Can a Landlord Charge for Cleaning? Deposit Deductions at the End of a Tenancy
The figures in the worked example are made up.
A landlord can't make a tenant pay for a professional clean, but can deduct the cost of getting the home as clean as at check-in. The rules and the evidence.
- Category
- Lettings
- Who it is for
- Landlords, letting agents and tenants in England
- Time to set up
- Two hours at each new tenancy, one hour at check-out
- Saves or earns
- About £275 a disputed tenancy, and up to three times the deposit in penalties avoided
01The Problem
The tenant has moved out, the oven is black and there is limescale on every tap. You want the cost of the clean taken out of the deposit. You can do that, but only for what it costs to get the home back to how clean it was on the day they moved in, and only if you can prove both states.
The rules in England:
You Can't Make a Tenant Pay for a Professional Clean
The Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans any payment a landlord or agent requires that the Act doesn't allow, and a cleaning fee isn't on the allowed list. The government's guidance is plain: "You cannot require a tenant to pay for a professional clean when they check-out." A tenancy clause that says the tenant must have the home professionally cleaned, or must pay a set cleaning charge, isn't binding on the tenant. Taking such a fee can lead to a council fine.
You Can Ask for a Professional Standard
You may ask that the home is cleaned to a professional standard, but you can't make them use a particular company. The tenant must give the home back as they found it, apart from fair wear and tear.
You Can Claim the Real Cost if They Don't
If the home isn't left as clean as it was, you can claim the cost of putting it right from the deposit. The guidance says to back it with evidence, such as an independent inventory, receipts and invoices.
Wear and Tear Never Covers Dirt
Fair wear and tear means things that wear out with normal use: a flattened carpet in a doorway, faded curtains, light marks on paint. Grease, limescale, crumbs, hair and a dirty fridge are dirt, and dirt can be charged for.
You Can Only Charge Back to the Check-In Standard
If the home wasn't properly clean when the tenant moved in, you can't charge to make it cleaner than it was.
The same goes for carpets. You can't make a tenant pay for a professional carpet clean because the tenancy says so, however long they lived there. If the carpets were clean at the start (ideally with a dated invoice) and are now stained or smell of pets or smoke, you can claim what it costs to get them back to that state, less a fair amount for normal wear.
Cleaning is the most common fight over a deposit. In the year to March 2025, the Tenancy Deposit Scheme counted 46,950 formal disputes across England and Wales, about 1 in every 100 protected deposits. The average deposit was £1,175. Cleaning came up in 54 per cent of disputes, damage in 49 per cent, redecoration in 31 per cent, gardens in 14 per cent and rent arrears in 10 per cent.
The adjudicator starts from the tenant's side. You have to show, on the balance of probabilities, that each deduction is fair. The adjudicator decides on paper and never visits. Landlords lose for the same few reasons:
No Starting Point
No check-in inventory, or one that says "clean" for every room with no photos.
Leaning on the Cleaning Clause
A charge taken because the tenancy demanded a professional clean, rather than because the home was dirtier than at check-in.
Round Numbers
"General cleaning, £400" with no invoice, no hours and no photos.
New for Old
Claiming the full price of a new carpet or a full repaint. The tenant does not pay for you to end up better off than before.
Getting the Start Wrong
A deposit not protected within 30 days, or no prescribed information given. That turns a cleaning argument into a much bigger bill.
02The Cost
Take a two-bed flat let at £1,300 a month. That is £300 a week, so a five-week deposit is £1,500. The tenant leaves after three years. The oven is thick with grease, there is limescale in the bathroom, the kitchen cupboards and fridge are dirty, one bedroom carpet is stained, there are eight screw holes in the lounge wall where shelves came down, and the lounge walls are scuffed.
The landlord with a thin file relies on the tenancy's professional cleaning clause and claims £1,495: a £450 professional clean, £195 for carpets and £850 to redecorate. The check-in report says only "clean and in good order", with no photos. The clause carries no weight, and without photos the adjudicator can't tell how much dirtier the flat is. A typical outcome is the hole filling (£150) and little else. The landlord gets £150 and pays for the rest.
The landlord with a good file claims item by item:
Oven Clean, £85
Specialist invoice, with check-in photos showing a clean oven.
Kitchen, Fridge and Bathroom, £150
Six hours at £25 an hour, on the cleaner's invoice, with photos of each area.
Bedroom Carpet Stain, £90
A specialist spot clean, cheaper than a new carpet.
Filling and Painting the Eight Holes, £150
A repair, so claimed in full.
Lounge Repaint Share, £180
The quote is £450, the room was painted just before the tenancy and paint is treated as lasting about five years, so two years of life were left: 40 per cent of £450.
That is £655. The adjudicator thinks four hours would have done the cleaning and cuts that item to £100, so the award is £605.
The bigger risk is at the start of the tenancy. If you don't protect the deposit within 30 days, or don't give the prescribed information, the tenant can go to court and the court must order you to pay between one and three times the deposit, on top of protecting or returning it. On a £1,500 deposit that is up to £4,500. Under the Renters' Rights Act rules in force since 1 May 2026, you also can't get a possession order on most grounds until the deposit problem is put right.
03The Fix
Get the Start Right
Protect the deposit within 30 days of taking it and give the prescribed information, then keep proof of both. The most you can take is five weeks' rent where the yearly rent is under £50,000, or six weeks' rent at £50,000 or more.
Write a Cleaning Clause That Works
Ask for the home back "in the same condition and standard of cleanliness as at the start of the tenancy, allowing for fair wear and tear". If you had the home professionally cleaned before move-in, say so and ask for the same standard. Delete any clause that makes the tenant pay for a professional clean or use a named firm.
Clean, Then Record
Have the home properly cleaned before the tenant moves in and keep the dated invoice that lists what was done. Then make the inventory: dated photos and a short video of every room, inside the oven, fridge, freezer, extractor hood, cupboards, shower screen and windows. Record cleanliness separately from condition.
Write Down Ages and Prices
Note when carpets were laid and each room was last painted, and keep the receipts.
Get the Tenant to Sign Within Seven Days
Send the inventory on move-in day and ask the tenant to sign it or send comments in writing within seven days. Add their comments to the file. A signed inventory ends most "it was already like that" arguments.
Send a Leaving Pack When Notice Arrives
Tenants now give two months' notice, so you have time. Send the check-out date, the check-in photos, a list of what will be checked (oven, hob, extractor, limescale, skirting, inside cupboards, fridge, windows, garden) and roughly what each costs if it has to be done for them.
Check Out Like for Like
Within a day of the keys coming back, in the same room order as the inventory, from the same angles and in similar light. Invite the tenant. An independent inventory clerk costs about £150 to £250 for a two-bed and carries more weight than your own notes.
Price Cleaning by the Job, Not a Flat Fee
Get an invoice or quote that lists each area and the hours or price for it. Only charge for what is dirtier than at check-in. If the oven was greasy at the start, it isn't the tenant's bill.
Take Off Wear and Tear Yourself
Use the remaining life of the item: cost times years left, divided by expected life. A carpet that cost £600, expected to last eight years, ruined by a burn after three years, has five years left, so the most to ask is about £375, and less if a patch repair or clean would do. A repair, such as filling holes, can be claimed in full.
Send an Itemised Offer and Keep to the Deadlines
List each item with its photo numbers, the cost, the invoice and the wear and tear already taken off. Offer to settle. Once you both agree the amount, the deposit must be paid back within 10 days. If you can't agree, either side can ask the scheme to decide. Each scheme sets its own time limit. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme allows three months from the end of the tenancy, so check yours early. The Deposit Protection Service gives each side 14 days to upload evidence once it asks, and says a decision can take up to seven weeks. Any part not in dispute should go back to the tenant.
Give the Adjudicator What It Asks for
The tenancy agreement, the signed check-in and the check-out, side-by-side dated photos, invoices or quotes, and the emails with the tenant. Write one short paragraph per item for someone who has never seen the home. Opinions and "it was filthy" without proof count for little. Don't add new evidence late. The decision is final, and you can only ask for a review on a clear error of fact or law.
04The Result
Before
Claimed £1,495 on a professional cleaning clause and a thin inventory, and got £150
After
Claimed £655 item by item, wear and tear already taken off, with signed and dated photos, and got £605
Cost
About £180 for an independent check-in and check-out
Better Off
About £275 on one disputed tenancy, before counting the disputes that never start
The sums: £605 awarded, less the £150 the thin file would have got, less £180 for the clerk, is £275. The bigger win is the ones that settle. When a tenant sees side-by-side photos and a fair, itemised figure, most agree rather than wait weeks for a decision.
The Lessons
- A landlord can charge for cleaning, but only to get the home back to how clean it was at check-in.
- A clause making the tenant pay for a professional clean isn't binding. Ask for the check-in standard instead.
- Record cleanliness and condition separately at check-in. Wear and tear never covers dirt.
- Price each cleaning job on an invoice, and take wear and tear off your own claim before the adjudicator does.
- Pay back agreed money within 10 days, and raise a dispute inside your scheme's time limit.
- Protect the deposit within 30 days and give the prescribed information, or it can cost you three times over.
- If you are unsure about a deposit point, check your own position with a solicitor or lettings professional.
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