End of tenancy cleaning costs between £180 and £420 across most of the UK, with London typically running £220 to £500 or more. A two bedroom flat is the most common job and usually lands between £200 and £300 outside London. Carpet cleaning is charged separately and adds roughly £75 to £175.
Those are the headline numbers. The more useful question is what moves them, because the gap between a £200 quote and a £380 quote on the same flat is rarely about greed. It is almost always about what is included, how many hours are being allocated, and whether there is a guarantee attached.
Cost by property size
| Property | UK average | London |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | £120 to £180 | £150 to £240 |
| 1 bedroom | £150 to £250 | £180 to £300 |
| 2 bedrooms | £200 to £300 | £240 to £380 |
| 3 bedrooms | £300 to £420 | £340 to £500 |
| 4 bedrooms | £380 to £480 | £420 to £580 |
| 5+ bedrooms | £450 to £600 | £520 to £750 |
Bathrooms matter as much as bedrooms. A two bedroom flat with two bathrooms often prices closer to a three bedroom, because bathrooms are slow, detailed work and limescale removal needs contact time that cannot be rushed.
Regional variation
Region is the second largest factor after property size. The pattern across the UK looks roughly like this:
| Region | Relative to UK average |
|---|---|
| Central and inner London | 25% to 45% higher |
| Outer London and the South East | 10% to 25% higher |
| South West, East of England | Around average |
| Midlands | Around average to 10% lower |
| North West, Yorkshire | 5% to 15% lower |
| North East, Wales | 10% to 20% lower |
| Scotland, outside Edinburgh | 5% to 15% lower |
| Edinburgh | Around London outer levels |
London carries a genuine cost base rather than an inflated one: higher wages, congestion charge, ULEZ, and parking that can add £20 to £40 to a single job. Central London quotes sometimes carry a separate parking or permit line, which is legitimate but should be disclosed up front rather than added afterwards.
What should be included as standard
Before comparing two quotes, check they cover the same work. A reputable quote includes all of the following.
Kitchen
- Oven interior, racks, door glass and grill pan
- Hob, including under the burner caps
- Extractor hood and filter degreased
- Inside, on top of and underneath all cupboards
- Fridge and freezer defrosted and washed inside
- Washing machine drawer, seal and filter
- Dishwasher filter and spray arms
- Splashback, tiles and grout
- Sink, taps and overflow descaled
- Bin cleaned inside and out
Bathrooms
- Full limescale removal from taps, shower head, screen and tiles
- Grout scrubbed
- Toilet including hinges, base and behind the pan
- Extractor vent
- Cabinet interiors
- Mirrors and chrome polished
Throughout
- Interior windows, sills, frames and tracks
- Skirting boards, door tops, light fittings and radiators
- Inside wardrobes and drawers
- Behind and under furniture where accessible
- All floors vacuumed and mopped
- A re-clean guarantee, commonly 48 to 72 hours
If a quote is noticeably cheaper than the others, the difference is almost always one of four things: the oven, the internal windows, inside the cupboards, or the guarantee.
Every extra you might be charged
| Extra | Typical cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Carpet cleaning, per room | £35 to £60 | Hot water extraction |
| Carpet cleaning, 2 bed flat | £75 to £175 | Cheaper bundled than separate |
| Stairs and landing carpet | £45 to £85 | Priced separately from rooms |
| Single oven deep clean | £45 to £80 | Often included; check |
| Double oven | £70 to £110 | |
| Range cooker | £80 to £130 | |
| Exterior windows | £30 to £90 | Access dependent |
| Upholstery, 3 seat sofa | £45 to £90 | For furnished lets |
| Mattress clean, per mattress | £30 to £60 | For furnished lets |
| Balcony or patio | £30 to £60 | |
| Garage or outbuilding | £40 to £90 | |
| Pet hair supplement | £20 to £50 | |
| Same-day or emergency | 20% to 50% | Peak season especially |
| Parking or congestion | £15 to £40 | Central London |
The extras most often missed at quoting stage are stairs, exterior windows and the pet supplement. Mention all three when you ask for a price.
What pushes the price up
Condition, not just size. A well-kept flat cleaned regularly for two years takes far less time than an identical flat that has not been touched. Most companies will ask how long you have lived there and whether the oven has been cleaned recently. Answer honestly. A quote based on wrong information gets revised on the day, which is worse for everyone.
The oven. The single biggest variable in a domestic clean. A neglected oven can take two hours on its own.
Pets. Hair works its way into carpets, skirting and upholstery, and it takes real time to remove. Expect a supplement, and expect your tenancy agreement to require professional carpet cleaning if you had a pet.
Furniture still in place. An empty property is quicker and can be cleaned properly. A furnished one costs more and delivers less, because a good proportion of the surfaces simply cannot be reached.
Timing. Late June through August is peak season because student and academic tenancies end together. Same-week bookings in that window carry a premium if you can get one at all.
Hard water. In hard water areas across the south and east of England, limescale removal takes substantially longer. Mention your area, because a quote priced on soft water assumptions will not have enough hours in it.
VAT. Smaller operators below the VAT registration threshold do not charge it. Larger companies do. That is a 20% difference on identical work, so always ask whether the figure quoted is the figure you pay.
Is it worth paying for?
Run the arithmetic against what is at risk. A typical UK deposit is five weeks' rent. On a £1,400 a month tenancy that is roughly £1,615 sitting with a deposit scheme.
Deposit Protection Service data reported in 2026 shows cleaning made up 29.38% of all deposit claims, the largest single category and the top cause for five consecutive years, up from 24.57% in 2021.
A £250 clean against a £1,615 deposit is not really a cleaning decision. It is an insurance decision, and the thing you are insuring against is the most common category of loss.
That said, if the property is small, you have kept on top of it and you have time, doing it yourself is entirely legitimate.
The honest DIY comparison
| Doing it yourself | Hiring a company | |
|---|---|---|
| Materials | £30 to £60 | Included |
| Carpet machine hire | £25 to £35 per day | Included in carpet price |
| Time, 2 bed | 10 to 14 hours, one person | 5 to 7 hours, not yours |
| Oven result | Variable, hard work | Consistently good |
| Carpet result | Adequate, long drying | Better extraction, faster drying |
| If the agent flags something | You return and redo it | Free re-clean within the window |
| Evidence in a dispute | Your own photographs | Invoice plus itemised checklist |
The saving is real: roughly £150 to £350 on a two bedroom flat. What you give up is the guarantee and the paperwork, and in a dispute those are worth more than they look.
A sensible middle path, if budget is tight, is to do the general clean yourself and pay for the two jobs where the equipment gap is widest: the oven at £45 to £80, and the carpets at £75 to £175.
How to avoid overpaying
1. Get three quotes and give all three identical information. Property size, number of bathrooms, whether it will be empty, pets, hard water area, and the oven's honest condition. Quotes based on different assumptions are not comparable.
2. Ask what is excluded. This finds the gap faster than asking what is included. The usual omissions are the oven, internal windows, inside cupboards and the guarantee.
3. Confirm the re-clean guarantee in writing, including how long you have to claim it. Commonly 48 to 72 hours from completion.
4. Book the empty property. Cleaning around boxes costs more and achieves less.
5. Do not pay a large deposit up front. Established companies invoice on completion. A demand for full payment in advance from a company you have not used is a warning sign.
6. Bundle carpets with the main clean rather than booking a separate visit, which incurs a second minimum charge of £60 to £90.
7. Ask for an itemised checklist, not just an invoice. It costs the company nothing and it is what you need if a deduction is proposed later.
8. Book early in peak season. Three weeks ahead in July and August. Late bookings pay premiums.
Reading a quote properly
The most reliable signal of a fair price is a company that asks questions before giving a number. Property size, bathroom count, pets, condition, access, whether it will be furnished, hard water. A quote produced instantly from a postcode and a bedroom count has priced an average property, not yours.
Be sceptical of:
- Headline prices far below the local range, which almost always escalate on the day
- Quotes with no written scope
- Companies that will not confirm the guarantee in writing
- Demands for cash with no invoice, which leaves you with no evidence for a deposit dispute
- Pressure to book immediately at a discount that expires today
Frequently asked questions
Do prices include VAT? Not always. Ask directly whether the quoted figure is what you will pay. It is a 20% difference.
How far ahead should I book? One to two weeks normally, three weeks in the June to August peak.
Can I be charged for cleaning after I have moved out? Your landlord can propose a deduction from your deposit if the property is less clean than at check-in. In England they cannot charge you a separate professional cleaning fee as a condition of the tenancy, following the Tenant Fees Act 2019.
Is a cheaper quote always worse? Not necessarily, but check the hours. Two cleaners for three hours is six hours of labour. If one quote allocates six hours and another allocates four on the same property, the cheaper one is not cheaper, it is smaller.
Should I tip? Not expected in end of tenancy work. If the team has done an exceptional job on a difficult property, it is appreciated but never assumed.
What if the clean does not pass inspection? With a guarantee, you contact the company within the stated window and they return free. Without one, you have no recourse, which is the main argument for checking it exists before booking.
Do I pay before or after? After completion is standard. Some companies ask for a small deposit to hold a peak-season slot, which is reasonable.
Can I get a fixed price rather than a range? Yes, and you should. Any established company will confirm a fixed figure in writing once they have the details. A range is fine for research; it is not fine for a booking.
