End of Tenancy Cleaning in Victoria

We had a first-floor conversion in one of the Cubitt terraces on Warwick Square — the kind of building where the white stucco facade runs 60ft high and the communal entrance has a black-and-white chequerboard floor that Thomas Cubitt's builders laid in the 1840s. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a reception room with French windows to the garden square, and a separate kitchen. A couple — both Home Office civil servants, walking to Marsham Street — 2 years at £3,200/month. Tuckerman Residential managing from their Moreton Street office, 40 years on these streets.

Meter parking on Warwick Way. Kit carried up — one flight, wide staircase, original mahogany handrail.

The reception room was what makes Pimlico. About 22ft by 15ft with ceilings at just over 3 metres. Two tall French windows opening onto a Juliet balcony overlooking Warwick Square's private garden. Each window: glass cleaned per pane, frames wiped, shutters each panel wiped both sides. The cornicing was deep — an egg-and-dart moulding running the full perimeter. Extension brush from the step platform. A ceiling rose with acanthus-leaf detail. Dusted carefully around the fitting.

A marble fireplace on the interior wall — white Carrara with grey veining and a simple Georgian surround. pH-neutral on every surface. The marble was in good condition. One small candle-wax spot on the hearth — warmed with a hair dryer (we carry one), blotted with kitchen roll, cleaned with pH-neutral. Gone.

The timber floor was wide-board, dark-stained, sealed. Specialist product. No rug marks — the couple had used rugs throughout and the floor had aged evenly.

Kitchen. Separate room, about 10ft by 8ft. Refitted — a Neff integrated oven behind handleless doors. Door off, glass out, spray, 20 minutes. One pass — 2 years, a couple who cooked moderately. Induction hob in a Silestone worktop. Extractor recirculating. Fridge-freezer integrated. Floor: limestone tile, pH-neutral mop.

Bathroom. Refitted — walk-in shower with a glass panel, a freestanding slipper bath, marble-topped vanity. ~265 ppm, 2 years. Panel: one pass. Bath: cleaned inside and behind. Vanity marble: pH-neutral. Chrome polished. No mould.

Two bedrooms. Both with timber floors, both with fitted wardrobes. The master had a built-in dressing area. The second bedroom overlooked the rear — quiet, no special issues.

Communal entrance. The chequerboard floor — swept and pH-neutral mopped. Front door wiped both sides. Original brass letterbox polished.

Tuckerman came the next morning. Their SW1V lettings manager — she's managed properties on Warwick Square for decades. Reception: French windows tested per panel, shutters tested per panel, cornicing checked, rose checked, marble fireplace finger-tested, candle-wax spot: gone. Kitchen: oven torched, Silestone inspected. Bathroom: panel angled, bath torch-tested behind, marble vanity inspected. Chequerboard: noted clean. Brass letterbox: polished. About 15 minutes. Passed.

Deposit back in 8 days. Full return. The couple were moving to a 3-bed in the same square — more space, same walk to work, same garden key.

The Cubitt grid is London's most perfectly planned residential neighbourhood. Every building, every cornice, every garden square was designed as a piece. We clean it as a piece — the marble, the timber, the cornicing, the shutters, the chequerboard entrance. Each surface gets its own product and its own attention. Our guide on deposit dispute evidence covers Conservation Area properties and how we document original features.