It is believed that by the end of 2021 nearly a quarter of all households in the UK will be privately rented. In the USA there are nearly 45 million rented properties, a number that has been steadily rising since 1975. This means that at any given time there are billions of dollars in property deposits being held by landlords at any one time. The problem with this is at the end of a tenancy agreement there can sometimes be an argument over how much of the deposit is to be returned. Many landlords have refused to hand back deposits because they believe the property has been damaged or is not fit to be rented out again immediately.

Although you may be unfortunate enough to rent from an unscrupulous landlord there are some ways that you can protect yourself and reduce the risk of your deposit being kept back. One of these is to hire a professional service to restore your temporary home to the standard it was when you rented. 

How does rental property work?

When you rent a property it will normally be for a set period. That may be 6 months or 12 months, normally, but you may have a contract drawn up for a different length of time. When you first sign the contract you will generally be obliged to pay a deposit, this will typically be a month or 6 weeks rent paid as a means of security for the landlord. The reason for this is to make sure that all the rent and bills are paid up to date and that if there was any damage to the property – say broken windows – then the landlord would have some protection. At the end of the tenancy, there will be an inspection, and all being well, the landlord will return your deposit in full. This will depend on the condition of the property including how clean it is. 

What is an end of tenancy clean?

Simply put, when your tenancy ends you will need to clean your property. There could be issues where you feel the property is clean enough and the landlord disagrees and then hires cleaning services to bring the standard up. These services could include inflated prices and will be deducted from your deposit. But, by hiring your own end of tenancy cleaning services you will be in control of how much you spend and you can be assured that the property is as clean as the day you moved in and quite possibly cleaner. 

Who could use an end of tenancy cleaning service?

Anyone who is renting any kind of property, including flats, apartments, condos, studios, and houses. However, there is no reason why a property owner couldn’t use this service to perform a deep clean on their home too. For a private landlord who lives in a different region or even abroad this service could be employed by them to make sure their property is brought up to standard and make it easier to rent again. This could bring peace of mind to someone who lives hundreds or thousands of kilometers away knowing their property is in safe hands. 

Why would you need this service?

Anyone can clean but there are many benefits of professional house cleaning services that you may not be able to match yourself. Consider cleaning a two-bedroom apartment by yourself or with your partner. You would need to buy all the cleaning products and then scrub the place from top to bottom all the while needing to tend to your daily routines including work or other activities. A professional service will send in a dedicated team with years of experience who will do all those horrible jobs like degreasing the cooker that you would probably rather avoid and they will supply everything needed to complete the job to agency standards. Your life can be made much easier by hiring a company to clean the property and they will do this during hours that suit you. This means they can clean while you are at work or visiting family. You can go about your plans for the day knowing that while you are away the cleaning team is doing their job and making your rental home shine.  

Advantages for hiring an end of tenancy cleaning service

There are multiple reasons for hiring a professional cleaning team and here are some of them: 

• They work to agency-approved checklists
• You can add on other services at discount rates
• They are insured
• All workers are vetted and experienced
• They work to a set price not hourly
• They are guaranteed
• They clean while you are out
• They may save all your deposit

These services work to standards approved by rental agencies meaning they know what will be expected in the property inspection. If you feel the carpet needs cleaning or the outside of the windows then you can add these services on and usually at a discounted rate. If something is damaged during the clean then there will be compensation paid as the cleaning service is insured against this, so there will be no issue with the landlord. The price is set so you know exactly what you are paying and also the service is guaranteed so that if you spot something not clean they will return and fix the problem. Often this guarantee lasts for up to 72 hours. 

What areas will this type of service clean?

They will clean the following areas in your home, if applicable:

• Bathrooms
• Kitchen
• Bedrooms
• Entrance hall, hallway, and stairs
• Living room
• Dining room

While you may know many tips for cleaning your home a professional team will know even more and they will dust, wipe, vacuum, polish, degrease, remove mold, limescale, and scorched food from worktops and cookers. Put simply they will clean inside, outside, under, behind, and above of everything in your home. 

Are there any disadvantages to using this service?

If you lived in a very low-rent property with a small deposit then you may consider it unnecessary to use one of these services. Financially it may not make sense if your deposit was only a couple of weeks rent. And especially if you lived in London, in an area that would incur the congestion charge and parking fees, on top of the cleaning price. Most deposits, however, are much higher than a couple of week’s rent and the majority of renters will want to get their money back to put towards their next home. So there are very few disadvantages to using this service unless you want to put hours and hours of work in yourself to save money on cleaning. 

Summary

In the UK there is a Government tenancy deposit protection scheme where a tenant’s deposit is held until both landlord and tenant agree on how much deposit should be returned. This scheme, while designed to protect the tenant still leads to many disputes, and using a professional cleaning service can greatly increase your chances of the whole deposit being returned.

By hiring a professional service you will save yourself time, have your home cleaned with a guarantee, and feel confident when it becomes time for your home inspection.