Kitchen
- Inside oven, including the door glass
- Inside and under the fridge, seals wiped
- Range hood filter degreased
- Inside every cabinet and drawer
- Sink drain and disposal, no odour
Pro edition
Move-Out Inspection Checklist
Written from the tenant’s side, because that is who carries the risk. Print it, walk it, and photograph as you go.
The walk-through
Bathrooms
- Grout and silicone free of mould
- Shower glass free of hard water
- Extractor fan cover dust-free
- Toilet base and fixings, not just the bowl
- Inside the vanity
Living areas
- Walls spot-cleaned, scuffs and hand marks
- Skirting and door frames
- Inside wardrobes and closets
- Window tracks and sills
- Blinds slat by slat
Whole property
- Light fittings and switch plates
- Carpet cleaned or professionally shampooed
- All bulbs working
- Bins emptied and washed
- Keys, fobs and remotes accounted for
Where deposits actually go
- The oven
- The single most-cited deduction in end-of-tenancy disputes. Budget an hour or pay for it.
- Carpet
- A vacuum is not a clean. Many leases specify professional shampooing and name it as a condition.
- Walls
- Marks are cleaning; holes and colour changes are damage. Know which one you are arguing about.
- The garden or balcony
- Routinely forgotten and routinely charged for.
- Limescale
- Reads as neglect rather than dirt, which is why it is judged harshly.
Evidence to take
- Photograph every room wide, then every fail point close, on the day you hand back keys
- Photograph the meter readings with the same timestamp
- Keep the cleaning invoice — an itemised one, naming the property
- Get the inventory clerk’s report in writing, and dispute in writing within the deadline
- Compare against the check-in inventory rather than against your memory