How to Get Your Deposit Back: Preparing for the Checkout Inspection

Want to know how to get your deposit back when you move out? Cleaning is one of the most common reasons for deductions, and most problems can be avoided if you prepare for the checkout inspection and know how cleaning issues get fixed. This guide covers what happens after the clean: preparing for the inspection, what to do on the day, which evidence to keep and what to do if you disagree with a deduction.

Looking for the full list of what to clean, room by room? Use our move out cleaning checklist. For what agents look at in detail, see what inventory clerks check.

Why cleaning causes deposit deductions

At the end of a tenancy, the agent or inventory clerk compares the property with the check-in inventory and photographs. If something is dirtier than it was when you moved in, beyond fair wear and tear, the landlord may propose a deduction for cleaning.

Most tenants clean to a “living” standard: tidy surfaces and no spills. A checkout clean needs more: inside the oven, the extractor filter, limescale on taps and screens, skirting boards and the inside of cupboards. The gap between the two is where most cleaning deductions come from.

Before the checkout inspection

1. Find your check-in inventory. It is the standard the property will be compared with. Read it and look at the photographs.
2. Book the clean close to the inspection. Leave enough time between the clean and the inspection for anything that needs fixing, and avoid moving furniture or boxes through the property after the clean.
3. Agree the scope in writing. Write down what the clean includes, for example oven, fridge, inside cupboards and windows that can be reached safely. Extras such as carpets are not always included.
4. Empty the property first. Cleaners cannot clean properly around boxes and furniture you are still moving.
5. Arrange access. Make sure the cleaners can get in and know when the inspection is.

On inspection day

• If you can, be at the property or ask someone you trust to be there.
• Walk round with the clerk and ask them to show you anything they note about cleaning.
• Ask whether a cleaning issue can be fixed before the report is finalised.
• Take your own dated photographs of each room before you hand back the keys.

How cleaning issues get fixed

With our end of tenancy cleaning service in West and South West London, the process is simple:

1. The agent or the landlord’s representative checks the work.
2. If they find something within the agreed scope, we fix it on the spot.
3. If nobody is there at the end of the clean, we send you photos so you can see the finished result.
4. If we missed something within the agreed scope, we come back and clean it free of charge.

No cleaning company can promise that you get your whole deposit back. The deposit also covers things such as damage or missing items, and the final decision is between you and your landlord, or the deposit scheme if you disagree. What a good clean can do is remove cleaning as a reason for a deduction.

Evidence to keep

• The check-in inventory and photographs
• Your own dated photographs from moving out
• The cleaning receipt or invoice, with the date and what was included
• Any photos the cleaners sent you
• Messages with the agent or landlord about the inspection

If you disagree with a deduction

In England and Wales, a landlord must protect your deposit in a government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme within 30 days of receiving it. If you and your landlord cannot agree on deductions, the scheme’s free dispute service can decide. Read the official GOV.UK guidance on tenancy deposit protection and the government’s How to Rent guide.

1. Ask the landlord or agent for an itemised list of proposed deductions.
2. Compare each item with the check-in inventory and your photographs.
3. Reply in writing and explain which items you accept and which you do not.
4. If you still cannot agree, raise a dispute with the scheme that protects your deposit and send your evidence.

Frequently asked questions