End of Tenancy Cleaning in Swiss Cottage

We had a first-floor flat in one of the 1930s mansion blocks on Adelaide Road — the kind of building where the entrance hall has a marble floor, the porter's desk faces the door, and the lift still has the original Art Deco grille. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a reception room with a dining area, and a separate kitchen. A couple — both working in the West End, Jubilee line from Swiss Cottage to Bond Street in 8 minutes — 2 years at £2,800/month. RHW Estates managing.

Porter parking in the forecourt — pre-booked the day before. Lift to the first floor.

The reception room was where the building showed its age and its quality at the same time. About 20ft by 14ft with herringbone parquet, a picture rail at 9ft, and a simple coved cornice. The parquet was the warm mid-brown colour that decades of wax produces. Specialist product, working with the grain. Two tall windows facing Adelaide Road, each with original 1930s Crittall-style metal frames — the small-pane pattern that defines these blocks. Glass cleaned per pane, frames wiped. The original Art Deco light fitting in the ceiling — a shallow dome, frosted glass. Dusted carefully. Radiators cleaned behind. Skirting wiped.

Kitchen. Separate room, about 10ft by 8ft. Refitted — handleless cabinetry, integrated Siemens oven. Door off, glass out, spray, 20 minutes. One pass — 2 years, a couple who cooked a few times a week. Induction hob in a quartz worktop. Extractor recirculating, filter soaked. Fridge-freezer integrated, cleaned. Floor: stone tile, pH-neutral mop.

Bathroom. Original 1930s Art Deco suite — a deep cast-iron bath with chrome legs, a pedestal basin with hexagonal chrome taps, and black and white chequerboard floor tiles. You don't see these every day. The chrome had dulled slightly but was intact. Polished carefully — the hexagonal taps have angles where limescale sits. ~260 ppm, 2 years. Waterline: one pass. The chequerboard tiles: pH-neutral mop, careful in the grout lines. No mould — the bathroom had a window.

Two bedrooms. Both with carpet, both with fitted wardrobes. The master had a built-in dressing area — shelves wiped. The second bedroom had been a home office — desk mark on the carpet, photographed.

Apartment front door wiped both sides. Porter notified on completion.

3 hours 20 minutes. The parquet and the Art Deco bathroom are what make this job different from a standard 2-bed clean. The surfaces need product-matching, the fittings need respect.

RHW Estates came the next morning. Their NW3 lettings manager — 35 years in these blocks, knows every flat on Adelaide Road. Reception: parquet walked, cornice checked, light fitting noted. Kitchen: oven torched, quartz inspected. Bathroom: chrome taps angle-tested, chequerboard grout checked. Desk mark: accepted. About 10 minutes. Passed.

Deposit back in 7 days. Full return. The couple were moving to a 3-bed in Belsize Park — more space, same Jubilee line, one stop further.

Swiss Cottage mansion flats sit between Belsize Park's Edwardian conversions and St John's Wood's villas. The 1930s blocks have their own character — the Crittall windows, the Art Deco fittings, the parquet that's been walked on for 90 years. We clean them to match their age, not despite it. Our guide on deposit dispute evidence covers how we document 1930s fittings and period surfaces.