Who Pays for End of Tenancy Cleaning?

By Zap Cleaning Cambridge  ·  2026-06-11  ·  6 min read

It is one of the most common questions at the end of a tenancy in Cambridge — and one of the most common causes of deposit disputes. The short answer: the tenant is responsible for returning the property as clean as it was at the start of the tenancy, allowing for fair wear and tear. But who actually pays for cleaning, and what a landlord can and cannot demand, is governed by some specific rules worth understanding.

What the Tenant Fees Act 2019 Changed

For assured shorthold tenancies in England, the Tenant Fees Act 2019 banned landlords and letting agents from charging tenants fees for cleaning — and from requiring tenants to pay for professional cleaning as a condition of the tenancy. A clause in your agreement saying you "must have the property professionally cleaned" at your own cost is generally not enforceable for tenancies covered by the Act.

What the law protects instead is a standard, not a method. You must hand the property back as clean as it was when you moved in. How you achieve that — your own elbow grease or a professional company — is your choice.

So When Does the Tenant End Up Paying?

Through the deposit. If the property is returned dirtier than it was at check-in, the landlord can claim the reasonable cost of cleaning from your deposit. Cleaning is consistently reported by the deposit protection schemes as the single most common reason for deductions — ahead of damage and redecoration.

The evidence that decides these disputes is the check-in inventory and the check-out report. If the check-in report says the oven was spotless and the check-out report shows it caked in grease, a deduction will usually stand. If the property was only ever "domestically clean" when you arrived, you cannot be held to a professional standard on the way out.

When Does the Landlord Pay?

In every other situation. Cleaning between tenancies to bring a property up to marketing standard, cleaning after fair wear and tear, refreshing a property that was let in an average state — that is the landlord's cost of doing business, not the outgoing tenant's. Many Cambridge landlords and agents book this themselves; it is exactly what our landlord and letting agent service covers.

How to Protect Yourself as a Tenant

Read your check-in inventory before you start cleaning, and aim to match it room by room — our end of tenancy checklist walks through everything agents look for. Photograph the property thoroughly after cleaning, on the day you hand back keys. And if you do book a professional clean, keep the receipt: in a deposit dispute, an invoice from an insured cleaning company is strong evidence that the property was returned to standard. Our end of tenancy cleans come with a 7-day Deposit-Protection Guarantee for exactly this reason — if a genuine cleaning issue within our scope appears in your checkout report within 7 days, we return and put it right free of charge.

Frequently Asked Questions