Cleaning after tenants: what is wear and what is damage

The landlord's view, not the tenant's

This page is about preparing a flat between tenants. The tenant moving out sees a flat that has to be handed back; the landlord sees one that has to be shown tomorrow. Different jobs, different lists of work.

The price is standard: one room UAH 1,550, two rooms 1,950, three rooms 2,350.

What usually has to be done after tenants

• Appliances inside. Tenants rarely clean the oven and the fridge: UAH 499 and 450.
• Kitchen cabinets inside — UAH 800. That is where traces of the previous occupants most often remain.
• The bathroom. Included in the base, but after a long tenancy it often takes longer.
• Windows — UAH 320 each. The next tenant looks at them the way a buyer looks at a viewing.

Where wear ends and damage begins

This is the question deposits are argued over, and cleaning does not settle it — it only reveals the real condition. Dirt, grease, dust and limescale are cleaning, and afterwards the surface is back to what it was.

Scratched parquet, a burned worktop, a cracked tile, a torn hinge are damage, and no cleaner hides them. We say so straight away: it is easier for a landlord to see that list before the viewing than to hear it from the next tenant.

When it needs cleaning rather than a clean

If the flat is let furnished, every second or third tenancy is worth upholstery and mattress cleaning. The sofa and the mattress are exactly what the next occupant inspects closely: a two-seater sofa is UAH 1,299, a double mattress 1,100. The minimum dry-cleaning order is UAH 2,000, so the two usually go together.

What fits into one visit

With one day between tenancies it makes sense to split the work: the clean with appliances first, the upholstery separately once the flat has been shown. A damp sofa at a viewing does more harm than an uncleaned one.

With a week between tenancies the easiest order is clean, upholstery the next day, then viewings. Everything has time to dry and the flat looks ready rather than freshly washed.

If you have several flats

Landlords with several flats usually move to regular cleaning: frequency carries a 5, 10 or 15 % discount counted from the first order. It works even with an uneven flow of tenants, since the subscription can be paused.

How much time to allow

A one-room flat after tenants takes four to five hours, six with the appliances inside. If the next tenant arrives tomorrow, add a second cleaner for UAH 1,000: the total rises by a fixed amount while the time roughly halves.

Price the job in the order form or see the price list.