The end-of-tenancy checklist letting agents actually inspect
Most end-of-tenancy checklists are written by cleaners. This one is ordered by what the person holding your deposit looks at first — and where the deductions actually come from.
Inspect in the order they inspect
A letting agent doing a closing inspection is not walking around admiring the hoover lines. They are working a list, and it is a short one: oven, hob, extractor, bathroom, floors, walls, then everything left behind. Roughly four out of five cleaning-related deductions come from the kitchen and the bathroom. Clean in that order and you are spending your time where the money is.
Kitchen — where deposits are lost
- Oven interior — door glass (both panes where they separate), racks, base, walls, and the seal. This is the single most-cited deduction in Irish tenancies.
- Hob and extractor — burners, trivets, control knobs, and the extractor filters. Metal mesh filters degrease in hot water and soda; carbon filters are replaced, not cleaned.
- Fridge and freezer — defrosted, shelves out and washed, seals wiped, and left switched off with the door propped open if the property is vacant. A closed, off fridge grows mould in a fortnight.
- Inside all cupboards and drawers — emptied, crumbs out, wiped. Agents open them.
- Sink and taps — descaled, including the drain rim and the tap base where limescale collects.
- Splashback, worktops, tiles and grout — degreased, not just wiped.
- Washing machine — detergent drawer, door seal (mould gathers in the fold), and the filter.
- Bins — washed inside, not just emptied.
Bathrooms
- Limescale on taps, shower head, screen and tiles — the most visible signal of a property that wasn't maintained.
- Shower screen and door tracks — the runner channel collects everything and is almost always missed.
- Sealant and grout — mould treated. Perished sealant is arguably wear and tear; mould on sound sealant is not.
- Toilet — including behind the pan, the cistern top, the hinges and the underside of the seat.
- Extractor fan cover — removed and washed. Dust-caked fans are an easy note for an inspector.
- Mirrors and glass — streak-free; polish dry rather than leaving to air.
Living areas and bedrooms
- Walls — marks removed gently. Scrubbing paint off is worse than the mark you started with.
- Skirting boards, door frames, doors and handles — wiped along the top edges as well as the faces.
- Light switches and sockets — degreased around the plate.
- Inside wardrobes and built-in storage — emptied and vacuumed out.
- Radiators — including behind and between the fins.
- Internal windows, frames, sills and tracks — the track channel is a standard inspection point.
- Floors — vacuumed then washed, edges and corners included. Carpets: consider extraction if there is any staining.
The finishing details people skip
Including the attic, the shed, the bin store and the press under the stairs. Items left behind are charged as disposal.
Dead bulbs replaced, shades dusted. Cheap to fix, easy to note.
Corners, coving, above doorframes and behind curtain poles.
Doorstep, porch, and any bins that belong to the property.
Finish with evidence
The clean is half the job. The other half is being able to prove it. In an Irish deposit dispute the burden of proof sits with the landlord — but the tenant who can produce a dated photo set from handover day removes the argument entirely rather than winning it.
Photograph every room after cleaning and before handing back the keys. Include the oven interior, inside the fridge, the bathroom, and the floors. Email them to yourself so the date is independently recorded. If a company does the work, keep the invoice and the photo report together — that pairing is what a dispute turns on.