door frames and the tops of doors
• Light switches, sockets and the light fittings themselves
• Window sills, frames and the inside of the glass
• Inside all wardrobes, drawers and storage
• Radiators, including the backs and the grilles along the top
• Cobwebs from ceiling corners and coving
• Carpets vacuumed thoroughly, and professionally cleaned if that is what the check-in report shows
• Marks removed from walls where they lift without taking the paint

The bits people forget

• The loft hatch and the meter cupboard
• Curtain rails, and the tops of curtains or blinds
• The inside of the front door and the letterbox
• Any outside space in the tenancy: patio swept, bins rinsed
• Keys returned clean and complete, including window keys

Doing it yourself, or booking it

A two-bedroom Bristol flat takes a team most of a working day to bring to checkout standard, and that is with the right products and a van full of equipment. If you are doing it yourself, start two days before the check-in, do the oven first and let the cleaner soak while you work elsewhere, and photograph every room when you finish.

Our end of tenancy clean works through this whole list room by room. Inside-oven, inside-fridge and freezer, and interior window cleaning are add-ons rather than part of the standard clean, so tell us if you want them included and we will build them into the quote. If the checkout report flags anything, we come back and re-clean it free of charge, as long as the property has not been used again in the meantime.