End-of-Tenancy Cleaning Standard: Write the Bar Against the Inventory, Not «Professional Clean»

Keys come back and the text says you must book a professional clean because the contract says so. The check-in said domestically cleaned, or never graded cleanliness. The risk is a lump quote with no start pair. The bar is the start cleanliness line, not a brochure. Open that line, write the end against it, and if you claim a line pair start photo, end photo and an itemised invoice.

Saturday. Thea’s one let in Bristol. The AST — the assured shorthold tenancy, the written agreement — says “professionally cleaned at the end; receipts to be provided.” The check-in clerk wrote “domestically cleaned; oven grease present; carpets not professionally cleaned.” The agent WhatsApps a £240 whole-house clean.

A professional-clean clause is not the bar. TDS will not award solely on a tenancy-agreement obligation. They look for a less-clean-than-start gap. Silent check-in: they will not assume it was clean. “Good condition unless otherwise stated” is condition, not cleanliness.

Disclaimer: IziRento is operations software, not legal advice. Local tenancy rules vary; check a qualified adviser for binding decisions.

What does the end of tenancy cleaning standard vs inventory UK actually set?

The bar is the cleanliness sentence on the start inventory, not a new deep-clean brochure and not the AST line that says professionally cleaned. Open that sentence first. If it says domestically cleaned, that is the return standard. If it is blank, do not invent a professional bar from the contract.

Do open the start file in the same sitting as the tenancy folder. Read the clerk’s words — professionally cleaned, domestically cleaned, oven grease, or nothing. In practice that sentence is the bar. TDS AskTDS: return it cleaned to the same standard as at the outset.

Typical mistake: treating “professionally cleaned + receipts” in the AST as enough paper. mydeposits: the tenant is not responsible for leaving it cleaner than it started. NRLA: only compensation to the start standard. A start invoice does not invent a grade the report never wrote. The start cleanliness grade is already on that check-in inventory. Open the field. Do not rebuild the schedule.

How do you write clean versus dirty as its own field?

Clean versus dirty is its own field on the end file, separate from scratches, burns and flattened pile. Copy the start cleanliness words, then write the end words for the same room or item. Do not fold grease into damage. Do not call a faded wall dirty.

A start file that only grades condition cannot prove cleanliness got worse. TDS inventory guide v11: cleanliness and condition are not the same; over 60% of their disputes involve cleaning. mydeposits Rules of Claiming: write cleanliness separately. Wear is not relevant to a cleaning claim — cleanliness is not wear.

For example, oven grease that will wash is a cleaning line. An iron burn is condition — point at fair wear versus damage and stop. Do not run remaining-life arithmetic. Do not mix dirt with damage on one invoice line.

Why does a professional-clean clause fail as a forced hire?

You may ask the tenant to return the property to the start cleanliness standard. You may not require them to pay a named cleaner, produce a receipt as a condition of the tenancy, or start a contract for a cleaning service. They can mop to that standard themselves.

Professional clean is a method, not a forced clause. GOV.UK Tenant Fees hub (1 May / 7 July 2026): professional cleaning is not a permitted payment. Requiring a tenant to start a contract for a service is prohibited.

DPS: you cannot insist they hire professionals. A clause requiring a professional clean irrespective of check-in cleanliness is listed as potentially unreasonable. Shelter (6 May 2024): “must pay for professional cleaning” is banned. A professional standard is only fair if the start was that standard. If they hire, they keep the receipt.

What to put on a cleaning line if you claim one?

A claimed cleaning line needs start cleanliness words, end cleanliness words, a start photo or start invoice, an end photo, and an itemised quote. Split oven, carpet and general. A lump that goes past the start standard is betterment — leaving the landlord better off than the start file.

Write one line per area. DPS wants the contractor to itemise. A full professional clean despite start defects is betterment. If only part needs work, the award is a proportion. TDS: photos help for ovens, less for general dust — so the written grade still carries dusty rooms. One pair per claimed item; the media lesson is inventory photograph standards. Do not photograph after someone has already cleaned.

Thea’s £240 lump would have failed that test. Oven start = grease noted / end = still greasy / oven-only £45 is a line a stranger can follow.

When to stop this file — and leave the walk and the wear test alone?

Once the cleanliness lines are written against the start bar, stop. Do not walk every room as a new inventory. Do not run a remaining-life carpet working. Send the tenant the bar, the gap and the figure.

The whole visit — same-day walk, same room order, keys, meters — is the check-out report. Walk before anyone cleans, then come back here only for the cleanliness bar. Grouping finished lines for a scheme is the deposit dispute evidence pack. Not this card.

Success bar: Saturday opens the start cleanliness sentence, the end field, a start/end pair on each claimed item, and an itemised invoice that splits oven, carpet and general. Verify that checklist, then stop. Workflow: Open start line → Write end field → Offer professional clean as a method → Pair start/end + itemised invoice → Stop.

An IziRento workspace can hold the lease, the check-in cleanliness line, the photos and the itemised quote on one record.