Can I charge the tenant for cleaning?

Can a landlord charge a tenant for cleaning?

Yes. You can deduct the reasonable cost of cleaning your tenant should have done, if the home was left less clean than at the start. The check-in report sets that standard. At TDS, an adjudicator (the scheme’s impartial decision-maker) looks for evidence the property was less clean at the end than the start (TDS).

A clause in the tenancy agreement isn’t enough on its own. TDS won’t make an award solely because the agreement says the tenant must clean (TDS). The clause gives you the right to claim. The two reports show the breach.

Cleaning is the deduction landlords make most. It was the reason for about 29% of DPS deposit claims in 2025, the top reason for the fifth year running (DPS). The checklist and the itemised invoice are in the post on charging your tenant for cleaning. This page adds how each scheme approaches it, and the items landlords ask about most.

Can I make my tenant pay for a professional clean?

Not as a requirement. In England, a landlord must not require a tenant to enter into a contract with a third party for a service (Tenant Fees Act 2019, section 1). Wales has the same ban on requiring a contract for services (Renting Homes (Fees etc.) (Wales) Act 2019, section 2).

What you can claim in England is damages for a breach of the tenancy agreement, which the Act permits (Schedule 1, paragraph 5). So the deduction is the cost of the cleaning that wasn’t done, not a fee for a cleaner.

How do TDS, DPS and mydeposits approach cleaning?

All three start from the same rule. Your tenant owes the standard recorded at check-in, and no higher. They differ in what they stress.

TDS

• The check-in must mention cleanliness. “Good condition unless otherwise stated” doesn’t cover it (TDS).
• Fair wear and tear isn’t relevant to cleaning (TDS).
• Photos are of little value for general cleaning, but help for single items such as ovens and other kitchen appliances (TDS).
• Without an invoice or quote, TDS judges the cost itself, from internet prices, similar cases in the region and the size of the property (TDS).

DPS

• You can’t insist your tenant hires professional cleaners to reach the required standard (DPS).
• A clause requiring a professional clean whatever the cleanliness at check-in is potentially unreasonable (DPS).
• The better clause asks for the same standard as at the start. If that was a professional standard, have the evidence that shows it (DPS).
• A contractor’s bill should itemise the work done (DPS).

mydeposits

• Fair wear and tear applies to condition, not cleanliness, whether the tenancy lasted one year or six (mydeposits).
• Claiming a professional clean when the home was only domestically clean at the start is betterment, which means charging for a higher standard than the tenant received (mydeposits).
• The cost must be proportionate to the breach. Where only some areas were left dirty, a share of the bill is the likely award (mydeposits).
• You can do the cleaning yourself. In one case, five hours of a landlord’s time plus £42 of materials was found reasonable against a contractor’s estimate of £180 plus VAT (mydeposits).

Can I charge my tenant for oven cleaning?

Yes, if the oven was clean at check-in and isn’t at check-out. The oven is where photos help most. TDS suggests photographing the inside of ovens, grills and extractor hoods at check-in, because those photos help with cleaning claims (TDS).

Make the oven its own line on the invoice or quote, separate from the general clean. TDS’s own example claim does this, as the cleaning post shows.

Can I charge my tenant for defrosting and cleaning the fridge freezer?

Yes, if it was clean at check-in and was left dirty or iced up. TDS’s guidance to tenants says the fridge freezer should be defrosted before check-out (TDS). Blackened door seals on appliances aren’t fair wear and tear (TDS).

Photograph the inside of the fridge and freezer at check-in (TDS). Claim defrosting and cleaning as its own line.

A cracked drawer or shelf is damage, not cleaning, and is reduced for age. The check-in has to show the drawers. In one mydeposits case, nothing was awarded for a cracked freezer drawer, because the check-in photos didn’t show the drawers clearly (mydeposits).

Can I charge for carpet cleaning?

Yes, for soiling that wasn’t there at check-in. Record carpets on their own line in both reports. TDS’s sample summary has a separate carpets entry, such as “Not professionally cleaned” (TDS).

A stain that cleaning won’t remove is damage rather than cleaning (mydeposits). The post on carpet damage covers that.

A tick-box check-in is the usual weak point. In one mydeposits case, the check-in had no comments on cleanliness and only overview photos. Only a small amount was awarded towards cleaning the carpets (mydeposits).

Can I charge for cleaning the windows?

Only for the windows, and the sides, that were clean at check-in. TDS’s sample check-in summary records “Windows: cleaned to interior” (TDS). Its sample cleaning table lists interior and exterior windows as separate items (TDS). The full answer is on cleaning the windows, inside and out.

Has the Renters’ Rights Act changed cleaning deductions?

The cleaning standard hasn’t moved. What changed in England on 1 May 2026 is how most tenancies end. Most assured shorthold tenancies became assured periodic tenancies, and a tenant ends one with two months’ written notice (GOV.UK).

That notice gives you a known date to book the check-out. Inspect as soon as possible after your tenant leaves, and before any cleaning is done (TDS).

Where next?

Record cleanliness at check-in, room by room and item by item. Then claim only the difference at check-out. The deposit deduction calculator works out the share for damaged items, and what you can deduct covers the rest of the deposit. If your tenant disputes the deduction, a deposit dispute pack sets each cleaning deduction beside the check-in and check-out entries it relies on.