What letting agents check before returning your deposit (full checklist)

Inventory clerks work to a checklist. If you know the checklist, you can clean to it — and walk away with your full deposit. Here's what's actually inspected at a London or Hertfordshire check-out, room by room, based on the inventory reports we see every week.

Kitchen

• Oven — interior walls, roof, door glass (both sides), racks, trays, seals
• Hob and extractor — burners, knobs, hood filters, grease on the underside
• Fridge and freezer — defrosted, seals wiped, drip tray clean, shelves removed and washed
• Inside every cupboard and drawer, including crumbs in corners and sticky shelf liners
• Tops of wall units (dust and grease build-up — the most commonly missed item)
• Sink, taps and drainer — limescale removed, plug chain clean
• Behind and underneath freestanding appliances where accessible

Bathroom

• Limescale on shower screen, taps, showerhead and tile grout
• Toilet — under the rim, base, behind the cistern, hinges
• Extractor fan cover and grille
• Sealant inspected for mould — discoloured sealant is often charged for if not cleaned
• Mirror, light fittings and shaver socket

Living areas and bedrooms

• Skirting boards, picture rails and coving — wiped, not just hoovered around
• Light switches, sockets and door handles — fingerprints removed
• Radiators — front, sides and tops
• Inside fitted wardrobes, including the top shelf and floor
• Carpets — professionally cleaned if the inventory says so, otherwise hoovered to a high standard

Windows, doors and frames

• Internal glass on every window and door
• Window tracks and sills — including the channel debris that builds up over a tenancy
• Door frames and architrave — scuffs and fingerprints
• Patio and balcony doors — both sides of the glass

Walls and floors

Hard floors should be mopped, not just hoovered, with attention to corners and behind doors. Walls are inspected for scuffs and marks — a magic eraser used carefully will lift most fingerprints and shoe marks without affecting paint. Nail holes from picture hooks usually need filling and touching up unless your tenancy explicitly permits them.

Paperwork that helps

Three things make deposit disputes vastly easier to win: a copy of the check-in inventory with photos, dated photos taken on the day you hand keys back, and a professional cleaning invoice. If a deposit is challenged through TDS, MyDeposits or DPS, those three documents resolve most claims within days rather than weeks.