End of Tenancy Cleaning in Essex

New-town estates, commuter semis, hard water

A lot of Essex is post-war new town. Harlow and Basildon were built as planned estates of terraces and maisonettes, and they turn over fast as rentals, so the check-out there is the oven and hob and carpets worn flat by a run of tenancies. Around Chelmsford, Brentwood and Grays it is commuter family semis and new-builds, where the deposit goes on carpet wear and the high dust on skirtings and blinds a clerk runs a finger along.

Down on the coast at Southend and Leigh there are flats and converted Victorian houses where kitchen grease and limescale do it. And Essex has some of the hardest water in the country, Basildon and Colchester sit near the top of the national table, so scale on the taps, kettles and shower screens is the deduction that turns up everywhere.

• Oven, hob and worn carpet in the Harlow and Basildon new-town estates
• Carpet wear and high dust on skirtings and blinds in the Chelmsford commuter semis
• Kitchen grease and limescale in the Southend and Leigh coastal flats
• Limescale on taps, kettles and shower screens, Essex water is among the hardest in the country

What it costs in Essex

A studio starts at £156, a one-bed at £207, a two-bed at £243, a three-bed at £339 and a four-bed at £425 for a standard end of tenancy clean. Carpets are the usual add-on.

Essex quotes run from about £125 for a small flat to £500-plus for a three-bed with carpets, so our band sits in the middle. The hard water means the bathrooms and kitchen take longer here than in a soft-water area, and that descaling is in the price, not an extra. Bigger family houses are quoted on the property.

Descaling’s in the price.

Parking and access (and no ULEZ)

Across the Essex new towns and suburbs most homes have a driveway or an unrestricted street, so parking the van is rarely the problem; controlled zones are mainly in the town centres, run by the county and the district and unitary councils between them. And like the rest of the home counties, Essex is outside Greater London, so there is no ULEZ, a van pays that charge only if it heads into London.

Where a town-centre permit is needed we sort it for the right council. Tell us the town and address when you book.

We clean to the report

Lettings across Essex run through agents like Balgores around Chelmsford and Brentwood, Beresfords across the county and Bairstow Eves in Basildon, Grays and Colchester, and a check-out is usually an itemised clerk’s report. We clean to each line: the limescale and oven first in this hard water, then the carpets in the new-town homes, the detailing in the bigger houses.

Give us the check-in inventory or the check-out report and we match the clean to it.