How to choose the best professional cleaning company for end of lease cleaning
When leaving a property, whether it be a studio, flat or multi-storey house, it is essential to ensure that it is left in the best possible condition. There are many reasons why this is so important.
When accepting a rental property, the tenant must sign a tenancy agreement. This will include details on how the property is being offered to them, including all rent charges and payments that have to be made to secure the property such as the agreed tenancy deposit and any rent needed upfront.
The tenancy deposit is in place at the end of the tenancy agreement or if the tenant decides to move out. The landlord/real estate agents/letting agency has that deposit if any further professional cleaning is required or the tenant has made any damages that need repairing.
In most cases, if the tenant has booked a professional cleaning service and an experienced cleaning company has carried it out, the tenant probably will receive their deposit back after the tenancy agreement has ended.
However, in the unlikely event that the tenants have booked end-of-tenancy cleaning services but the cleaning company has not provided a professional cleaning team the tenant’s cleaning may not be good enough. This means that the cleaning may not be good enough at the final inspection where a cleaning checklist will be filled out.
In this case, the landlord lets agents or estate agents use the tenancy deposit to have the property cleaned again by their chosen professional cleaning team. Once they have had this completed, they would complete a final inspection and complete a lease cleaning checklist before being able to offer the property to the next tenants. Sometimes this can be costly especially if the landlord, letting agents or estate agents have picked the company to re-clean. It is always best to make sure you as the tenant hire a trusted insured cleaning company with the best possible professional cleaners.
So how can you tell if a professional cleaning company is professional and whether they will provide you with the best possible cleaning service and professional cleaners? How do you choose a great end of lease cleaning company?
Good research is always a great start
Always research the professional cleaning company you are looking to book. Check their reviews online and ask friends and family if they have ever used the cleaning company. You need to make sure that they offer a tenancy cleaning service.
You need to ensure they offer an end-of-tenancy cleaning service in particular as this includes a deep cleaning of the whole property. You need to check that they have the correct specialist equipment for the property’s cleaning needs. Also, you need to make sure that they have a team of fully trained and insured cleaning technicians. They must be fully trained and insured because if they are not guaranteed and do happen to cause any damage to the property whilst cleaning, they will not be covered to fix it.
All of these factors are important to get the property professional cleaned correctly. It allows you to be certain that the cleaning team has full knowledge of which products and equipment are to be used on certain surfaces and how they are used. This information should be readily available on the cleaning company’s website if they have one. It may even be worthwhile calling the cleaning company and asking them some questions for yourselves.
Most will offer advice for all cleaning situations and a free no-obligation quote so you don’t have to decide there and then on the phone. This allows you to shop around for the best service and price. Always ensure that they are sending a highly trained professional cleaning team. End-of-tenancy cleaning isn’t as easy as some other light cleaning services that cleaning companies offer so you want the best possible team.
You need to check you are receiving reliable service and ensure you can count on the cleaning company to provide that. You wouldn’t want to have the cleaning company booked and then for them to pull out last minute because maybe they don’t have the cleaners available now or have just accepted a bigger higher paid job over yours. It sounds unlikely but it does happen.
All kinds of end-of-tenancy cleaning services in London are very competitive and there are so many professional end-of-tenancy cleaning companies to choose from. This is why research is so important. You need to discover which out of the hundreds of cleaning companies available there are truly professional and can provide the best service for the best price.
Some companies might be a lot cheaper but can they provide you with professional end of tenancy cleaners? Can they provide you with the professional standard cleaning that a landlord, letting agents or estate agents would see fit for their property?
Getting that deposit back in full is something that every tenant aims for at the end of their tenancy agreement. Another thing to check and look out for is hidden charges. Make sure you ask before agreeing with the cleaning service whether there are any hidden charges you need to be aware of. Parking fees are usually the charges that cleaning companies do not tell you or make you aware of. A truly professional cleaning company will ask you if parking is available at the property before they finish the booking with you. If there isn’t they may need to include any parking fees for your area.
They will be able to check to see if any charges are in place before you book your cleaning service. Another charge that could occur is key collection. If you cannot be present when the cleaning team arrives, you may ask if they can collect the keys from a different address. Most professional end of tenancy cleaning companies is happy to do this however depending on how far the other address is will determine the additional cost for key collection. This will also apply if they need to drop the keys off once the cleaning is complete. So research is key.
Take the time to research cleaning companies as best you can. There’s nothing worse than booking a second cleaning company to clean what the first didn’t. It costs you more money and can place doubt in all cleaning companies in the future. We find that once a tenant finds that cleaning company that does a great job, they will continue to use them for the rest of their lives because it is hard to find the great ones with so many out there to choose from.
Can a landlord/ estate agent charge the tenant for end-of-tenancy cleaning?
The short answer is yes. If the landlord/estate agents complete the final checklist and they are unhappy with the condition of the property clean that the tenant had booked they will use all or part of the tenant’s deposit. In some cases if there are damages or the re-clean is more than the deposit amount the landlord will request that the tenant pays for the re-clean and any outstanding balances.
This can all be avoided if you check the cleaning before the cleaning company leaves. The landlord or estate agents will complete the end of lease checklist and expect the entire rental property to be spotless upon your departure. They tend to expect it to be left in the same condition as it was leased out, so any holes in the walls from hooks and so on will need to be filled/sanded and painted, all rooms should be fully cleaned and free from dirt/stains.
Everything taken into the property by the tenant needs to be removed and anything that was there already left where it was. Anything left by the tenant that wasn’t the landlord’s will need to be removed and if the landlord or letting agent has to do this they will charge the tenant for removal charges.
Do you have to clean at the end-of-tenancy professionally?
No, there isn’t usually anything to state that you must have the rental property professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy agreement, just that it has to be cleaned to a high standard. However, if you clean the property yourself there is a high chance that it won’t be cleaned to a professional standard.
Cleaning a whole property yourself with shop-bought products can take double the time than if you were to book a professional team of end of tenancy cleaners. Shop-bought products are not usually as great as professional cleaning products. Professional cleaning companies’ equipment is much better and easily removes built-up dirt and grime, making an effort and time a lot smaller.
The professional cleaning company will be able to provide all the cleaning materials and cleaning equipment needed. They can provide you with an entire professional cleaning team and the required end of tenancy cleaning team. Fully trained and fully insured. The letting agent may have in your tenancy agreement that they require you to have the property professionally cleaned. This is something you would need to check before agreeing to take the property. It all depends on the letting agency or landlord. They will have everything detailed in the tenancy agreement, be sure to read it thoroughly.
What exactly does end-of-tenancy cleaning services include?
End-of-tenancy cleaning services should always include a full deep cleaning ensuring that the entire property is cleaned from top to bottom. Тhe process from the first phone call should be as easy as possible for the tenant/ estate agent. They should be informed exactly of what they are booking from the moment they call. Тhis would include how many cleaners will be sent, the tenancy cleaning prices and what services they expect.
End of tenancy cleaning services will include cleaning of:
- all areas
- all sideboards and shelving will be dusted and disinfected
- flooring will be vacuumed and mopped. This included all types of hard flooring and carpet.
- kitchen appliances will be cleaned inside and out this will include oven cleaning and extractor fan cleaning, washing machine cleaning and any small appliances present in the property at the time. Kitchen cupboards and drawers will be cleaned inside and out also.
- All window cleaning will also be included (many cleaning companies only include internal window cleaning). External window cleaning usually comes at an additional cost. But internally you will get window polishing also. This removes any smears from the glass that cleaning products may have left.
- All skirting boards, light switches, plug sockets, door frames and handles will be dusted and disinfected as well
- deep cleaning of the bathroom is essential for the tenants and landlords. Everything will be disinfected including the shower screen if there is one (it will also be polished) removing and watermarks and limescale. The toilet inside and out will be deep cleaned removing any limescale or staining present and all taps and showerheads/fixings.
The best thing about Professional cleaning of the property is that it will eliminate all worry about losing the tenancy deposit. This will allow the tenant to focus on more important things. Besides external window cleaning most professional cleaning companies can offer a professional carpet cleaning service and professional upholstery cleaning service at additional costs. This will be for any type of carpeted area and upholstery, whether curtains, mattresses or sofas, and can produce fantastic results.
Upholstery and carpet cleaning can offer that finishing touch, mainly if any staining occurred during the tenant’s time in the property. Once the professional tenancy cleaners arrive they should be ready to work immediately. This makes use of every second to ensure that they have enough time to complete the best possible cleaning service.
Tenancy cleaning companies should always provide you with all the required equipment and cleaning products required to complete the clean, and they should be able to determine how many cleaners will be needed. They may ask for some property images if the tenant thinks it is pretty dirty. This is so they can send the right amount of cleaners for the correct amount of time.
All professional cleaning companies should use environmentally safe products at all times. Eco-friendly products are most recommended and most commonly used. These products ensure that anyone present during the clean is safe this includes pets, children and allergy sufferers. Don’t be fooled though. Although these products are eco friendly and safe that doesn’t mean they are any less powerful.
All the products used should be able to provide a professional cleaning standard and a lot of them make removing dirt and grime very easy. Much easier than buying cleaning products from stores and having to clean yourself.
The cleaning machinery and equipment are always top standard also. The carpet cleaning machine is usually a powerful machine equipped with two water tanks and a powerful suction hose. The two separate water tanks allow the professional carpet and upholstery technician to clean the property’s carpets with clean water. In contrast, the dirty water is stored in a separate tank. The last thing you want is to clean the carpets using the dirty water that has already been sucked up from the carpet fibres.
The powerful suction allows the technician to soak the carpet with hot water loosening and remove all dirt and clean using hotter temperatures means that we can kill all bacteria and any creepy crawlies like dust mites. The suction removes nearly all of the water soaked into the carpet meaning that although soaked it is left damp to touch not drenched. This means that the carpet can be dried in minimal time. If windows can be left open the carpet can be fully dry within 5-24 hours.
This all applies to professional upholstery cleaning too. The same machine would be used to clean sofa and upholstery, again allowing them to be left smelling clean and looking fresh in no time. The whole process is rapid. The machines can soak and remove the water in a matter of seconds. This means that steam carpet technicians can have the entire process complete in minimal time. We know that life can be busy and great cleaning companies would want to ensure that minimal disruption is caused.
So the main thing to remember when hiring an excellent cleaner for the end of lease cleaning is always do some research on the company you’re looking at. Make a phone call and speak to the staff. They can offer so much advice and put your mind at ease if you have doubts.
Have questions for them ready such as:
What cleaning products do you use?
Are your end of tenancy cleaning team thoroughly trained and insured?
Do you offer a free re-clean guarantee? (if the clean isn’t passed on the final inspection)
Are there any hidden charges such as parking fees?
Just be prepared and check out reviews and previous cleaning services they have completed. They may even have some previous cleaning images (before and after) on the website to see their results. These are all small things that a trustworthy professional cleaning company will have. No matter what cleaning service you might require, a trustworthy cleaning company should be able to provide it.
