End of tenancy cleaning throughout Cricket Green

‘Two years in a small Georgian cottage off Lower Green West, two streets from Mary Tate’s Almshouses, and the lath-and-plaster wall behind the freestanding wardrobe was the bit that kept me awake the week before check-out’ — Helen, ex-tenant, Cricket Green CR4 4. Monster Cleaning has done end of tenancy hand-backs across the Cricket Green conservation core since 2014, on the Georgian and early Victorian cottages near the Almshouses, the Edwardian terraces along Cold Blow Lane and Church Path, and the villas overlooking the eight-acre green. We cover all of CR4 4. Phone 0333 555 2076 or email [email protected]. Studio from £156. One-bed cottage from £207. Two-bed terrace from £243.

Last updated April 2026. We work the whole Cricket Green Conservation Area declared by Merton in 1969, from the cottages along Lower Green West to the Edwardian terraces off the southern boundary, plus the wider CR4 4 streets around the Vestry Hall and the 1927 fire station. For borough-wide pricing and policy detail see our Merton end of tenancy hub.

“Two years on a small Georgian cottage off Lower Green West, two streets from Mary Tate’s Almshouses, originally a Goodfellows let from spring 2024 and renewed direct with the landlord at the twelve-month point. My partner and I had moved in from a new-build off Streatham High Road and the period stock was new to us. The cottage had original 12-pane windows onto the front aspect, lath-and-plaster walls behind the freestanding bedroom wardrobe, a flagstone vestibule the previous tenants had been scrubbing with a stiff brush, and a low-pitch kitchen ceiling that had a cobweb shadow tracking the rafter line. The lath-and-plaster wall was the bit I had been worrying about for the last six months because the previous winter the heating had pulled a damp ring through the plaster behind the wardrobe and I had not been able to shift it with a damp cloth. Monster came on a Tuesday morning, two cleaners, six and a half hours. The team leader hand-cleaned the lath-and-plaster on a barely-damp microfibre, working from a stepladder in passes no longer than the wardrobe back, and the damp ring lifted with the surface dust rather than the underlying paint. The flagstone vestibule grout had a non-acid stage on it because the original lime mortar between the flags would have lifted under anything stronger. The 12-pane window putty got a soft brush rather than a wipe so the original linseed stayed in the rebate. The clerk walked it on the Friday at 2pm and signed off the same afternoon. We got the full £1,950 deposit back through the Tenancy Deposit Scheme custodial route inside the week. The clean cost £215.” — Helen and Adam, Cricket Green CR4 4, March 2026

Why Cricket Green deposits get clipped

Cricket Green is the historic conservation core of Mitcham. Cricket has been played on the eight-acre green since 1685, which the Merton Historical Society and Mitcham Cricket Club both record as the longest continuous run on any cricket ground in the world. The Cricket Green Conservation Area was declared by the London Borough of Merton in 1969 and the boundary runs from the Three Kings Piece down to the parish church on Church Road. What that means in cleaning terms is a property mix unlike anywhere else in Mitcham: Mary Tate’s Almshouses (Grade II, 1829) by the south side of the green, eighteenth-century cottages along Lower Green West, the Vestry Hall of 1887 on the Upper Green, a 1927 fire station, and a band of Edwardian and late-Victorian terraces filling out Cold Blow Lane and Church Path. Mitcham as a whole sits in the lower-priced part of Merton; Cricket Green specifically sits at the top of the Mitcham bar because the period stock is the period stock.

The borough rent picture matters. Merton-wide private rents averaged £2,079 a month in February 2026, an annual increase of 1.9% from £2,040 in February 2025, against a London-wide average of £2,273 (ONS Private rent and house prices, February 2026). The borough-wide one-bed rent rose 2.3% on the year, terraced rents 2.1%. Mitcham CR4 4 sits well below the borough headline: a two-bed cottage off Lower Green West advertises in the £1,550 to £1,950 band; an Edwardian three-bed terrace on Cold Blow Lane runs £2,000 to £2,300; the Almshouses are charitable lets and outside the open market. The five-week-rent deposit cap under the 2019 Tenant Fees Act puts a Cricket Green two-bed deposit between £1,800 and £2,250, which is the figure that comes back through the deposit-scheme custodial route on hand-back.

We did 23 Cricket Green and adjacent CR4 4 hand-backs in the last twelve months. The deductions on the period stock cluster differently to the 1930s and 1970s rounds we work elsewhere in Merton.

Period stock is fussy.

Renters’ Rights Act 2025 — the 1 May 2026 conversion

Section 21 no-fault evictions ended on 1 May 2026 under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. Almost all existing assured shorthold tenancies converted to assured periodic tenancies on that date. Any valid Section 21 served on or before 30 April had to go to court inside three months or it lapses. From the tenant’s side the deposit return is now the cleanest end-of-tenancy lever, so the inventory clerk’s report and photo-set carry more weight than they did six months ago. We see longer reports out of Goodfellows, Bairstow Eves, Foxtons Mitcham, Barnard Marcus and Truuli than we did in autumn 2025. Most Cricket Green deposits go through the Tenancy Deposit Scheme custodial route. Shelter’s deposit guide sets out the standard deduction categories the adjudicator works against if the agent disputes part of your money.

Cricket Green ward sits inside Merton’s Article 4 and additional HMO scheme

This is the bit landlords on the conservation patch get wrong more than any other. Merton Council runs three separate licensing levers. Selective licensing on single-let homes only applies in Figges Marsh, Graveney, Longthornton and Pollards Hill, with that scheme running from 24 September 2023 to 23 September 2028. Cricket Green ward is not on that list, so a single-household let on Cold Blow Lane or Lower Green West does not need a selective licence. What Cricket Green ward is on, however, is the additional HMO licensing scheme and the permanent Article 4 direction covering Colliers Wood, Cricket Green, Figges Marsh, Graveney, Lavender Fields, Longthornton and Pollards Hill. So a 3-4-occupant HMO inside the conservation core needs a licence, and any conversion of a single-household property into a small HMO needs full planning permission, no permitted-development shortcut. We mention it because tenants in shared cottages on the Lower Green sometimes assume they are outside scope when they are not.

Thames Water in CR4 sits on the same hard supply as the rest of south-west London

Mitcham CR4 4 is a Thames Water supply area. The hardness measured at the local works runs around 284 ppm calcium carbonate as reported by Thames Water for the south-west London supply, hard-to-very-hard on the standard scale. On a Cricket Green Edwardian three-bed terrace with one bathroom and a downstairs cloak that is four points the clerk routinely photographs: chrome shower head, bath fill mixer, upstairs basin tap, cloakroom basin spout. On a small Georgian cottage with a single bathroom upstairs the count drops to two. We mask any tile grout before a soft-acid stage on the chrome, soak each hand-shower head separately off the wall, and finish on a dry buff. On the period stock we never put anything stronger than that across original brass or copper fittings without a non-acid alternative on standby.

Coverage — streets and pockets we work in CR4 4

We are on the Cricket Green round most weeks. The streets and pockets below are where the bulk of our hand-back work lands inside the conservation area and immediately around it.

• Cricket Green (the eight-acre green itself) — the villas overlooking the cricket ground from the western edge, mostly late-Victorian and Edwardian semi-detached
• Lower Green West — eighteenth and early-nineteenth-century cottages along the southern boundary, including the small Georgian terraces near Mary Tate’s Almshouses
• Mary Tate’s Almshouses approach — Grade II listed 1829 buildings; charitable let, but the cottages opposite are private market
• Cold Blow Lane — the Edwardian terrace run east of London Road, leading down to the Cold Blows footpath
• Church Path — period two-up-two-down terraces toward the parish church on Church Road
• Church Road approach — Victorian villas and early-twentieth-century semis on the run toward the parish church
• Vestry Road and the Vestry Hall side — small mews and late-Victorian infill behind the 1887 hall
• Upper Green West and the Three Kings Piece — mixed period stock at the top of the conservation area
• The streets around the 1927 fire station — small early-twentieth-century terraces between the green and the wider Mitcham grid
• Edmund Road and Tramway Path — later Edwardian and inter-war infill within walking distance of Mitcham tram stop
• Whitford Gardens — the early-twentieth-century pocket on the southern end of the conservation area, named after the old Lower Mitcham hamlet of Whitford

If your address sits a few streets outside the boundary, ring the office. We almost certainly cover it on the same southern-Merton round.

On a small Georgian cottage off Lower Green West the clerk goes for the lath-and-plaster wall first, photographing the patch behind a freestanding wardrobe where damp tracks down through the plaster in winter; second the original 12-pane window putty along the lower meeting rail; third the flagstone vestibule grout where boot grit settles into the original lime mortar; fourth the low-pitch kitchen ceiling near the chimney breast where cobweb shadow forms along the rafter line; fifth the original cast-iron range where the chimney throat needs a soft brush rather than a vacuum. On an Edwardian terrace on Cold Blow Lane the running order shifts: the picture rail along the principal bedroom; the front-bay window rebate where the original linseed putty has dried out; the back-bedroom architrave; the tile grout in the half-landing bathroom; the original quarry-tile pattern in the front hall. On a Victorian villa overlooking the green the clerk moves slowest of the three: hand-painted timber doors that score under any spray, the brass door furniture, the original ceiling rose in the front reception, and the cornice line at the top of the stair.

What’s included in our Cricket Green end of tenancy clean

End of tenancy is the hand-back clean. Deep is the version where you are staying. Regular is maintenance. The work below is the first one, fixed-price against the 57-point agent-approved checklist, with the 48-hour re-clean guarantee included and a 97% first-time pass rate across our Mitcham book. The list is built for what the Cricket Green stock actually has, not for new-build flats: original window openings, lath-and-plaster, flagstone or quarry-tile vestibules, period skirtings, picture rails, ceiling roses, and small kitchens with cast-iron range fittings or replacement period-style ranges.

Kitchen

• Oven full strip — rack soak in a separate tray, door inner pane, side liners, base. On an original cast-iron range still in place we hand-clean rather than spray; the original blacking lifts under generic kitchen sprays
• Hob, induction or gas, top and seal-line scrubbed; gas burner caps lifted and soaked
• Hood filter detached and degreased over the sink, mesh soaked separately, casing wiped inside
• Inside, outside, top and behind every cupboard and drawer; the kicker plate at the base lifted where it can come out
• Fridge and freezer fully defrosted, washed inside and out, gasket detail done
• Washing machine drawer and door seal — the gasket where the hard supply leaves a grey scale ring
• Sink, taps and waste descaled with a soft-acid stage, then a soft-cloth buff
• Tile grout brushed where splashback meets worktop
• Skirting, switch covers and socket plates wiped; on the period stock these are usually painted timber and want a damp microfibre, not spray
• Low-pitch kitchen ceiling, where present, dusted on a long-pole microfibre to lift the cobweb shadow that tracks the rafter line
• Floor mopped last; flagstone or quarry-tile in the original vestibule gets a non-acid stage with the grout masked first

Bathrooms

• Bath, shower tray, screen and tile — soft-acid descale on the chrome head and screen runner, rinsed twice
• WC bowl, rim, hinge bolts, base, behind the pan
• Sink, taps, plug, overflow — chrome polished separately after the descale
• Mirror, cabinet, shaver socket, extractor grille
• Tile grout scrubbed where shower water hits
• Glass screen polished both sides; runner descaled
• Towel rail and the strip of wall behind it
• Original cast-iron radiator, where still in place, hand-detailed; we do not spray modern paint sealer
• Floor mopped, edges done by hand

Bedrooms and living areas

• Skirting and picture rail dusted, then damp-wiped with a microfibre
• Door tops and architraves; door hinges hand-detailed
• Original window openings — lower meeting rail vacuumed, putty soft-brushed only, both panes hand-cleaned with a barely-damp cloth so the linseed stays in the rebate
• Lath-and-plaster walls behind freestanding furniture — barely-damp microfibre on a stepladder, short passes, no spray, no abrasive
• Light fittings; original ceiling rose dust-removed on a soft brush, never wet-wiped
• Switches, sockets, thermostat
• Cornice line and the run where the wall meets the ceiling, especially in the front reception of a Victorian villa
• Carpet vacuumed in two directions; spot-treat marks; full carpet shampoo is an add-on
• Hard floors mopped, edges hand-wiped; original pine boards get a soft-buffer pass rather than a wet mop
• Curtains shaken; blinds dusted slat by slat
• Mirrors, picture frames, dust-magnet ledges
• Behind beds, sofas, freestanding furniture; the strip behind a freestanding wardrobe on a lath-and-plaster wall is the bit the clerk photographs first
• Wall-mounted radiator backs and the floor strip behind them

Throughout

• All internal doors, frames, architraves — hand-painted timber on the period stock wants damp microfibre, no abrasive
• Hallway and entrance threshold — the strip the clerk looks at first; flagstone or quarry-tile gets a non-acid stage with the grout masked
• Storage cupboard, under-stair cupboard, washer recess
• Inside-glass on all windows, frames wiped, locks dusted
• Communal-side of the front door wiped where the cottage opens onto a shared path
• Final walk-through with a torch in low light to catch what daylight hides

What it costs in Cricket Green

Pricing below is the full agent-approved end of tenancy service, fixed by property size not by the hour, with the 57-point checklist applied and the 48-hour re-clean guarantee included. No VAT add-on, no fuel surcharge, no upper-floor surcharge.

Add-ons

• Carpet shampoo — £36 per bedroom, £43 per living room, £115 whole-2-bed package
• Single oven deep clean (already included in standard EOT, listed for reference) — £77
• Double oven deep clean — £110
• Range cooker 90cm — £114
• Original cast-iron range hand-detail — quoted on site; we never spray a working blacking surface

For context, the National Living Wage moved from £12.21 an hour in April 2025 to £12.71 from April 2026 (gov.uk minimum wage rates). Our £30 hourly rate is two cleaners working in tandem with full kit, which is why it sits above a single-cleaner equivalent.

What your Cricket Green letting agent will actually check

This list comes from the post-clean feedback we get back from Goodfellows on the Upper Green, Bairstow Eves Mitcham, Foxtons Mitcham, Barnard Marcus and Truuli, and from the inventory clerks who walk the conservation patch most weeks. Order matters — the top of the list is what gets failed most often on period stock.

1. Lath-and-plaster wall behind freestanding wardrobe — the photographed first-look on a Lower Green West cottage
2. Original window putty along the lower meeting rail — soft-brushed only; a wipe lifts the linseed
3. Flagstone or quarry-tile vestibule grout — boot grit settles into the original lime mortar
4. Low-pitch kitchen ceiling near the chimney breast — cobweb shadow on the rafter line
5. Picture rail along the principal bedroom — period stock dust-magnet
6. Front-bay window rebate on an Edwardian terrace — the linseed putty seam
7. Cornice line at the top of the stair — clerk-photo standard on a Victorian villa
8. Hand-painted timber doors and architraves — score under generic kitchen spray
9. Brass door furniture — original ironmongery wants a soft-cloth buff, no chemical
10. Original ceiling rose — soft-brush dust-removal, never wet-wipe
11. Chrome shower head and bath fill — the Thames Water hardness signature
12. Tile grout in the half-landing bathroom — mould bloom in the wet line
13. Original quarry-tile pattern in the front hall — mop residue dulls the surface; non-acid stage only
14. Internal door tops and architrave runs — the flat upper edge nobody dusts week-to-week
15. Skirting tops in the hallway — long hallway lines get walked first
16. Cast-iron range, where still in place — hand-detail only, no spray
17. Plug sockets and switches — finger-marks under and around on painted timber surrounds

How booking works

1. Phone 0333 555 2076 or email [email protected]. Tell us the postcode, the bedroom count, the check-out date, and the agent name. If your property is inside the Cricket Green Conservation Area boundary or has retained period detail (original 12-pane windows, lath-and-plaster, cast-iron range, flagstone vestibule, original cornice or ceiling rose) tell us on the call so we send a team that has worked the period stock.
2. We confirm a fixed quote on the call. Carpet add-on, oven type, original-range hand-detail and access quirks (the narrow path access on Lower Green West, the gated approach to a couple of the Almshouse-side cottages, the parking on Cold Blow Lane) get talked through then.
3. We email a written confirmation with the start time and the team lead’s name.
4. The team arrives, usually two cleaners on a one or two-bed cottage and three on an Edwardian three-bed or a Victorian villa. They work to the 57-point checklist. Photos are taken on completion if you want them for the deposit file.
5. The clerk attends inside 48 hours. If they flag any cleaning item that is on our checklist, we come back free. If they flag a condition item (a paint scuff on hand-painted timber, a chip on a cast-iron range, a worn quarry tile) that is an inventory dispute and we will back you up with our photo set. To date we have helped recover over £1.2m in deposits across our London and Kent books and we work with 300+ letting agents.

Related services and neighbouring areas

If you are booking the end of tenancy, you may want one or more of these add-ons. Same teams, same patch.

• Standalone oven cleaning — if the rest of the cottage is fine and only the cooker has let you down
• Carpet shampoo and stain treatment — the most common single-line deduction on a Cricket Green hand-back
• Hard floor restoration — original pine boards, flagstone vestibules and quarry-tile front halls
• Window cleaning — original front-aspect openings where the reach is the issue
• After-builders cleaning — where the landlord has run sympathetic works between tenancies

Neighbouring areas we cover for end of tenancy:

• Merton end of tenancy — the borough hub with full pricing and policy detail
• Figges Marsh end of tenancy — the sister Mitcham ward inside the selective licensing scheme
• Colliers Wood end of tenancy — same Article 4 and additional HMO scheme as Cricket Green
• Wimbledon Village end of tenancy — the period-stock pocket up on the common

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is end of tenancy cleaning for a one-bed cottage in Cricket Green?

From £207 with the full 57-point agent-approved checklist and the 48-hour re-clean guarantee included. On a small Georgian cottage off Lower Green West with original 12-pane windows, a flagstone vestibule and a low-pitch kitchen ceiling, the standard fee covers everything; the only typical add-on is a single-room carpet shampoo on the front bedroom if there is a wool carpet still in place.

Do you cover the cottages directly off Lower Green West and Mary Tate’s Almshouses?

Yes. The eighteenth and nineteenth-century cottages along Lower Green West are a steady part of our weekly southern-Merton round. We carry a non-acid stage for the original lime mortar between flagstones, a soft-brush kit for the linseed window putty, and a barely-damp microfibre approach for the lath-and-plaster walls behind freestanding bedroom furniture. Mary Tate’s Almshouses themselves are charitable lets and rare on the open market, but we work the cottages opposite and around the approach.

How long does the clean take on a Cricket Green property?

A studio or one-bed annexe takes a long morning, three to four hours with two cleaners. A two-up-two-down cottage off Lower Green West runs five to seven hours with two cleaners. An Edwardian three-bed terrace on Cold Blow Lane runs seven to nine. A late-Victorian four-bed villa overlooking the green is usually a full day with three cleaners.

Does Merton run a selective licensing scheme that affects my Cricket Green property?

Cricket Green ward sits inside the additional HMO licensing scheme and the permanent Article 4 direction, but not the selective licensing scheme on single-let homes. Selective licensing in Merton applies only to Figges Marsh, Graveney, Longthornton and Pollards Hill, running from 24 September 2023 to 23 September 2028. So a single-household let on Lower Green West or Cold Blow Lane is outside selective licensing scope. A 3-4-occupant HMO is inside additional licensing scope and any conversion of a single-household property into a small HMO needs full planning permission under the Article 4 direction.

Are professional clean receipts still required under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025?

A landlord cannot insist on a professional clean as a tenancy clause under the 2019 Tenant Fees Act, and the 2025 Act has not changed that. What has changed since 1 May 2026 is that the deposit is now the only end-of-tenancy lever a landlord has, so the inventory clerk’s report carries more weight. A receipt against the 57-point agent-approved checklist gives you a concrete document to point at if a deduction is disputed.

What does the 48-hour re-clean guarantee actually cover?

If the inventory clerk flags any cleaning item inside 48 hours of our visit, we send a team back at no charge to put that specific area right. That is the policy behind the 97% first-time pass rate. It does not cover condition items the clerk lists separately (paint scuff on hand-painted timber, chip on a cast-iron range, worn quarry tile, broken window cord) or items outside the 57-point scope (front garden, exterior windows above first floor, chimney sweep).

Can you handle the original window openings without damaging the linseed putty?

Yes. We soft-brush the putty rather than wipe it, vacuum the lower meeting rail, and hand-clean both panes with a barely-damp microfibre so the original linseed stays in the rebate. We do not use generic kitchen sprays anywhere near a period opening; the chemical lifts the putty over time and the clerk will see the line.

Will the clean handle the lath-and-plaster wall behind a freestanding wardrobe?

Yes. The team leader works on a stepladder in passes no longer than the wardrobe back, on a barely-damp microfibre, no spray, no abrasive. Where damp has tracked through the plaster in winter (a regular pattern on the Lower Green West cottages because the heating runs hard against an external wall) the surface dust usually lifts with the damp ring rather than the underlying paint. Where the staining has gone deeper than a surface pass can shift, we say so on the day; that is a re-paint job, not a clean.

Do you tackle scale on Cricket Green bathroom fittings?

Yes. The Thames Water supply for CR4 4 sits at around 284 ppm calcium carbonate, hard-to-very-hard on the standard scale. We run a soft-acid stage on the chrome and brushed-nickel fittings, soak the hand-shower head off the wall, and finish on a soft-cloth buff. Original brass and copper fittings on the period stock get a non-acid alternative because the soft-acid stage will lift the patina otherwise.

Will the clean handle the flagstone or quarry-tile vestibule?

Yes. The original lime mortar between flagstones lifts under any acid stage stronger than soft, so we mask the grout before the floor pass and use a non-acid solution on the stones themselves. Quarry-tile front halls on the Edwardian terraces get the same treatment.

Can you handle a working cast-iron range in a Cricket Green kitchen?

Yes. The original blacking on a working cast-iron range lifts under generic kitchen sprays, so we hand-detail the surface with a soft cloth and a non-spray solution. The chimney throat behind the range gets a soft brush rather than a vacuum so the soot does not get lifted into the kitchen air. If the range is heavily-used we will quote the deep dismantle separately on site.

Can you do a mid-week clean if my check-out is on a Friday?

That is the standard southern-Merton pattern. We do most Cricket Green hand-backs on a Tuesday or Wednesday for a Friday clerk walk. The 48-hour re-clean window covers the gap.

Do I need to be at the property during the clean?

No. Most Cricket Green clients have already moved out by the clean date, often relocating into Wimbledon, Tooting or back into the wider Mitcham grid. We collect keys from the agent on the Upper Green or use a key safe at the cottage, text on arrival, send a photo set on completion, and the agent walks the property the following day with the clerk.

Are the carpets shampooed as part of the standard end of tenancy price?

No — carpet shampoo is a separate add-on at £36 per bedroom, £43 per living room, or £115 for a whole-flat two-bed. On a small Georgian cottage with original pine floorboards in the reception and one wool runner in the front bedroom, we will usually recommend just the front-bedroom shampoo. On an Edwardian terrace with fitted wool carpet on the stair and the principal bedroom we recommend the principal-bedroom and stair-runner package.

Are you insured?

Yes. Public liability cover is in place at £5m. We are Monster Cleaning Ltd, Companies House number 9919639, trading since 2014 from 255 Upper Richmond Road West, SW14 8QS London. Insurance certificate available on request.

How quickly can you book me in?

Usually 48 to 72 hours’ notice on the Cricket Green patch. Same-day work is sometimes possible if a team is finishing nearby on Cold Blow Lane or Lower Green West; phone the office to ask. We hold a small float of CR4 4 morning slots specifically for Goodfellows, Bairstow Eves and Foxtons agents who phone in late on a Monday for a Friday hand-back.

Ready to book a Cricket Green end of tenancy clean

Phone 0333 555 2076 or email [email protected]. Tell us your move-out date, the CR4 4 postcode, the bedroom count, and the agent name (Goodfellows, Bairstow Eves Mitcham, Foxtons Mitcham, Barnard Marcus, Truuli). We will quote back inside the hour during office hours, on the 57-point agent-approved checklist with the 48-hour re-clean guarantee. Monster Cleaning Ltd, Companies House 9919639, registered office 255 Upper Richmond Road West, SW14 8QS London. Trading since 2014. Trustpilot 3.1 over 128 reviews; we read every one.