Move-Out Cleaning near you

A move-out clean is quoted on an empty home, so confirm that the furniture and belongings will be gone, and ask for the list of tasks in writing. Appliances and the insides of cabinets are the items most often left out of a basic package.

In Quebec, the Tribunal administratif du logement lists two obligations for a tenant at the end of the lease: remove their belongings and return the dwelling in its initial condition, under articles 1890 and 1891 of the Civil Code of Québec. Its list of tenant obligations also includes keeping the dwelling in a good state of cleanliness during the lease. Wear from ordinary living, such as faded paint or a floor dulled by years of use, isn't the same thing as dirt or damage, and a clean, empty unit makes that difference easy to see. If you and the landlord disagree about the condition of the unit, the Tribunal is the body to consult.

In Ontario, the government's guide to the standard lease says the tenant is responsible for keeping the unit clean unless the landlord agreed to do it, and must repair or pay for any undue damage caused by the tenant or their guests. It also says a rent deposit can't be used as a damage deposit, and that lease terms requiring deposits the law doesn't allow, such as damage or pet deposits, are void. Rules differ in other provinces, so check with your province's residential tenancy office.

Most end-of-lease disputes come down to one person's memory against another's. A few minutes with a phone and a shared checklist, in effect a condition report, settle most of them before they start.

A cleaner can make a unit spotless, but some things are beyond cleaning, and it helps to know which before the final walkthrough.

Even a unit left clean by the previous occupant is worth a pass before your boxes come in, because it will never be this easy to reach again. The focus shifts from handing a place back to making it yours: the surfaces you'll eat from and sleep near, and the spots that gather dust from the move itself. For cleaning products, and why bleach must never be mixed with ammonia or acids, see the house cleaning page.

A move-out clean only works in an empty home, so it has to fit between the moment the truck is loaded and the moment the keys change hands. Where both leases allow some overlap, you have time to clean one place and prepare the other; where they don't, book the cleaners for the hours right after the movers leave, and ask whether they can start in rooms that are already empty.

Cleaners book up early for the end of June in Quebec, just as movers do, because so many leases turn over on July 1. As the movers page explains, the Tribunal administratif du logement notes that the new tenant's right to occupy the dwelling starts on the first day of the lease and that the outgoing tenant gets no grace day, so the move-out clean has to be finished before then, not after. Book early and agree with the landlord on when the keys will be handed over.