Move-in cleaning + deposit: how to split it fairly
Move-in cleaning is one of those expenses every flat has and few agree on in advance. Was the place "professionally clean" when you got the keys? Should you pay for a deep clean? Whose deposit covers what, six months later when you leave?
Pay for a professional move-in clean and split equally; log receipts. Don't use the deposit money for it. When tenancy ends, the move-out clean is also equal-split unless one flatmate is responsible for specific damage.
Most rental contracts require the place to be returned in the condition it was received, "fair wear and tear excepted". To prove that condition, take photos of every room before unpacking and pay for a professional clean if the landlord didn't.
The clean usually costs £80-£200 depending on flat size. Split equally. The receipts are part of your move-in evidence pack.
Why bother? Because at end of tenancy, the landlord might claim the place was professionally cleaned at start (so the same standard is owed at end) and your photos and cleaning receipt are the only thing that prevents you eating their cleaning fee.
UK deposits go into a tenancy deposit protection scheme (DPS, TDS, or My Deposits) within 30 days of payment. The landlord can't spend it; it's held in escrow.
At end of tenancy, the landlord proposes deductions. You either agree or dispute via the scheme's adjudication.
This matters for the flat's internal accounting because:
Same as move-in: book a professional clean, split equally, keep the receipt. £80-£200 range. Worth it because landlord-disputed cleaning charges are typically £150-£300, and disputes go to adjudication which takes 4-6 weeks.
Don't try to clean it yourselves. You'll almost always miss something the landlord then bills back, and the landlord's claimed cost will be higher than the professional you didn't hire.
Damage is on whoever caused it. The classic example: someone burns a hole in the carpet, the carpet costs £600 to replace, that's on them.
If it's genuinely ambiguous, default to equal split. If it's wear-and-tear (the kitchen tap got loose, the boiler needs servicing), it's the landlord's, not yours.
We have a longer piece on landlord charges in a shared house, explained.
Take more photos than feels reasonable on day one. Every room, every corner, the inside of the oven, the back of the radiators. Time-stamp them by uploading to a shared cloud folder immediately. The cost is 20 minutes; the saving when a landlord claims unreasonable end-of-tenancy fees is hundreds of pounds.
Create a flat group when you sign. Log the deposit, cleaning costs, photo-evidence receipts.
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