How to get your full deposit back with a move-out clean

Deposits are rarely lost on obvious mess. They are lost on the eight or nine specific items on the agent's inspection sheet, and most of them are hidden.

The oven is first on nearly every checklist. So is the extractor filter, which many tenants have never removed. Cupboard interiors are next, including the runners and the corners where crumbs collect.

Bathrooms are judged on limescale and grout, not on whether the basin is wiped. Silicone that has gone black will be flagged regardless of how clean the rest of the room is.

Many leases specifically require professional carpet cleaning with proof of service. Read your lease before you assume a vacuum is enough — an invoice is often the actual requirement.

If you are short on time, send the agent's checklist to us on WhatsApp. We clean directly from it so the inspection has nothing to catch.