When a deposit gets withheld, it is almost never because of something dramatic. Nobody loses their money over a hole in the wall, because everyone knows a hole in the wall is a problem. Deposits are lost over the oven, the shower screen, and the greasy patch behind the cooker — the things you stopped seeing two years ago.
Understand what is actually being judged
The standard is not "clean". The standard is the condition it was in when you moved in, minus fair wear and tear. That distinction decides most disputes.
Carpet worn thin along a hallway is wear and tear. A stain on that carpet is not. Paint gone slightly dull is wear and tear. Scuffs where you dragged furniture are not. You are not expected to return the place improved. You are expected to return it as you found it.
If you have photos from move-in day, this is the moment they earn their keep. If you do not, take photos on the way out anyway — they protect you from claims about things you did not do.
The places inspections actually go
An inspection follows a predictable path. In rough order of how often they cost people money:
- The oven. The single most common deduction. Racks, door glass, and the tray underneath.
- Limescale. Taps, shower head, and the glass screen. It reads as neglect even when everything else is spotless.
- Behind and under appliances. Pull out the cooker and the fridge. Nobody has cleaned there and everybody checks.
- Extractor filters. Grease-clogged and almost always forgotten.
- Walls at hand height. Light switches, door frames, around handles.
- Windows, including the frames and tracks.
- Inside cupboards. Empty means empty, and wiped.
- Bins and drains. A smell fails an inspection faster than dust.
Do it in the right order
Clean after you have emptied the place, not before. Cleaning around furniture guarantees you clean twice. Work top to bottom in each room, and leave the floors for last — everything you disturb lands on them.
Start the oven soaking before anything else. It needs the time, and it is the job people rush at the end when they are tired, which is exactly why it is the most common deduction.
Deciding whether to hire it out
An end-of-lease clean is a full day of unpleasant work, usually at the exact moment you are also moving house. Hiring it out is often cheaper than it looks once you count what a lost deposit costs.
If you do hire, be specific: say it is an end-of-lease clean, say whether the place is empty, say how many rooms, and mention the oven explicitly. "Clean a flat" and "end-of-lease clean, three rooms, empty, oven included" produce completely different quotes — and only one of them is comparable between cleaners.
Where Brikoula fits
Post the job once with the room count, the date and a photo or two, and cleaners in your area see it. For a cleaning request, it is the cleaner who spends coins to reach you, so posting costs you nothing.
Book it for the day after the van leaves, not the same day. Empty flats clean fast; half-empty ones do not.