Between tenants: the turnaround clean landlords actually need

The gap between tenants costs money every day. Here is how to get a property from keys-back to viewing-ready in one visit, without driving over yourself.

What a turnaround clean includes

Everything on the end of tenancy checklist: oven inside, fridge, inside cupboards, limescale, skirting, inside windows, floors. Plus the things a tenant never does: cupboard tops, extractor filters, behind the appliances, the attic hatch. Carpets extracted and mattresses cleaned where they’re yours. The place should photograph like a listing when I leave, because that is what it’s for.

Prices

• End of tenancy clean: €3.50 per m², oven included. A 3-bed around €350.
• Carpets: €10 per m²; stairs and landing €120.
• Mattresses: single €45, double €90, king €110.
• After-renovation, if you’ve had work done between tenants: €5–8 per m². Details.

Bank transfer after the job, invoice provided. Not VAT registered, so no VAT on top.

If you can’t be there

Most of my landlord clients live in Dublin, the UK or abroad. Key safe or a neighbour with the key works; I send before-and-after photos of every room and a note of anything I found (a leak under the sink, a broken hinge) that you’ll want to know about before the next viewing.

Avoiding the void week

Message me as soon as you have a check-out date. If I know a week ahead, I can usually do the clean the day after the keys come back, and you can list the property with real photos the same evening. For agents managing several properties in Letterkenny, a standing arrangement makes this routine.

Deposit disputes

My dated photos and itemised invoice are what you need if a deposit ends up with the RTB. It’s the tenant’s job to leave it clean; it’s my job to make sure the record shows what was actually done.