End of tenancy cleaning for Shad Thames homes

Hand back a warehouse loft on the Shad Thames walkways and the inventory clerk walks straight past the skirting to the exposed brick and the cast-iron columns. That banked beam dust is where the deposit gets clipped in SE1, not the floor. I am John, I run Monster Cleaning Ltd, and we build the whole clean around the surfaces a check-in report for a Butler’s Wharf flat actually names. It is £30 per cleaner an hour, packages from £156, with a 48-hour re-clean guarantee measured against the clerk’s own report. Ring 0333 555 2076 for a price.

Last updated June 2026. We cover SE1 and the Bermondsey riverside: Shad Thames itself, Butler’s Wharf, St Saviour’s Dock, Maguire Street and Gainsford Street, out to the Thames Path towards Bermondsey Wall. This page sits inside the borough directory at End of Tenancy Cleaning Southwark.

Why the brick and the iron decide a Shad Thames deposit

Start with the surface the report was written against, because that is the whole argument. Nearly every flat on this stretch is a converted spice or tea warehouse: the Butler’s Wharf Building, Cinnamon and Clove, Java Wharf, New Concordia Wharf over on St Saviour’s Dock. When you moved in, a clerk walked the loft and photographed it empty and immaculate, brick brushed, columns wiped, white plaster unmarked. You are handing back against that exact document, often twenty months and a lot of settled dust later.

Cleaning is the single most common deposit deduction category in England, and it is also the most avoidable one. The trap on a Shad Thames loft is that the cleaning the clerk cares about is not the cleaning a tenant naturally does. You hoover the floor and wipe the worktops. Nobody brushes down the mortar joints, the tops of the beams, or the collars where a cast-iron column meets the ceiling. That is exactly where a whole tenancy of dust banks, and it is exactly what the check-in photos show clean. We have done hand-back cleans since 2014, and across that work we have helped tenants recover £1.2m in deposits that would otherwise have been signed away without a word.

The cleaning the clerk cares about is not the cleaning a tenant naturally does.

Your deposit is held in a government-backed scheme, usually the Tenancy Deposit Scheme or mydeposits, and a cleaning deduction can be disputed if it is unfair. Shelter’s guidance sets out how the adjudication runs. The cleaner way to win it is duller than a dispute: pass the check-out, and there is nothing to argue about.

The concierge and the clerk: two standards in one hand-back

Shad Thames sits in the London Borough of Southwark, the Bermondsey side of the river just east of Tower Bridge. There is a layer here most tenants underrate, and it is not the council. In the Butler’s Wharf and Java Wharf blocks the building concierge logs your move-out and books the goods lift, and the letting agent’s clerk then runs the inventory against the check-in file. Two sets of eyes, two standards to clear in one visit. We have cleaned enough of these buildings to know which one each block tends to pull you up on.

On the licensing question, the honest answer is more involved than tenants expect, and the dossier version most agents give is often wrong. Southwark runs a selective licensing scheme, Scheme 2, that took effect on 1 November 2023 and runs for five years to 31 October 2028, and London Bridge & West Bermondsey is one of the named wards inside it. In that ward a privately rented flat let to a single household or two unrelated sharers needs a selective licence, so a single-let warehouse loft is not automatically outside the rules the way people assume. On top of that Southwark has run a borough-wide additional HMO scheme since 1 March 2022, alongside the mandatory HMO regime. None of that changes the clean itself. It changes who the responsible landlord is and how tight the paperwork around your tenancy tends to be, which in practice means the inventory on these flats is handled properly, and a sloppy hand-back gets noticed.

What 1 May 2026 changed on the riverside

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 went live on 1 May 2026. Section 21 no-fault evictions are gone, and every existing assured shorthold tenancy in England has converted to a periodic one, so a tenant now gives two months’ notice at any point rather than waiting for a fixed term to expire.

Here is the part people read wrong. The cleaning side of a move-out did not change one line. The check-in benchmark still applies, the deposit maths is exactly what it was, and an agent can still deduct for cleaning where the flat comes back under standard. What changed is timing. Shad Thames was already a high-churn corner of SE1, full of company lets, international lets and one-year professional tenancies. Let those tenants leave on a rolling two months instead of a fixed date and the move-outs get more frequent and far less predictable. The practical takeaway is dull and it pays for itself: book the clean earlier than you used to, because on these buildings the slot you want goes quickly.

The 57 things we work through, wharf by wharf

Every booking runs to a 57-point agent-approved checklist, built over a decade of these hand-backs and tuned to what riverside clerks actually flag. It is written for a clean measured against a check-in report, not a general tidy. The full list comes with the job. Here is the shape of it, room by room.

The kitchen, high-spec and the usual soft spot

These lofts run integrated, high-spec kitchens, and the oven and extractor are where a tenant’s own clean nearly always falls short. The oven is stripped, not wiped: racks soaked, the door glass split apart so the brown film between the panels comes out, interior, fan, element and seals all done. The extractor hood is degreased inside and out and the filter washed or swapped. Hob and any splashback descaled and polished, control knobs off and cleaned. Integrated fridge, freezer and dishwasher done inside and out, seals included. Every cabinet front and interior wiped, handles cleaned, worktops finished, the sink and mixer tap descaled. Appliances pulled out so the gaps behind and beside them are cleaned, then put back.

Bathrooms, modern boxes behind an old frontage

The wet rooms in these conversions are new drop-ins behind a period shell, chrome-heavy and glass-heavy, and hard water shows up worst here. Full descale on the shower screen, the enclosure, the taps and the fittings with a proper scale remover rather than a cloth. Tiles and grout scrubbed, any mould treated. Toilet, basin and bath cleaned and polished. Mirrors and chrome left clear and streak-free, which on this water needs the right product and a second pass. Extractor vent wiped. Done properly, not at speed, because a filmed screen is the fastest note a clerk writes.

Bedrooms and living areas, where the brick lives

This is the part a generic clean leaves behind. Exposed brick and the cast-iron columns brushed down and the banked dust lifted, the high mortar lines, the column collars and the tops of the beams included. White walls checked under proper light and the scuffs, knocks and furniture rub cleaned back so a torch along them comes up clean. Wardrobes and storage cleared and wiped inside and out. Skirting, sills, switches, sockets, radiators and any exposed steelwork dusted. Engineered or original timber floors hoovered then mopped or buffed to the right finish, with the edges and the marks where furniture stood given specific attention.

Throughout the loft

Internal doors, frames and handles cleaned. Light fittings and any visible ducting or exposed pipework dusted, which these double-height shells always carry a lot of. Hallway and entrance done, the concierge-corridor side of your front door wiped. Cobwebs cleared, including the high corners a tall loft collects. Hard floors hoovered and mopped throughout; carpets, where fitted, hoovered, with shampoo available as an add-on. The flat is left so the report comes back clean.

People mix up the service names and book the wrong thing, so here is the plain distinction.

End of tenancy clean

The hand-back clean, measured against your check-in inventory, with the flat empty and a 48-hour re-clean guarantee attached. This is the one you need when you are leaving and want the deposit back.

Deep clean

The same depth of work on a flat you are staying in. No inventory, no clerk’s report, no guarantee tied to a check-out.

Regular clean

Upkeep by the hour to keep a place ticking over week to week, a different job with a different rate.

Domestic clean

Ongoing help in a lived-in home, the maintenance version of the above, not built to pass an inventory.

Thames Water and the drop-in bathrooms behind the period shell

SE1 is on a Thames Water supply, and the water here is very hard, sitting around 300 parts per million of calcium carbonate. The original timber and brick is not the problem. The modern bathrooms and kitchens dropped into these shells are. Hard water leaves a dull scale film on a glass screen, a chrome tap or a splashback that a clerk reads as not cleaned, and a wipe-over does nothing to shift it once it has set.

So we treat the screens and the fittings with a scale remover made for the job, and on the fitted kitchens the mixer tap and the splashback get the same. On these flats that is the line between a pass and a written note, and it is the single most common cleaning mark on a riverside check-out after the brickwork. Where a fitting is original chrome rather than modern, we go carefully, because the wrong descaler on the wrong metal is its own deduction.

The original timber and brick is not the problem. The modern bathrooms dropped into these shells are.

Two of these often want their own pass on the same visit. Where a loft has a carpeted bedroom, shampoo and stain work is the carpet cleaning add-on. Where the floors are engineered board or the original warehouse timber, they take their own product, which is what the hard floor cleaning service covers, and the riverside glass an inventory sometimes lists is window cleaning.

Shad Thames wharf by wharf: the stock changes block to block

Shad Thames looks like one thing, a row of tall Victorian warehouses with iron footbridges strung between them, but the flats inside are not all the same job. The river-front wharves, the ones on St Saviour’s Dock, and the newer infill between them each hand back differently, and a clerk covering these buildings works to a fairly set list that is not the list you would get on an ordinary flat. Where we work most:

• The Butler’s Wharf Building and the Conran-restaurant frontage along the river by Le Pont de la Tour and the Chop House
• Shad Thames street itself, under the high iron walkways between the warehouses
• Cinnamon Wharf, Clove and the spice-named blocks off the cobbles
• Java Wharf, and New Concordia Wharf on St Saviour’s Dock, one of the first Thames warehouse conversions back in the early 1980s
• Maguire Street and Gainsford Street running back off the river
• The 1990s and 2000s riverside infill blocks between the older warehouses
• The Thames Path frontage east towards Bermondsey Wall

The oldest converted wharves are the brick-and-iron archetype: exposed masonry, cast-iron columns down the middle, huge windows, dock or river views, and the check-out lives or dies on the masonry and the beam dust. The New Concordia and Java Wharf lofts on the dock are the same story with tighter access, because the goods lift and the dock-side entrance both need arranging. The newer infill blocks behind them are more conventional inside, more plaster and less brick, so the emphasis swings back to the fitted kitchen and the wet room. One method does not pass all of it, and a generic once-over leaves the brick behind every time.

Shad Thames gets confused with its neighbours, and it matters for who covers you. It is not Bermondsey Street, which is the restaurant strip further inland, and it is not the same run of stock as London Bridge or Tower Bridge proper. Butler’s Wharf is part of Shad Thames, not a separate place. Not sure which patch your flat sits in? Ring 0333 555 2076 with the block name and we will tell you in about ten seconds.

What it costs, and the sum nobody runs until check-out day

Shad Thames runs at our standard SE1 pricing: £30 per cleaner an hour, kit, products and travel to the door included. A concierge and a goods lift do not add a premium, whatever the postcode suggests. If you would sooner book by time than by flat size, that hourly rate is the number. Carpet shampoo is an add-on where a bedroom is carpeted, £36 a room, £43 for a living room, or £115 for a whole two-bed. Oven cleaning is already inside the end of tenancy price; as a standalone it is £77 single, £110 double, £114 for a 90cm range. Those figures assume a flat in normal lived-in shape; a long company let with heavy wear costs more, and we say so on the phone rather than after.

Run the sum the way the deposit makes you. A two-bed loft at £243 to protect a deposit that on these flats runs well into four figures is not really a decision. The trouble is that almost nobody runs it until they have tried a DIY clean, failed the check-out, and lost the first round, which is a shame, because the first round is the cheap one to win. Every booking carries a 48-hour re-clean guarantee: if the clerk flags anything cleaning-related within 48 hours and the flat is still as we left it with nobody moved in, we come back and put it right at no charge. Our pass rate across these jobs sits near 97% first time, and the guarantee is why the other 3% still costs the tenant nothing.

There is a reason the agents around here know us. We are on the books of 300+ letting agents, including the firms active around Shad Thames and Butler’s Wharf, so in most cases we already know the report format your agent uses before we arrive.

A Java Wharf job from March

“Two-bed on Java Wharf, one of the old spice-warehouse lofts with the bare brick wall and the iron columns down the middle. Company let, just me, and I work long hours in the City so the flat was tidy but never properly gone over. The one thing the clerk had written up at check-in was the brick and the beam dust, and she went along the white walls with a torch for scuffs. Two cleaners spent most of the day on the brickwork, the columns and getting those wall marks back. Full deposit returned, no argument from the agent. Worth every pound.”
Priya, Java Wharf SE1, March 2026

That is a fair example of the pattern on these lofts: a professional tenant, a tidy flat, and a check-out that turns entirely on the masonry and the marked walls rather than anything you would think to clean. Two more from the same run of buildings, because they make the point better than I can.

“New Concordia Wharf, a one-bed on St Saviour’s Dock, eighteen-month tenancy. The bathroom was the worry, all glass screen and chrome, and it had gone cloudy with limescale I could not shift. They descaled the whole thing back to clear and sorted the goods-lift booking with the concierge so nothing dragged. Deposit back in full.”
Daniel, New Concordia Wharf SE1, February 2026

“I was handing back a studio off Maguire Street at short notice, three days before check-out, and every other cleaner was booked up for month-end. Monster found me a slot, came in, did the timber floor and the exposed brick properly, and the agent signed it off same week. Saved my deposit and my sanity.”
Hannah, Maguire Street SE1, May 2026

What turned all three was not the scrubbing alone. It was cleaning to the surfaces the report actually named, then leaving the flat so the clerk had nothing to write. On a warehouse loft that is a specific skill, and it is the one a generic team does not have.

Booking it, and the goods-lift problem

Booking is quick. The one thing that trips a Shad Thames move-out is building access, so we sort it up front. The steps:

1. Ring 0333 555 2076 or email [email protected] with the flat size, the block name, the SE1 address and your check-out date.
2. We confirm a fixed price from the figures above. No survey, no padding once it is agreed.
3. You tell us about access: which warehouse block, the concierge desk, and whether the goods lift needs booking for the team and the kit. The Butler’s Wharf and Java Wharf blocks and the St Saviour’s Dock lofts all want this arranged ahead, and we coordinate it with the desk so there is no delay on the day.
4. We clean to the 57-point checklist. You or the agent walks it through against the inventory.
5. Anything cleaning-related the clerk marks inside 48 hours, we come back and fix free. That is the guarantee, and the 97% first-time pass rate is why it is rarely called on.

Book early for month-end, when moves on these buildings bunch up and the slots go. We take short-notice work when there is a gap, as Hannah’s job above shows, but the Shad Thames buildings move quickly, so do not leave it to the last two days if you can help it. If your check-out is tomorrow, ring anyway and we will do what we can.

Questions we get asked

How much is end of tenancy cleaning in Shad Thames?

A studio is £156, a one-bed £207, a two-bed £243, a three-bed £339 and a four-bed £425. By the hour it is £30 per cleaner. These are the standard SE1 prices, and a concierge warehouse block with a goods lift does not change them.

Do you guarantee the clean against the inventory check?

Yes. There is a 48-hour re-clean guarantee. If the inventory clerk flags anything cleaning-related within 48 hours, and the flat is still as we left it with nobody moved in, we return and fix it free. We hold a 97% first-time pass rate, so it is rarely needed.

Can you deal with the exposed brick and the cast-iron columns?

Yes, and on these lofts it is the main event. Dust banks into the mortar joints, the tops of the beams and the column collars over a tenancy, and the check-in photos show that brickwork clean. We brush it down and lift the dust rather than just sweeping the floor beneath it, which is what your hand-back is compared against.

The white walls have scuffs the clerk will look for. Can you get those back?

In most cases yes. These lofts are sold light, so the walls get a torch run along them for scuffs, knocks and furniture rub. We clean those marks back so the wall comes up clean under proper light. It is one of the most common notes on a warehouse-loft check-out, so we expect it and work for it.

The bathroom has gone cloudy with limescale. Can that be fixed?

Usually, yes. SE1 is on a very hard Thames Water supply, around 300 ppm, and the glass screens, chrome taps and fittings scale up fast. We use a proper scale remover to bring them back clear rather than smeared, and we go carefully on original chrome so the wrong product does not mark the metal.

Do you clean the oven and extractor?

Yes, both are in the end of tenancy price. The oven is stripped inside, door glass, racks and runners included, and the extractor is degreased with the filter washed or replaced. In a high-spec loft kitchen these are the usual weak points of a tenant’s own clean, so they take the most time.

How do you get into the warehouse building?

Tell us the block and the concierge arrangement when you book. In the Butler’s Wharf and Java Wharf blocks and the St Saviour’s Dock lofts the goods lift usually needs booking ahead for the team and the equipment, and we coordinate that with the desk so there is no hold-up on the day.

Is carpet cleaning included?

Carpets are hoovered as standard. Shampoo and stain treatment is an add-on: £36 a bedroom, £43 a living room, or £115 for a whole two-bed. Many of these lofts are timber-floored, so it is often not needed, and we tell you honestly when it is not.

My flat is a company let. Does that change anything?

Not the clean or the price. It usually means the paperwork is handled tightly and the inventory is done properly, so a sloppy hand-back gets noticed. We clean to the check-in standard either way, and give you a fixed price up front.

Does the flat being in Southwark’s licensing area matter for me?

Not for the clean. London Bridge & West Bermondsey is inside Southwark’s selective licensing scheme, which runs to October 2028, and there is a borough-wide additional HMO scheme too. That is a landlord obligation about registering the tenancy, not something that affects your check-out clean, though it does tend to mean the inventory is handled by the book.

How far ahead should I book?

As early as you can once the check-out date is set, especially around month-end when moves bunch up. We do take short-notice slots when there is a gap, but the Shad Thames buildings turn over quickly, so do not leave it to the last minute.

What if the agent still tries to deduct for cleaning?

If we cleaned it and the clerk marks something within 48 hours, we come back, so there is nothing legitimate left to deduct. If a deduction is still attempted unfairly, your deposit scheme runs a free adjudication, and Shelter has clear guidance on disputing it. A completed professional clean with a fixed invoice is strong evidence.

Do you work with the letting agents around Shad Thames?

We work with 300+ letting agents, including firms active around Shad Thames and Butler’s Wharf, so we usually already know the inventory format your agent uses. That tends to make the check-out faster, because we clean to the standard the report is written to.

Are you insured and a real company?

Yes. Monster Cleaning Ltd, Companies House 9919639, trading since 2014. We are fully insured, we give a fixed price before we start, and payment is on completion with no survey fee and no extras added once it is agreed.