Can your landlord charge you for cleaning?

The “professional cleaning” clause and the law

Plenty of tenancy agreements still say the property must be professionally cleaned at the end, sometimes naming the company. For any tenancy signed since 1 June 2019, that term is unenforceable. The Tenant Fees Act 2019 bans landlords and agents from requiring a professional clean or a particular firm; the official guidance says so in as many words, and it applied to older contracts too from 1 June 2020. What the Act does not do is lower the bar. The property still has to go back at the cleanliness recorded at check-in, and if it does not, the landlord can claim the cost of getting it there from your deposit. Source: Tenant Fees Act 2019 guidance, gov.uk.

The standard you actually owe

Check-in condition, minus fair wear and tear. That is the whole test. Not “spotless”, not your landlord’s taste, not an estate agent’s idea of show-home. If the check-in report photographed a gleaming oven, the oven goes back gleaming; if the flat was handed to you merely tidy, merely tidy is what you owe back. This cuts both ways, which surprises people. Whether you scrub it yourself over a weekend or book our end of tenancy cleaning, the law cares about the result, not the receipt.

The check-in inventory is the whole game

Every question about cleaning deductions eventually lands on one document: the inventory you were given, and probably signed, on move-in day. It records the condition and cleanliness of every room, usually with photos, and it is the benchmark your check-out is judged against. Read it line by line before you lift a cloth. Anything it records as already worn, marked or grubby is not yours to fix. Our guide to what inventory clerks actually check walks through the inspection from the other side of the clipboard.

Who has to prove what

The deposit is your money. That is the adjudicator’s starting position, and the landlord has to earn every pound of a deduction with evidence: a check-in record, dated check-out photos, invoices for actual costs. No signed inventory means the comparison point is missing, and claims tend to fail. If your landlord proposes a deduction, you are entitled to see what it rests on before you agree to anything. The check-out evidence pack covers the photographs to take before the keys go back.

Fair wear and tear, and the betterment trap

Fair wear and tear is deterioration from normal, reasonable use: the carpet path to the sofa, faded paint, scuffs where a bed stood for three years. It cannot come out of your deposit. Dirt is different, because cleaning puts it right, which is exactly why cleaning is the most common deduction and wear claims routinely fail. The other rule worth knowing is betterment: a deduction cannot leave the landlord better off than at check-in. A five-year-old carpet cleaned is what you owe, not a new carpet. Source: TDS on fair wear and tear.

Evidence that wins

Three things decide cleaning disputes: the signed check-in inventory, dated photos of every room taken as you hand back the keys, and receipts for anything you had done. Work through the 57-point cleaning checklist, then photograph each room the same way the check-in did, wide shot plus the known flashpoints: oven interior, washing machine seal, taps, grout. Ten minutes with a phone has settled more deposit arguments than any letter ever written.

If the deposit was never protected

For assured tenancies in England, your deposit had to go into a government-approved scheme within 30 days of you paying it, with the scheme’s details served on you in writing. If that never happened, the balance of power flips: a court can order the landlord to repay the deposit plus a penalty of one to three times its amount. Before assuming, run the free check on all three schemes: TDS, DPS and mydeposits. Source: Tenancy deposit protection, gov.uk.

Disputing a deduction, step by step

Disagree in writing first and ask for an itemised list with the evidence behind each figure; a surprising number of proposed deductions shrink at this point. If you still disagree, raise a dispute with the scheme holding the deposit. Adjudication is free, runs on written evidence, and the disputed amount stays protected until it is decided. Whatever is not in dispute should be returned promptly, and once figures are agreed the money must be with you within 10 days. The Renters’ Rights Act, in force since 1 May 2026, did not change these deposit rules; it removed section 21 evictions and made tenancies periodic, so more move-outs happen on tenants’ timing, not the contract’s. Sources: deposit disputes, gov.uk; Renters’ Rights Act 2025.

Questions tenants ask about cleaning deductions

How much can a landlord deduct for cleaning?

There is no fixed scale. A deduction has to be the actual, reasonable cost of returning the property to the cleanliness recorded at check-in, evidenced with an inventory, photos and invoices. On London reports we see, one missed wipe-down runs around £40, a neglected oven £80 to £150, and a full re-clean of a 2-bed £300 or more. Anything beyond restoring the check-in state is not deductible. A claim for replacing an item runs on different arithmetic again: see what a landlord can actually charge when a carpet is damaged.

Can my landlord make me use their cleaning company?

No. For tenancies since 1 June 2019, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 stops a landlord requiring professional cleaning or naming a company as a condition. What they can require is the outcome: the property back at check-in cleanliness, allowing for fair wear and tear. You choose how it gets there.

What counts as fair wear and tear?

Deterioration from normal, reasonable use over time: trodden carpet in walkways, faded paint, small scuffs where furniture stood. It cannot be charged against your deposit. Dirt is treated differently, because cleaning restores it; that is why cleaning is the most common deduction while wear and tear claims routinely fail at adjudication.

What if I disagree with a cleaning deduction?

Say so in writing and ask for the evidence, item by item. If you still disagree, raise a dispute with the scheme holding your deposit (TDS, DPS or mydeposits). Their adjudication is free, the disputed money stays protected until it ends, and the landlord has to prove each deduction on the balance of probabilities. Once figures are agreed, the money must be returned within 10 days.

What happens if my deposit was never protected?

For an assured tenancy in England the deposit had to go into a government-approved scheme within 30 days, with the scheme details served on you. If that did not happen, a court can order the landlord to repay the deposit plus a penalty of one to three times its amount. All three schemes offer a free online check, so look before assuming.

This page is general guidance for tenants in England, checked against the sources linked above on 18 July 2026. It is not legal advice and it does not promise any outcome. For your specific tenancy, talk to Citizens Advice or Shelter.