Your letting agent wants £500 for "professional cleaning." You left the place looking fine. Wiped the counters, hoovered, and scrubbed the bathroom, but they claim it's not enough.
If the charge comes from a clause making you pay for professional cleaning, that clause isn't binding. Your landlord can still deduct for cleaning, but only what it costs to get the property back to its check-in condition, and only with evidence.
Professional cleaning clauses are banned by the Tenant Fees Act 2019
If your tenancy agreement says you must pay for professional cleaning when you move out, that clause is not binding on you. In England, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 banned it from 1 June 2019, and since 1 June 2020 it has applied to every tenancy the Act covers, whenever it was signed. That includes private assured tenancies, student lets and lodgers, but not social housing. Wales has its own law, the Renting Homes (Fees, Discrimination etc.) (Wales) Act 2019, so this guide covers England.
The Act lets landlords and agents charge only a short list of permitted payments, and professional cleaning is not on it. A landlord who charges it anyway can be hit with a financial penalty of up to £5,000 for a first breach. Breaching the ban again within 5 years of an earlier penalty or conviction is a criminal offence, and the council can impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000 as an alternative to prosecuting. A conviction in court carries an unlimited fine.
If your tenancy made you pay a professional cleaning fee, or hire a cleaner, and you paid it on top of your deposit, you can ask the First-tier Tribunal to order it repaid under section 15 of the Tenant Fees Act, and report it to your council's trading standards team.
Your landlord can ask you to return the property clean. But they cannot make you hire, or pay for, a professional cleaner. If you can match the check-in standard with a mop and some cleaning spray yourself, that is your choice.
How clean does your rental need to be when you leave?
The requirement is simple. You need to return the property in the same condition you found it, minus fair wear and tear, and nothing more.
If the check-in inventory shows that the oven was clean, then the oven needs to be clean when you leave. If the carpets were freshly shampooed when you arrived, they need to be in a comparable state when you go.
But if the flat was already tired when you moved in, your landlord cannot expect you to hand it back in better shape.
The inventory is crucial here. No inventory, no dated photos, no detailed checkout report? That is a weak case for the landlord, and an adjudicator will likely side with you.
Does fair wear and tear cover cleaning?
Fair wear and tear covers gradual deterioration from normal life. Faded paintwork after three years, carpet worn thin in the hallway, minor scuffs near light switches. Your landlord cannot deduct for any of that.
But the allowance covers condition, not cleanliness. Worn carpet from foot traffic is wear and tear. Carpet with coffee stains is a cleaning issue, and that one is on you.
What must your landlord prove to deduct for cleaning?
The burden of proof for a cleaning deduction sits with the landlord. To justify a cleaning deduction, they will usually need:
- A signed check-in inventory with photos
- A checkout report showing the condition you left it in
- Evidence the condition is beyond fair wear and tear
- Receipts or quotes showing the deduction amount is reasonable
For example, if the only problem is a greasy oven, the deduction should cover cleaning the oven, not a full-property clean. Get your own quote for an oven clean so the adjudicator can see what a reasonable figure is.
How to dispute a cleaning deduction with TDS, DPS or mydeposits
Your landlord must protect your deposit with one of three government-backed schemes: TDS, DPS or mydeposits. All three offer free dispute resolution.
- Respond in writing. Say what you disagree with and why. Reference the inventory.
- Try to negotiate. Ask for the invoice or quote behind the charge, and offer a figure you think is fair.
- If you cannot agree, raise a dispute with the scheme quickly, because schemes set time limits. Submit your photos, inventory, cleaning receipts, and any messages. Using the free service is voluntary for both sides, and if your landlord won't agree to it, the alternative is a small claim in the County Court.
- An independent adjudicator reviews both sides and makes a final, binding decision, normally within a few weeks of receiving all the evidence.
Adjudicators follow the evidence. If your landlord cannot show you left the property dirtier than you found it, the deduction should be rejected.
If your landlord won't drop the cleaning charge, Remedy can organise your inventory and photos into evidence and draft your dispute for the scheme.
