End of Tenancy Cleaning in South Kensington

We had a second-floor conversion in one of the stucco villas on Onslow Gardens — the kind of building where the communal staircase has the original iron balustrade and the landing windows look out over the private garden square below. Two bedrooms, a bathroom, a reception room with a bay window facing the garden, and a kitchen at the rear. A French couple — she taught at the Lycée, he worked in the City — 2.5 years at £3,600/month. Chestertons managing from their South Kensington office.

Meter parking on a side street off Old Brompton Road. Kit carried up — two flights, communal staircase, wide but no lift in this building.

The reception room had the proportions you expect from a garden-square conversion. About 20ft by 16ft with ceilings at roughly 10.5ft. A marble fireplace against the interior wall — a carved surround with acanthus-leaf detail, white with faint amber veining. pH-neutral on every carved surface, working a soft brush into the leaf detail. The marble was in good condition — the couple had clearly respected it. One small water mark on the hearth from a vase — wiped, almost invisible against the veining. Photographed as a precaution.

The bay window — three tall sashes with original internal shutters. Each shutter panel wiped both sides. Tracks vacuumed. Glass cleaned. The cornice ran the full perimeter — a deep moulding, consistent with the 1860s build date of these Onslow Gardens villas. Extension brush from the step platform. A decorative ceiling rose above the pendant light — dusted carefully around the fitting. The original timber floor was wide-board, dark-stained, sealed. Specialist product, barely damp. A rug had been lifted, leaving a faint colour difference in the boards — not a stain, just differential fading from UV exposure. Photographed. The boards under the rug retained their original colour; the exposed boards had lightened over 2.5 years of sunlight. Material character.

The kitchen at the rear — a galley, about 10ft by 7ft, recently refurbished. Integrated Miele oven. Door off, glass out, spray, 20 minutes. One pass — 2.5 years, a couple who cooked well but not heavily. Induction hob in a quartz worktop. Extractor recirculating, filter soaked. Fridge-freezer cleaned. Floor: stone tile, pH-neutral mop.

Bathroom. A large room by conversion standards — the original second bedroom of the villa, converted into a bathroom with a freestanding bath, a separate walk-in shower, and a marble-topped vanity. The shower had two glass panels — descaled at ~260 ppm, one pass each. The freestanding bath cleaned inside and behind (accessible gap to the wall). Marble vanity top: pH-neutral only. Chrome polished. Floor: marble tile — pH-neutral mop, careful around the grout.

Two bedrooms. Both with timber floors, both with high ceilings. The master had a built-in wardrobe — wiped inside. The second bedroom had been used partly as a dressing room — shoe rack cleaned, shelf wiped. A small mark on the wall from a picture hook — filled and wiped.

Communal staircase. The iron balustrade dusted. The landing window cleaned. Front door wiped both sides.

Chestertons came the next morning. Their SW7 lettings manager — Natalie, 15+ years in RBKC, knows every conversion on these squares. Reception: marble fireplace inspected, acanthus detail checked with a fingertip, vase mark noted as invisible against veining. Floor walked — rug fade noted, accepted as UV. Shutters per panel tested. Cornicing and rose checked. Kitchen: oven torched, quartz inspected. Bathroom: shower panels angle-tested, bath behind checked, marble vanity inspected. Passed.

Deposit back in 8 days. Full return. The couple were relocating to Paris — posting ended, the Lycée connection complete.

That differential UV fade on the floorboards is the detail that defines a South Kensington checkout. The boards aren't damaged — they've simply experienced different light exposure. A rug was there, and now it isn't, and the boards show the difference. It's the same principle as marble ring marks and brick porosity: the material records its history, and that history isn't damage. Our guide on deposit dispute evidence covers how we document the difference between wear and character on period surfaces.