You hand back the keys in three weeks, your deposit is worth one or two months' rent, and you are hesitating: pay someone to clean, or spend a weekend doing it yourself? Most articles on this subject are written by cleaning companies whose answer is invariably "pay". We are a cleaning company, and our answer is more nuanced than that.
We carry out end of tenancy cleans across Paris and the Île-de-France region, and we regularly tell people on the phone that they do not need us. This article sets out exactly when that is the case and when it is not — with real timings, our prices, and a point about what French law actually permits your landlord to demand, which few providers bother to mention.
So, is it worth it?
Paying for an end of tenancy clean is worth it when the property is large, has been lived in for years, or when the check-out inspection falls right after the move. For a clean studio occupied recently, with time on your hands, doing it yourself remains the rational choice. The deciding factor is not floor area: it is the time available between the removal van and handing back the keys.
What your landlord can actually require
Let us start with the point most cleaning companies carefully avoid: your landlord cannot compel you to hire a professional cleaning company. A tenancy clause requiring it, or providing for a "cleaning fee" automatically withheld on departure, is not enforceable. What the law asks of you is to return the property in a state of cleanliness comparable to the one recorded in the inventory you signed on arrival.
In practice, the comparison is not made against a hotel standard but line by line against your entry inventory. If the oven was already marked when you arrived and that is written down, it cannot be held against you. If the shower seals were new and are black with mould on departure, that is a different matter.
Another essential distinction: fair wear and tear is not your responsibility. Paint dulled after four years, a floor that has aged, a seal yellowed by time all fall under normal wear. What is attributable to you is a lack of upkeep: built-up grease, untreated limescale, visible dirt.
How long it really takes — the figure nobody publishes
This is the number missing from almost every article on the subject, and it is the one that determines your decision. An end of tenancy clean is not a deep clean: it is a systematic pass over areas never touched during normal occupancy — tops of cupboards, skirting boards, the inside of the oven, window runners, the surrounds of light switches.
Below are the timings we record on our own jobs, for a completely emptied property in normal condition. The "alone, no experience" column reflects what we observe among people who call us after trying.
| Property | Professional team | Alone, no experience |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / 1 room | 3 to 4 hours | Half a day to a full day |
| 2 rooms | 3 to 5 hours | A full day |
| 3 rooms | 4 to 6 hours | A weekend |
| 4 rooms and above | 6 to 8 hours | Two full days, realistically |
These gaps do not come from a difference in skill. They come from method and equipment: a professional works top to bottom, room by room, without backtracking, using degreasers and descalers that act in minutes where an ordinary household product needs several passes. A private individual cleans out of sequence and keeps rediscovering areas that need redoing.
What an end of tenancy clean actually costs
Our pricing is based on €26 excl. VAT per hour, multiplied by the time genuinely required. Here are the ranges we apply for an emptied property in normal condition.
| Property type | Estimated duration | Indicative price |
|---|---|---|
| Studio / 1 room | 3 to 4 hours | From €150 |
| 2 to 3 rooms | 4 to 6 hours | From €200 |
| 4 rooms and above | 6 to 8 hours | On quotation |
These figures assume a property fully emptied of furniture, with running water and electricity. A heavily soiled oven, a badly scaled bathroom or a large amount of glazing all increase the time required — and the price follows. This is why we issue a quote after a precise description of the property rather than a blind flat fee: a low figure quoted over the phone almost always ends in an overrun on the day.
Want to know what it would come to for your property?
Describe your property and we will give you a price range and an estimated duration, with no obligation.
Request an end of tenancy quoteThe 4 zones where check-outs go wrong
The problem with cleaning it yourself is almost never a question of skill. It is a question of perception: after three years in a property, you no longer see what a letting agent sees in thirty seconds. Here are the four zones that come up every time.
1. The kitchen — the first place inspected
This is where a rushed clean shows immediately. Grease on the extractor hood and its filter, the tops of wall units, the splashback behind the hob, the inside of the oven and its side panels, cupboard handles. Cooking grease does not come off with a sponge and soapy water once it has polymerised: it needs a degreaser and dwell time. It is by far the longest task on our jobs.
2. The bathroom — limescale and seals
Limescale on taps and shower screens, blackened tile grouting, marks around the sanitary ware, and the underside of the toilet nobody ever cleans. Mould in seals leads to a deduction almost every time because it is visible, easy to photograph, and clearly a matter of upkeep rather than fair wear.
3. The details — what people miss most
Skirting boards, light switches, door handles, door edges, radiators, window surrounds, the tops and insides of cupboards. None of these takes long individually, but there are many of them, and it is precisely their accumulation that creates the impression of a property that was not really cleaned.
4. Glazing and window frames
A pane can look clean head-on and reveal every smear the moment you stand against the light — which is exactly what anyone inspecting a room naturally does. Runners, frames and hinges, meanwhile, are almost always forgotten, despite collecting a very visible black dust.
The cases where we tell you not to pay
We lose revenue by writing this section, but it is what gives the rest its value. Do it yourself if your situation ticks most of these boxes:
- A studio or small one-room flat, already empty, in reasonable condition.
- A property occupied for less than two years, with no build-up of grease or limescale.
- A regularly maintained kitchen, with a lightly used oven or one cleaned as you go.
- A bathroom free of ingrained limescale and mould in the seals.
- Simple flooring (tiles, laminate) and little glazing.
- And above all: several days between the move and the inspection, with energy to spare.
In that configuration, a methodical day's work will give you a perfectly sufficient result. Saving €150 to €200 for a day of your time is an entirely rational trade-off, and we will say so on the phone if you describe that situation to us.
When paying pays off
Conversely, the equation tips clearly as soon as any one of these conditions applies:
- Two rooms or more, emptied, with the inspection within 48 hours. This is the most common situation among our calls, and the one where the cost-benefit is clearest.
- A heavily soiled oven, extractor hood or bathroom. These are the tasks that require professional products and dwell times — where a private individual exhausts themselves for a mediocre result.
- A property occupied for several years. Accumulation cannot be undone in a day, and it is precisely what the agency will compare against the entry inventory.
- A large property, where the time required exceeds what one person can deliver within a reasonable window.
- A move to another region, when you have already left and coming back would cost a return trip and a day off work.
The calculation is easy to set out. On one side, €150 to €300 depending on size. On the other, a full day of your time after a move, plus the risk of a defect being flagged at the inspection — bearing in mind that a landlord bringing in a company at your expense after you have gone will not be shopping for the cheapest provider.
What a cleaning invoice changes — and what it does not
Many providers promise their invoice "guarantees you get your deposit back". That is false, and you are better off knowing it before choosing on that basis. No cleaning company decides in your landlord's place.
What a detailed invoice genuinely provides is dated evidence. If your landlord withholds money for lack of cleanliness while you hold a named invoice, dated the day before the handover, itemising the work carried out, you are no longer trading opinions. It is a solid element in a file, particularly if you also took photographs on the day.
And if you believe the deduction is unjustified, note that your landlord has one month to return the deposit, extended to two months where reservations are recorded in the check-out inventory. Beyond that, late interest applies. We are a cleaning company, not a legal adviser: for a dispute, the ADIL in your department provides free housing information.
Decision table: your situation at a glance
Find the line that best matches your case.
| Your situation | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Clean studio, occupied 1 year, a week ahead of you | Do it yourself | Half a day is enough; paying adds nothing decisive |
| Two-room flat empty, inspection in 48h | Pay | The window leaves no margin to redo anything after the move |
| Three-room flat occupied 5 years, oven and seals heavily soiled | Pay | Technical tasks requiring professional products and dwell time |
| Clean two-room flat, a full weekend available | Do it yourself | The time available comfortably covers the real work |
| Moved out of region, no return before the inspection | Pay | A return trip and a day off cost more than the service |
| Large property (4+ rooms), on your own, no help | Pay | Two full days of real work for one person |
Unsure about your situation? Describe your property.
We will give you a price range and an estimated duration. And if we think you can do it yourself, we will say so — it has happened more than once.
Request my end of tenancy quote
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