Move-Out Cleaning and Your Security Deposit

The clean is judged against your move-in report, not against how tidy the place looks. Knowing what gets checked is most of the job.

The short answer

A move-out clean is inspected against the condition report from when you moved in, and deductions come from anything beyond normal wear and tear. Our cleaning crew starts once the truck pulls away — $129/hr for two cleaners, 3-hour minimum.

Rate, 2 cleaners
$129/hr
Rate, 3 cleaners
$149/hr
Minimum
3-hour minimum
Best timing
Empty unit, straight after the truck leaves

What actually gets inspected

Property managers walk the unit against the move-in inspection report and deduct for anything past normal wear and tear. In practice the deductions cluster in a small number of places, and they are rarely the places tenants clean first.

Appliance interiors are the most commonly cited: inside the oven, the refrigerator, the microwave and the dishwasher. After that come bathroom grout, the base of the toilet, window tracks and sills, the space behind and beneath the refrigerator, and marks on hallway walls.

  • check_circleOven interior, stovetop, range hood and filter
  • check_circleRefrigerator inside, and the floor and wall behind it
  • check_circleBathroom grout, shower door tracks, toilet base
  • check_circleWindow tracks, sills and blinds — dust on blinds is a frequent deduction
  • check_circleBehind and under everything that used to be furniture
  • check_circleCarpets, and the skirting the vacuum never reached

Why an empty unit cleans better

Every one of those areas is either behind furniture or under it. Cleaning before the move means cleaning around your own belongings, and then carrying them out over what you just cleaned.

Booking the clean for after the truck departs means the crew works an empty unit, reaches everything on the list, and finishes on the same day you hand back the keys.

Your deposit, and the timeline

Surveys of renters consistently find that fewer than half get their full deposit back. Landlords generally have a defined window — commonly two to four weeks depending on the state — to return the deposit with an itemised written list of any deductions.

Keep your own evidence. Photograph every room once it is empty and clean, with the date, before you hand the keys over. It costs ten minutes and it is the only record you will have if the itemised list arrives and you disagree with it.

Common questions

Should I clean before or after the movers come?expand_more

After. Most deposit deductions are for areas that are behind or underneath furniture — inside appliances, window tracks, behind the refrigerator — and none of those can be reached properly until the unit is empty.

How much does move-out cleaning cost?expand_more

$99/hr for one professional cleaner, $129/hr for two or $149/hr for three, with a 3-hour minimum. The size of the unit and how much cleaning it has had recently decide how many hours it takes.

Can you do the move and the clean on the same day?expand_more

Yes, and that is how we prefer to schedule it. The moving crew loads and leaves, the cleaning crew follows into the empty unit, and both are booked in one call.

Want yours quoted? About 15 minutes on the phone.

call(949) 795-8290