End of tenancy clean vs losing it from your deposit: which costs less?

Usually the clean. A professional end of tenancy clean is a price you agree up front, from £156. A cleaning deduction is decided by an inventory clerk after you have moved out, comes out of money you were expecting back, and lands in the category that causes more deposit disputes than any other.

What the dispute figures actually say

Two schemes publish their caseloads, and they agree on the shape of it. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme found cleaning in 54% of the disputes it adjudicated in 2024/25, ahead of damage at 49%, redecoration at 31%, gardening at 14% and rent arrears at 10%. The Deposit Protection Service puts cleaning behind 26.64% of its disputes, just behind property damage at 27.30%, with the two together causing more than half of everything it handles.

The number that decides the maths, though, is the deposit. TDS reports the average protected deposit at £1,175, the highest it has recorded. That is what sits on the table while somebody else decides how clean the oven was.

Worth keeping in perspective: only about 1% of protected deposits went to formal adjudication in 2024/25, some 46,950 cases. Most cleaning charges are settled between tenant and landlord long before an adjudicator sees them, which is precisely why the evidence you hold matters.

Two worked examples

A one-bed flat, twelve months in, carpets in the bedroom and living room, a gas oven that has done a lot of roasting. The base clean is £207, oven cleaning is £77, and a deep carpet clean is £36 per room, so two rooms is £72. Total £356, agreed before anyone turns up.

A two-bed, similar condition, oven and one carpeted room. Base £243, oven £77, carpet £36. That is £356 as well, as it happens. Against a deposit of around £1,175, either job costs roughly a third of what is at risk, and you know the figure in advance rather than reading it in an email three weeks after you moved.

The part of a deduction nobody prices in

It is not only the amount. It is that you have handed over every decision. The landlord or agent chooses the cleaner, approves the invoice and judges when the work is done, and none of those choices are yours. Your deposit should come back within 10 days of you both agreeing how much you get, but a disputed cleaning charge stops that clock until it is resolved.

Disputing it is free through your scheme’s adjudication service, and plenty of tenants win. It still costs you weeks and a folder of evidence.

What actually decides a cleaning dispute

Adjudicators work from the evidence in front of them and nothing else. TDS’s own adjudication team says a photographic or video inventory, signed and dated by both parties, is the single most effective way to support a claim, and that check-out photos are far more useful when they match the check-in ones for lighting and angle.

Two rules keep charges honest. The deduction can only restore the property to its check-in condition, not improve on it. And fair wear and tear is not chargeable. Our guide on what to photograph shows the specific shots that get used, and whether a landlord can charge for cleaning covers the limits.

What booking it yourself buys you

Three concrete things. A fixed price before you commit, which you can check with an instant quote or on the prices page. A dated invoice naming the property, which makes a cleaning deduction much harder to justify. And a 48-hour re-clean guarantee (terms apply), so if the check-out report flags our work we come back and sort it rather than argue about it with a clerk.

To be clear about what the guarantee is: it covers a return visit to the areas flagged, not a promise about your deposit. Your deposit is decided by your landlord and your scheme, and no cleaning company can control that.

When cleaning it yourself is the better call

Small property, already in good order, a clear day before check-out and proper products in the cupboard. That combination passes regularly. The failure points are predictable: the oven, limescale on screens and taps, and carpets that have taken a year of footfall. If you are going DIY, do the oven first rather than last, because it is the job that eats an afternoon and it is the one clerks open first.

If you would rather split the difference, plenty of tenants clean the property themselves and book only the end of tenancy clean extras that catch people out.

Quick answers

Is a professional clean really cheaper than a deduction? Usually, because you fix the price in advance instead of leaving it open to whatever the landlord arranges once you have gone.

Will an invoice stop a deduction? It is strong evidence. A dated invoice for a professional clean makes it much harder to argue the property was left dirty.

What if I clean it myself and they still deduct? Dispute it through your scheme’s free adjudication service, with photos and your check-in inventory.

How long does a dispute take? Longer than a clean. Your deposit stays protected until it is resolved, so budget for the delay as well as the money.

Sources

• Deposit Protection Service: causes of deposit disputes
• TDS Statistical Briefing 2025: dispute causes, adjudication volumes and average deposits
• GOV.UK: tenancy deposit protection and the 10-day return rule
• TDS adjudication team on evidence (NRLA)

This article is general guidance for tenants, not legal advice. Deposit scheme processes vary, so check yours and keep your own evidence.