Move-out timeline: from notice to check-out day
What to do and when, from giving notice to getting the deposit back: the notice period, booking the clean, the last three days and check-out day.
- No card needed
- Price agreed before booking
- 48-hour re-clean guarantee
Two months before: notice and the inventory
Since 1 May 2026, most tenants in England end their tenancy by giving at least two months' notice in writing, and an email counts. Check your agreement and send it early, because the notice date sets every other date on this list.
Find the check-in inventory now. The check-out is compared against it line by line, so note what it says about the oven, the carpets and the windows. Those lines decide whether the clean needs add-ons.
Three to four weeks before: book the clean
Book the end of tenancy clean as soon as you know the check-out date. Month-ends and Fridays fill first. Ask for the last day the place is empty, ideally the day before check-out, so there is time to put anything right before the clerk arrives.
The price is set by the size of the property: £156 for a studio up to £315 for a four-bed, plus a deep oven clean at £31 and carpets from £36 a bedroom if the inventory asks for them. Every rate is on the prices page.
- Book the van for the day before the clean, so the property is empty when the cleaners arrive
- Ask the agent who does the check-out and when
- Keep the electricity and hot water on until after the clean
One week before: clear the property
- Empty cupboards, the loft and any shed; the cleaners need clear surfaces and shelves
- Book a tip run or a bulky-waste collection for anything you are not taking
- Fill small nail holes and replace dead bulbs if your agreement asks for it
- Put the tenancy agreement, the inventory and the deposit certificate in one folder
Three days before: freezer, fridge and access
From our cleaners: the freezer is what wrecks moving-day schedules. If it is still iced up on the morning of the clean, nobody can fix it in the time available, so switch it off and leave the door open with a towel underneath two nights early.
- Empty the fridge and the freezer completely
- Confirm how the cleaners get in: keys, a key safe or the agent
- Tell us about parking permits, a concierge or a lift that needs booking
Cleaning day
The property should be empty, with the power and hot water on. You do not need to be there if the cleaners can get in. A studio usually takes about three hours; a two-bed takes five to seven hours, often with two cleaners.
Check-out day
- Walk every room in daylight and take dated photos and a short video; what to photograph lists the shots that settle disputes
- Read the meters and photograph them
- Hand back every key, spare and fob, and get a receipt
- Give the landlord or agent your forwarding address in writing
After you move out: getting the deposit back
Your deposit is held in one of the three government-approved schemes: the Deposit Protection Service, mydeposits or the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. Once you and the landlord agree how much comes back, it has to be returned within 10 days.
If the landlord proposes a deduction for cleaning, ask for the check-out report and the evidence behind the figure. You can challenge it through the scheme's free dispute service, and the amount in dispute stays protected while you do. Can a landlord charge for cleaning? covers what they can and cannot claim.
If you used us and the check-out report flags something we cleaned, tell us within 48 hours of the report and we come back and re-clean it free of charge.
If you’re close to checkout day, use the checklist and the price calculator to plan quickly.