Cleaning is one of the most common deposit disputes and one of the most commonly lost — by the landlord. The principle that adjudicators apply is unromantic: a tenant has to return the property in the condition they received it, allowing for fair wear and tear.
The condition at check-in is the benchmark
A property handed over freshly professionally cleaned should be returned that way. A property handed over “clean to a domestic standard” should be returned to the same domestic standard. Mixing the two is where claims unravel.
Quotes, not estimates
A cleaning charge needs to be a real invoice from a real provider, not an estimate from the office. Adjudicators heavily discount round-number guesses.
Photos that match the description
A claim for "oven not cleaned" needs a photo of the oven. A claim for "kitchen left dirty" needs photos that show specifically what was dirty.
When in doubt, write the claim as if you are explaining it to a stranger who has never seen the property. If the explanation needs more photos, take them now.
