by Huy Hoang, founder of Simply Maid.

A tenancy deposit is usually the biggest lump of cash a renter has sitting anywhere, and cleaning is the reason most of it goes missing. Not damage, not unpaid rent: cleaning. The deposit protection schemes say so every year in their dispute statistics, and my own experience says the same. I started a home-cleaning company in 2015, and the end-of-tenancy jobs we do are where I have watched the most money change hands over the least effort.

The good news is that a cleaning deduction is the most avoidable one there is. You do not need to be house-proud or spend a fortune. You need a list, a weekend, and a bit of evidence. Here is the checklist we hand to our own customers, plus the money-saving bits most people miss.

Start with the paperwork, not the mop

Dig out your check-in inventory. That report, with its photos and its comments like "oven: fair, light grease", is the standard you are being measured against. Landlords cannot ask for the property to be better than it was when you arrived, only as clean as it was, allowing for fair wear and tear. If the inventory says the carpets were "worn" on day one, you are not paying for new carpets. Knowing this before you start stops you cleaning things that were never your responsibility.

Then check the tenancy agreement for two clauses: whether it requires a professional clean (in England, since the Tenant Fees Act, a landlord cannot insist on one, only on the property being returned to check-in standard) and whether carpets or curtains need a specialist clean. Both change how much work is ahead of you.

The checklist, room by room

Work from the top of each room down, and from the furthest room towards the front door. Do it once the furniture is out, because the marks behind the sofa only appear when the sofa does not.

Kitchen

• Oven inside and out, including racks, the glass in the door and the grill pan. Leave a proper oven cleaner on overnight; this one item causes more disputes than any other.
• Hob, splashback and the extractor hood, with the filters removed and degreased.
• Inside and on top of every cupboard and drawer, and the tops of wall units.
• Fridge and freezer defrosted, wiped and left with the door propped open.
• Washing machine drawer and seal, dishwasher filter, microwave inside.
• Sink, taps, limescale, and the bin cleaned and dried.

Bathroom

• Limescale off taps, shower head and screen. White vinegar and patience beat most products.
• Grout and silicone checked for mould. If it will not clean off, a tube of sealant is cheaper than a deduction.
• Toilet inside, outside and around the base, plus the extractor fan cover.
• Mirror, tiles, and the drain.

Living areas and bedrooms

• Skirting boards, door frames, door handles and light switches wiped.
• Marks on walls removed with a damp cloth and a little washing-up liquid. Do not repaint unless you can match the colour exactly.
• Curtain rails, lampshades and the tops of wardrobes dusted.
• Inside wardrobes and drawers, and the tracks of any sliding doors.
• Windows inside, with the sills and the frames.
• Carpets hoovered, then cleaned if the agreement requires it. Keep the receipt.

Outside and extras

• Bins washed out, garden tidied, balcony swept, cobwebs cleared from the porch.
• Meter readings photographed. Keys, fobs and instruction manuals gathered up.

The evidence step nobody bothers with

On the day you hand back the keys, photograph every room, every appliance inside and out, and every cupboard, with the timestamps on. Email the photos to yourself or the letting agent so there is a dated copy. If a deduction is proposed later, those photos and your check-in inventory are the whole case, and the deposit schemes' free dispute service will look at exactly those two things. Tenants with photos win far more often than tenants with a good memory.

When paying someone is the cheaper option

A full end-of-tenancy clean is a long day for two people, and it lands in the same week as the move itself. If your time is worth more than the fee, or you simply will not get to the oven, a professional end-of-tenancy clean is a reasonable spend, provided you get two things in writing: an itemised list of what is included, and a guarantee that they will return free of charge if the agent raises anything at check-out. A clean without that guarantee is just a clean; a clean with it is deposit insurance.

Whichever route you take, do the paperwork first, work top to bottom, and photograph everything on the way out. The deposit was always your money. This is simply how you keep it.

About the author: Huy Hoang is the founder of Simply Maid, a home-cleaning company he started in Sydney in 2015 that now operates across seven Australian cities. His teams carry out end-of-tenancy cleans every week, and he writes about practical home care for renters and busy households.