Moving out of a rented home in 2026 works differently from a year ago. Since 1 May 2026, the Renters’ Rights Act has made almost every private tenancy in England periodic: fixed-term end dates have gone, tenants leave by giving two months’ notice, and section 21 “no fault” evictions have ended. What hasn’t changed is the thing that decides most deposit disputes: the condition of the property on the day you hand back the keys. This report brings together the latest official figures on rents, moves and deposits with our own records of 14,486 cleaning jobs, including 9,915 end of tenancy cleans, to show what moving out looks like now and what it costs.
Key takeaways
- Tenancies in England are now periodic. Tenants end them with two months’ notice; landlords selling or moving in must give four months’ notice and can’t use those grounds in the first 12 months of a tenancy.
- Cleaning is still the number one reason deposits are claimed: 29.38% of DPS claims in 2025, up every year since 2021, and part of 54% of TDS disputes.
- A typical end of tenancy clean cost £284 in the 12 months to October 2026: £235 for a one-bed, £284 for a two-bed and £364 for a three-bed, extras included.
- The typical two-bed move-out clean has risen from £234 in 2023 to £284 in 2026, a 21% increase over three years.
- Average UK private rent reached £1,406 a month in September 2026 (ONS), so a typical move-out clean is about a fifth of one month’s rent.
- In our 2026 bookings the summer peak was flatter: July to September made up 51.4% of May–October move-out cleans, against 59.3% in 2025. It’s an early sign that move-out dates are spreading out as fixed terms disappear.
- About 3 in 100 end of tenancy and deep cleans needed a free return visit under our 7-day re-clean guarantee.
From our job records
Counted from the 14,486 cleaning jobs we have completed since January 2023. See end of tenancy cleaning.
The rental market in 2026
Private renting is a big part of how the UK lives. In England, the private rented sector housed 4.7 million households in 2024-25, or 19% of all households, according to the English Housing Survey. In London the figure is 28%, against 17% in the rest of England. The sector has doubled in size since the early 2000s but has held at around 19–20% of households since 2013-14.
Renters also move far more often than owners. Private renters had lived in their current home for an average of 4.7 years, against 13.9 years across all households. Of the roughly 1.8 million households that moved home in the previous 12 months, around half moved into or out of a privately rented home, including 640,000 that moved from one rented home to another. Every one of those moves ends with a check-out inspection.
Rents are still rising, but more slowly in some places. The ONS Price Index of Private Rents for September 2026 shows:
| Area | Average monthly rent | Change on a year earlier |
|---|---|---|
| UK | £1,406 | +3.8% |
| England | £1,466 | +4.0% |
| London | £2,338 | +3.5% |
| Wales | £848 | +4.1% |
| Scotland | £1,011 | +0.7% |
| Northern Ireland (July 2026) | £879 | +1.7% |
Scotland’s 0.7% is the lowest annual change recorded there since the series began in 2016. In England, rents rose fastest in the North West (5.7%) and slowest in London and the South East (both 3.5%); the North East has the lowest average rent, at £790.
Higher rents mean bigger deposits. For most tenancies in England the deposit is capped at five weeks’ rent, which on the UK average rent of £1,406 is about £1,622. The average deposit protected with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme in 2024/25 was £1,175, across 4.7 million deposits protected in England and Wales.
What the Renters’ Rights Act changed
The biggest reform of private renting in England in decades took effect on 1 May 2026. According to the government’s implementation roadmap, the first phase:
- Abolished section 21 “no fault” evictions and reformed the grounds for possession.
- Introduced assured periodic tenancies. Existing fixed terms converted to periodic tenancies, so there is no longer a fixed end date.
- Limited rent increases to once a year, with at least two months’ notice through the section 13 process.
- Banned rental bidding and large rent in advance: landlords and agents can’t ask for more than one month’s rent upfront.
- Made it illegal to discriminate against renters with children or who receive benefits, and required landlords to consider requests to keep a pet.
- Required landlords to give tenants written information about the tenancy. Existing tenancies needed the government’s Information Sheet by 31 May 2026.
- Strengthened council enforcement and raised the maximum civil penalty from £30,000 to £40,000.
More is still to come. The roadmap says the private rented sector database will start rolling out from late 2026, and mandatory membership of a landlord ombudsman is expected in 2028. Dates for applying the Decent Homes Standard and Awaab’s Law (on damp and mould) to private rentals will be set after consultation.
The Act applies to England. Scotland has had open-ended private residential tenancies since December 2017, and Wales moved to occupation contracts under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act in December 2022, so notice rules there are different. Deposits must still be protected in every UK nation.
What it means for moving out
For tenants, the practical change is that you choose when the tenancy ends. Under a periodic tenancy you give two months’ notice, and the end date needs to line up with the end of a rent period. There is no fixed-term end date to plan around, so check your rent date before you hand in notice.
For landlords, the main change is predictability. A landlord who wants to sell or move in must give four months’ notice, and those grounds can’t be used in the first 12 months of a new tenancy. A landlord who uses them can’t re-let or market the property for 12 months afterwards. The mandatory threshold for rent arrears has risen from two to three months, with four weeks’ notice.
Two things matter for the end of a tenancy:
- Deposit protection carries more weight. A landlord who hasn’t protected the deposit properly can be blocked from gaining possession on most grounds until it’s put right. Deposits must still be placed in a scheme within 30 days.
- Evidence still decides disputes. The Act doesn’t change how deposits are returned. Once you and the landlord agree the amount, it must be paid back within 10 days, and if you disagree, the scheme’s free dispute service decides on the evidence: the check-in inventory, the check-out report and photos.
Because notice is now given by the tenant rather than set by a fixed term, the time between “we’re leaving” and “keys back” is usually two months. That’s long enough to book a clean properly, rather than in the last week. Our moving out checklist and timeline sets out what to do in each of those weeks.
Deposits: what gets deducted, and why
Most deposits are returned without a dispute. Fewer than 5% of deposits protected by the Deposit Protection Service (DPS) end in one, and in the 12 months to March 2025 just 1% of Tenancy Deposit Scheme (TDS) deposits, 46,950 cases, needed formal adjudication. But when landlords do make a claim, cleaning is the most common reason, and its share keeps growing. These are the DPS figures for the share of claims by reason:
| Reason for claim | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleaning | 24.57% | 26.72% | 27.70% | 28.66% | 29.38% |
| Damage | 14.60% | 16.68% | 17.70% | 18.16% | 18.42% |
| Rent arrears | 17.71% | 19.74% | 18.74% | 17.31% | 16.45% |
| Redecoration | 7.48% | 8.95% | 10.02% | 10.47% | 10.88% |
| Other | 26.30% | 17.04% | 13.93% | 13.66% | 13.31% |
TDS counts it differently, by the share of disputes that include each issue, but the picture is the same. In 2024/25, cleaning featured in 54% of disputes, ahead of damage (49%), redecoration (31%), gardening (14%) and rent arrears (10%).
One rule trips up both sides in England. Under the Tenant Fees Act 2019, a landlord can’t require a tenant to pay for a professional clean. What a landlord can claim is the reasonable cost of returning the property to the standard recorded at check-in, allowing for fair wear and tear. The practical answer for tenants is the same either way: leave the property as clean as it was when you moved in, and keep proof. Our guide to getting your deposit back in full covers what can and can’t be deducted.
What a move-out clean costs in 2026
These figures come from the 2,549 end of tenancy cleans we completed in the 12 months from 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. The typical price is the median final price, extras included.
| Property size | Share of cleans | Typical final price | Middle half paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 3.3% | £210 | £180–£257 |
| 1 bedroom | 23.4% | £235 | £200–£274 |
| 2 bedrooms | 47.2% | £284 | £245–£328 |
| 3 bedrooms | 18.7% | £364 | £319–£439 |
| 4 bedrooms | 5.3% | £495 | £415–£565 |
| All end of tenancy cleans | 100% | £284 | £234–£350 |
Our prices start at £115 for a studio and £150 for a one-bed, one-bath home. The final price is higher than the starting price because most homes are larger than a studio and most customers add extras. Carpet cleaning is the extra that moves the price most: 50.7% of move-out cleans included it, and those cleans typically cost £320, against £252 without. See the full price list or our end of tenancy cost guide.
How prices have moved since 2023
| Year | Typical end of tenancy clean | Typical two-bed clean |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | £235 | £234 |
| 2024 | £250 | £245 |
| 2025 | £267 | £257 |
| 2026 (to October) | £284 | £284 |
The two-bed figure is the fairest comparison, because it holds the size of the home steady: it rose 21% between 2023 and 2026. Cleaning is labour-intensive work, and labour costs have kept rising; the National Living Wage, for example, went up from £12.21 to £12.71 an hour in April 2026. The share of cleans including carpets has stayed around half throughout, so the rise isn’t explained by customers adding more extras.
The clean compared with the rent and the deposit
| Area | Typical move-out clean (our jobs) | Average monthly rent (ONS, Sept 2026) | Clean as a share of one month’s rent |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK | £284 | £1,406 | 20% |
| England | £284 | £1,466 | 19% |
| London | £275 | £2,338 | 12% |
| Scotland | £284 | £1,011 | 28% |
Our prices are the same across the UK and set by property size, so the cost of a clean barely changes by region, while rents vary hugely. In London a move-out clean is about an eighth of a month’s rent; in Scotland it’s more than a quarter. Against the average TDS deposit of £1,175, a typical clean is about a quarter of the deposit at stake. We’ve left Wales out of the table because we completed only 26 end of tenancy cleans there in the period.
When people move out
Move-out dates cluster. In the last 12 months, 23.1% of our end of tenancy cleans fell in the last five days of a month, far more than the 16% an even spread would give. Friday (17.6%) and Monday (16.9%) were the busiest days, and 22.5% of cleans took place at the weekend.
The bigger change in 2026 is the summer. July, August and September have always been our peak, when many tenancies have traditionally ended. This year that peak was noticeably flatter:
| Year | July–September share of May–October move-out cleans |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 58.3% |
| 2025 | 59.3% |
| 2026 | 51.4% |
One likely reason is that fixed-term end dates no longer exist in England, so moves are spread over more months. It’s one summer of data from one company, so treat it as an early sign rather than a settled trend. The end-of-month cluster hasn’t changed, though: rent periods still end on fixed dates, and a two-month notice usually ends on one. For more detail, see the best time to book an end of tenancy clean.
How often a clean needs a second visit
Since January 2023 we have made 392 return visits across 13,499 end of tenancy and deep cleans: about 2.9%, or roughly 1 in 34. A return visit happens when the customer, landlord or agent flags something within 7 days and we go back to put it right at no cost, under our 7-day re-clean guarantee.
The simplest way to avoid needing one is to book the clean a few days before the inspection rather than on the morning of it, and to walk round with the check-in inventory once it’s done. If anything is flagged, the guarantee gives you a week to report it.
A moving-out plan for tenants
- Check your rent date and give two months’ notice (England) so the tenancy ends at the end of a rent period. Put it in writing and keep a copy.
- Find your check-in inventory and read it. That’s the standard the property will be measured against, not “professionally clean”.
- Book your clean as soon as the date is fixed, especially for the last week of a month. Aim for one to three days before the check-out inspection, after your furniture has gone.
- Add the extras your tenancy agreement asks for, such as carpet or oven cleaning, so they’re done in the same visit.
- Take dated photos of every room after the clean, plus meter readings, and keep your cleaning invoice.
- Agree the deposit in writing. Once you agree the amount, the landlord must return it within 10 days. If you can’t agree, use the deposit scheme’s free dispute service.
Our room-by-room cleaning checklist shows exactly what an inspection looks at.
A changeover plan for landlords
- Do the check-out inspection before any repairs or cleaning, against the check-in inventory, so any deduction is evidenced.
- Confirm the deposit is protected and the prescribed information served. Under the new rules, failures can block possession.
- Book trades first, then the clean. A pre-tenancy clean done before decorating or repairs is wasted.
- Update the paperwork for the new tenancy: gas safety record, EICR, alarms, EPC and the written information now required in England.
- Do a new, photographed inventory at check-in. It’s the document that protects both sides when this tenancy ends.
Our landlord checklist between tenancies covers each step in detail, including safety rules in each UK nation.
Frequently asked questions
How much notice do I need to give to move out under the Renters’ Rights Act?
In England, tenants on an assured periodic tenancy give two months’ notice, and the end date needs to line up with the end of a rent period. Rules in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are different, so check the official guidance for where you live.
Did the Renters’ Rights Act change deposit rules?
Deposits must still be protected within 30 days and returned within 10 days of agreeing the amount. What has changed is that a landlord who hasn’t protected a deposit properly can be blocked from gaining possession on most grounds until it’s put right.
What is the most common reason for deposit deductions?
Cleaning. It accounted for 29.38% of claims handled by the Deposit Protection Service in 2025, the fifth year running it came top, and featured in 54% of Tenancy Deposit Scheme disputes in 2024/25.
How much does an end of tenancy clean cost in 2026?
Across our jobs in the 12 months to October 2026, the typical final price was £284, extras included: £235 for a one-bed, £284 for a two-bed and £364 for a three-bed. Prices start at £115 for a studio.
Can my landlord make me pay for a professional clean?
In England, no: the Tenant Fees Act 2019 stops landlords requiring it. They can claim the reasonable cost of cleaning the property back to the standard at check-in if you left it dirtier than that, allowing for fair wear and tear.
When is the best time to book a move-out clean?
As soon as your end date is fixed, and for one to three days before the check-out inspection. The last five days of each month are the busiest, with 23% of our end of tenancy cleans.
About this report
Our data: every cleaning job we completed between January 2023 and 31 October 2026 (14,486 jobs, including 9,915 end of tenancy cleans), excluding re-clean visits, site visits and jobs with no charge. “Last 12 months” means 1 November 2025 to 31 October 2026. Typical price is the median final price, extras included. Property size comes from the rooms recorded on each job.
Official and industry sources: ONS, Private rent and house prices, UK: October 2026; English Housing Survey 2024-25; GOV.UK, Renters’ Rights Act implementation roadmap; GOV.UK, Tenancy deposit protection; DPS claim reasons 2021–2025, via Letting Agent Today; TDS Statistical Briefing 2024/25, via the NRLA; GOV.UK, National Minimum Wage rates.
This report is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so check GOV.UK, GOV.WALES, mygov.scot or nidirect, or speak to a solicitor or letting agent, before relying on it.
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Written by the Tenancy.Cleaning team
We complete end of tenancy, deep and specialist cleans across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Our guides are based on that work and checked against current UK rules.
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