What happens if your property fails the check-out inspection?

A flag on the check-out report is not an automatic deduction. The inventory clerk records whatever falls short of your check-in standard, and in most cases there is a window to put it right, or have your cleaner return, before any money is discussed. If we did the clean, our 48-hour re-clean guarantee (terms apply) covers that return visit.

There is no pass or fail

Worth clearing up first, because the language misleads people. A check-out is not an exam with a grade. A clerk walks the property against the check-in inventory, room by room, and writes down differences beyond fair wear and tear. What comes back is a comparison document, and it becomes a deduction only if the landlord decides to claim on it and you do not challenge or resolve it.

The order things actually happen in

It runs like this. The clerk produces the check-out report. The landlord or agent reads it and proposes deductions, usually by email with the report attached. You either agree, negotiate, or fix the problem. If you agree an amount, the deposit must be returned within 10 days of that agreement. If you do not agree, the money stays protected in the scheme and either side can put it to adjudication.

Our move-out timeline sets out the days either side of hand-back, and there is a deposit dispute email template if you need to put a reply in writing.

What an adjudicator will look at

Adjudication is free, impartial and decided on the evidence in front of the adjudicator. Nothing else. The Tenancy Deposit Scheme’s adjudication team is direct about what works: a photographic or video inventory, signed and dated by both parties, is the single most effective way to support a claim, and check-out photos are far more use when the lighting and angles match the check-in set.

Two limits protect you. A cleaning deduction can only restore the property to its check-in condition, not improve on it. And fair wear and tear cannot be charged. Our guides on cleaning deductions and what to photograph cover both.

Your four options when cleaning is flagged

Go back and do it. If you still have keys or can arrange access, re-cleaning the flagged items yourself is the cheapest fix by a distance.

Send the cleaner back. If a company did the work, ask them to return. That is what our guarantee is for.

Negotiate the figure. A quoted deduction is a proposal. Ask for the invoice or estimate behind it, and check it is for restoring the check-in standard rather than a full deep clean of the whole property.

Dispute it. Free through your scheme, with your check-in inventory and dated photos as the evidence.

How our re-clean guarantee works

If we carried out your end of tenancy clean and the check-out report flags our work, tell us within 48 hours and we come back to put the flagged areas right (terms apply). Send us the report, or the section of it that names the problem, and we will book the return visit.

What it is not is a promise about your deposit. That is decided by your landlord and your deposit scheme, and no cleaning company gets a vote. We would rather return and re-do an oven than spend a week arguing with a clerk about it, which is why the guarantee exists in that shape.

The flags we see most

Ovens, every time. Then limescale on shower screens, taps and tiles, and inside the kettle-line of the bathroom where nobody looks. Then carpets, then the inside of kitchen units, then the tops of doors and skirting behind furniture that has just been moved out for the first time in two years. None of it is exotic. It is just the stuff that gets missed when the van is booked for eleven.

How to avoid the whole conversation

Work through a move-out checklist and the check-out checklist agents actually use. Photograph every room in good light once the property is empty and clean, matching the angles in your check-in photos. Book the add-ons your inventory calls for, which for most properties means the oven and any carpets. You can see what our clean covers on the what is included page, or price it with an instant quote.

Quick answers

Does a flag mean I lose my deposit? No. It usually means there is something to put right first, and you often get the chance before a deduction is finalised.

Who pays for the re-clean? If we did the original clean, we return to sort the flagged areas under our 48-hour re-clean guarantee (terms apply).

What if I disagree with the report? Dispute the proposed deduction through your deposit scheme, using the check-in inventory and dated photos.

How long can they hold my deposit? Once you agree an amount it must be returned within 10 days. While a dispute is open, the deposit stays protected in the scheme until it is resolved.

Sources

• GOV.UK: tenancy deposit protection, including the 10-day return rule
• TDS adjudication team on evidence (NRLA)
• Deposit Protection Service: free dispute resolution and dispute causes

This article is general guidance for tenants, not legal advice. Tenancy agreements, inventories and deposit scheme processes vary, so check your own.