The honest answer is that it takes longer than almost everyone expects, and the reason is that an end-of-tenancy clean is not a thorough version of your normal cleaning. It is a different job. Normal cleaning is about how a place looks. An end-of-tenancy clean is about how it compares to a document written the day you moved in.
How long does it take by property size?
| Property | Clean only | With carpets |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | 2–3 hours | 3–4 hours |
| 1-bed flat | 3–5 hours | 4–6 hours |
| 2-bed house or flat | 5–7 hours | 7–9 hours |
| 3-bed house | 7–9 hours | 9–12 hours |
| 4-bed house | 9–12 hours | 12–15 hours |
Those figures assume the property is empty. Cleaning around furniture is not the same job and is far slower, because half the surfaces cannot be reached and the other half have to be done twice.
Why does it take that long?
Because of where the hours actually go. In a typical two-bed, the split looks roughly like this.
- Kitchen: 2–3 hours — oven, hob, extractor filter, inside every cupboard, behind and under appliances
- Bathrooms: 1–1.5 hours each — limescale, grout, seals, extractor vent, shower screen
- Bedrooms and living rooms: 30–45 minutes each — skirtings, sockets, doors, window tracks, inside wardrobes
- Windows inside, frames and sills: 45 minutes
- Floors last, throughout: 45 minutes
The oven is the outlier. A neglected oven with carbonised deposits on the door glass and the racks can genuinely take two hours by itself, which is why professional cleans often price it as a separate line.
What makes an end-of-tenancy clean take longer?
- A long tenancy — three years of cooking grease behind a hob is a different job from six months
- Pets — hair works into carpet backing, skirting gaps and upholstery seams
- Smoking indoors — nicotine film on ceilings and paintwork needs washing, not wiping
- Hard water — Hampshire is a hard-water area, so limescale on screens, taps and toilets is routine here
- Furniture still in the property, or a loft and garage nobody has emptied
- Mould in bathroom sealant, which needs treating rather than scrubbing
Can it be done on the same day as the move?
Yes, and for most people it should be, because the clean cannot start properly until the property is empty. The sequence that works is: load in the morning, drive and unload, then the crew returns to the old property and cleans it while the afternoon is still useful. That is exactly why we offer the move and the clean as one booking.
What does not work is booking a cleaner for 9am on the same morning you are still carrying a wardrobe down the stairs. They will clean what they can reach, you will pay for the full slot, and the inventory clerk will find the bits that were still behind the sofa.
When should I book it?
As soon as your key-return date is confirmed. The last few days of any month are the busiest in the calendar for end-of-tenancy work because most tenancies end then, and a Friday at the end of the month is the single hardest slot to get at short notice.
Do I need a professional clean to get my deposit back?
Legally, no. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019 a landlord in England cannot require you to pay for a professional clean as a condition of the tenancy. What they can require is that the property is returned in the same standard of cleanliness as the check-in inventory, allowing for fair wear and tear.
So the question is not whether you are obliged to hire someone. It is whether you can reach that standard yourself, in the hours you have left, on the day you are also moving house. For a studio, often yes. For a three-bed with a five-year tenancy and a dog, realistically no.
Summary
Budget three to five hours for a one-bed, five to seven for a two-bed and seven to ten for a family house, plus about an hour per room for carpets. Book it for after the property is empty, and book the date as soon as your key return is fixed.