It is probably a fair assumption to say that most people do their own cleaning. Vacuuming, dusting, and cleaning windows is standard household work for both tenants and homeowners.
However, there is a huge area for professional cleaners. Allied Market Research reported on the global cleaning service industry, They concluded the market was worth nearly £42.5 ($56) billion in 2020.
Clearly then there is a need for these services. This industry is anticipated to nearly double in value by 2030 too.
It could be said that the pandemic had an effect on this market as businesses had to bring in professional services to regularly disinfect surfaces and to comply with health regulations.
However, a large area of this market is based solely around cleaning for individuals who have come to the end of their tenancy. Why is this, and why wouldn’t you just clean the property yourself?
What does an end of tenancy clean refer to exactly?
When an individual, couple, or family, rents a home in the UK, it is normally for a set period.
Some landlords will insist on a minimum of 12 months rental, while others ask for only a 6-month commitment. Regardless of the length of the lease, a contract will be made out, and signed by both parties.
A deposit is then paid for security purposes, and the tenancy begins.
At the end of the tenancy, the landlord will take possession of their property once more and they will expect it to be in a presentable fashion.
Using end of tenancy cleaners is a popular way to ensure the property is cleaned to the standards a landlord expects. This type of clean is a thorough cleaning process that includes all areas and aspects of a home. Although you can do the end-of-tenancy cleaning yourself, hiring a cleaner will save you time and generally, professional cleaners will do a better job.
Is it something you should be troubled with?
Unfortunately, some tenants aren’t very concerned with this area. Many landlords have received the keys back to properties that have been left filthy.
As a tenant though, there are good reasons to be concerned over how you leave your rented home. Firstly, you will probably need a reference from your previous landlord so it is always good to leave on good terms. You may even wish to rent another property owned by him, or marketed by the same letting agents later on.
You will also surely wish to receive your deposit back. Ignoring an end of tenancy clean will make this much harder to achieve.
What can an end of tenancy clean do that you can’t?
There is no reason why you cannot put the time and effort into cleaning a home yourself before you hand back the keys. Whether you will be able to clean to the same standards as an end of tenancy cleaning service is another matter.
There are perhaps some areas of concern, or services these firms offer, that you might miss or be unable to accomplish. Here are a few of those.
Understand what needs to be cleaned
Professional services understand the places in your home that need cleaning. This might sound straightforward, but do you really know what the landlord’s inspection is going to consist of?
An end of tenancy cleaning service will come with a checklist of areas in the home that need to be thoroughly cleaned. You running the vacuum and duster around for an hour might not cut it.
Guarantee against breakages
Accidents happen in the home all the time. Rushing around to perform a clean when you are already stressed about your new move could result in a breakage.
No doubt you signed an inventory when you moved in, and anything damaged or missing will need to be replaced. Another deduction from your security deposit.
Cleaning services provide insurance and guarantees against breakages for peace of mind.
Properly disinfect
A cleaning firm will have the products and the experience to know how to truly disinfect kitchen surfaces and bathrooms.
Guaranteed clean
If your clean isn’t up to scratch then your landlord may make deductions from your deposit. This is standard and covers him when he has to hire a cleaning company to make the property rentable again.
If you use a professional service and you aren’t happy, they will have to come back and redo any areas that didn’t meet your standards. And this will be done for free.
Clean upholstery
Not all upholstery is easy to clean. Professional services are used to all manner of upholstery, and they will also remove unseen issues such as dust mites.
Upholstered furniture and curtains can be expensive. Indeed, if you are renting an upmarket apartment, that sofa may have cost the landlord a reasonable sum.
Attempting to clean upholstery yourself could end up removing colour from it and making permanent damage. This is an area that is often best left to professionals.
Deep clean ovens
Yes, you could do this job yourself, but do you really want to? As much as people try to keep their ovens clean, it is easy to build up grease and residue from cooking.
If you have neglected your oven over the last year, deep cleaning could be an unpleasant task. Removing smelly grease, and restoring the cooker to something clean and shiny is an unenviable task.
Get your deposit back
You’ve already read many ways in which your deposit could be getting reduced. One good reason for hiring an end of tenancy cleaning company is that they know how to get deposits back.
You probably already have your money secured in a government tenancy deposit scheme, but that doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to see it all again.
One of the most common landlord and tenant disputes is over cleaning. The cleaning services are experienced in understanding how a property needs to be left so that the deposit is returned.
In fact, many end of tenancy cleaning services guarantee the full return of a security deposit.
Deep clean your carpets
You can hire a steam cleaner to clean those carpets, but why pay out for this when you can have it incorporated in a full house clean?
Giving the carpets a proper clean is one way to give the whole property a lift and will certainly impress anyone inspecting the home.
When it comes to deep cleans, a professional service will perform this all over the home. They can deep clean your bedroom from top to bottom, remove stains from rugs, and remove lime from bathroom tiles.
Use equipment that you cannot
Speaking of steam cleaners, a professional cleaning firm will simply have the experience that you don’t.
This means that while you are reading the instruction manual from your hired carpet cleaner, an experienced cleaner would have finished the job, or at least be well on the way.
They also have all the cleaning products that are needed, meaning that you don’t need to go out and buy any.
Summary
The biggest reason that many people decide against using an end of tenancy cleaning service is simply the cost.
Most people think they can clean their rental home to an acceptable standard, and save money at the same time. There is some truth in this.
However, what should be weighed up is how much time and money you will spend cleaning the property yourself, and how much of your security deposit you may lose. Compare that to bringing in a professional, and see how the maths works.
