End of Tenancy Cleaning in Beckenham

An Edwardian mid-terrace on a tree-lined street about 4 minutes from Kelsey Park and 6 from Beckenham Junction. Three beds upstairs, a bathroom, a through-lounge on the ground floor, a kitchen extension at the rear opening onto a 35ft garden. Family of four — two kids at Claire House Primary — had been there 3 years at £2,100/month. Managed by Winkworth from their High Street office.

Parked right outside on the street. Free. BR3 is good like that.

Hallway first. Edwardian tiled path — a red-and-cream geometric pattern running from the front door to the staircase. Swept, then pH-neutral mop. The tiles were in good shape — one small grout crack near the radiator, photographed. Not a cleaning issue. A stained glass fanlight above the front door — floral pattern, cleaned with soft cloth, no squeegee near the lead.

Kitchen. Rear extension — bigger than the original Edwardian scullery, about 12ft by 10ft, with French doors out to the garden. A Bosch freestanding cooker, gas. Pulled it forward. The wall behind had 3 years of grease at the skirting — standard. Scraped, degreased. Both cavities sprayed, 20-minute dwell, one pass. Gas hob, four burners, caps off. Extractor: flush-ceiling type with a panel filter — removed and soaked. Cupboards wiped. Fridge cleaned — the gasket was clean. The worktop was granite — wiped with pH-neutral. Floor: large ceramic tiles, mopped.

The French doors and the garden. The garden backed toward Kelsey Park's perimeter and the threshold had 3 years of: leaf litter from the park's mature trees (lighter than woodland debris — Kelsey Park is well-maintained, so it's mainly seasonal leaf-drop rather than year-round canopy matter), some grit from the path, and the usual soil tracked in by kids. Crevice vacuum in the door tracks — French doors have two track channels per panel — then damp cloth, finger-test. Patio swept.

Through-lounge. Bay window at the front — two sash panels, tracks vacuumed. Glass cleaned both sides. A tiled fireplace in the front section — dark green Edwardian tiles with a cast-iron insert and a carved wooden mantel. pH-neutral on each tile, barely-damp on the iron, mantel polished. A second fireplace in the rear section — simpler, painted surround, wiped. Cornicing along both sections — rope-twist moulding, dusted with extension brush. The original timber floorboards had been sanded and sealed — mopped with specialist wood product. A visible traffic path from the hallway door to the sofa, faint after mopping.

Upstairs. Bathroom — bath-shower combo with a glass screen. Limescale at ~260 ppm, 3 years. Descaler on the screen, 10-minute dwell, one pass clear. Bath waterline moderate — one pass with the descaler cloth. Taps done individually. Toilet under the rim. Floor mopped.

Three bedrooms. Master at the front: bay window cleaned, wardrobe wiped inside. The kids' room: a couple of sticker marks on the wardrobe door (adhesive remover, off clean) and a small scuff on the skirting (wiped). The third bedroom — used as a study, straightforward.

Winkworth came the next morning. Their Beckenham negotiator — lives locally, knows every Edwardian terrace on these streets — walked through with a clipboard. Hallway tiles: clean, grout crack photographed and accepted as structural. Stained glass: clean, lead intact. Kitchen: oven checked, granite wiped, French-door tracks finger-tested (both channels). Fireplace tiles: no residue. Cornicing: dust-free. Floors: finish maintained. Bathroom: screen clear, waterline gone. Kids' marks: resolved. Passed.

Deposit back in 8 days. No deductions. The family were moving to a 4-bed further up the same road — still in Claire House catchment, just needed more space. Beckenham families do that: they stay in the area and trade up.

If the grout crack or the floorboard traffic path had been disputed, our photos would have covered it. Grout cracks are structural. Traffic paths on sealed floorboards are the natural consequence of a family walking through a house for 3 years. Both are fair wear and tear. Our guide on landlord cleaning charges explains the boundary.