End of Tenancy Cleaning in Woolwich

A Victorian mid-terrace on one of the residential streets behind Powis Street — the old Woolwich town centre, about 8 minutes from the Elizabeth Line station and a world away from the Royal Arsenal towers you can see from the kitchen window. Two bedrooms upstairs, a through-reception on the ground floor, a compact kitchen at the rear with a door to a 25ft garden, a bathroom, and a downstairs WC. The tenant — a logistics coordinator at a Thamesmead distribution centre — had rented for 3 years at £1,450/month. Managed by Robinson Jackson (Woolwich office on Powis Street — they've been in SE18 since long before the regeneration).

This was old Woolwich. No concierge, no goods lift, no app-based access system. Front door key in a lockbox, street parking with a Greenwich visitor permit, and a clipboard checkout two days later. The kind of job that makes up the majority of our SE18 work outside the Royal Arsenal bubble.

The kitchen was compact — galley-style at the rear, about 9ft by 6ft, with a freestanding Beko cooker, laminate worktops, and a window overlooking the garden and, beyond the back fences, the riverside towers of the Arsenal development. The oven had 3 years of a single person who cooked regularly. Door glass out — the inner pane had a moderate grease film. Both cavities sprayed, left 20 minutes. Gas hob — four burners, each cap lifted and degreased. The extractor was a basic wall-mounted unit — cover removed, fan blades wiped, cover washed. Worktops cleaned with non-abrasive cream (laminate, no scouring — same rule as our Shepherds Bush Askew Road work where scouring marks get flagged as damage). Cupboards opened and wiped. Fridge cleaned. Floor mopped including under the kickboards.

The garden door — a timber door with a single-glazed pane — opened onto a small step and then the 25ft garden. The threshold had 3 years of garden debris: soil, moss from the step, and the fine grit that blows up from the Thames embankment area. Crevice vacuum, then wiped.

The through-reception had simple Victorian features — a picture rail, a sealed fireplace with a painted wooden surround, and original pine floorboards (not sealed — just painted over at some point, with the paint wearing through on the traffic path). The paint-worn floor was documented: this is the property's condition, not cleaning damage, and photographing it prevents a deduction. If the landlord decided to strip and seal the floors between tenancies, that would be a property turnaround improvement, not something the outgoing tenant should pay for. Picture rail dusted. Fireplace surround wiped. The painted floorboards mopped with standard product (no need for specialist wood cleaner on painted pine).

Two sash windows in the front bay — tracks vacuumed (3 years of fine dust, quite a ridge), glass cleaned both sides. One sash cord was fraying — we noted it for the agent. Not our responsibility to fix, but flagging it shows professionalism and prevents the tenant being blamed for a maintenance issue.

Two bedrooms upstairs. The master (front-facing) had a sash bay window — cleaned, tracks vacuumed. Carpet vacuumed including edges. A built-in wardrobe (1970s addition, not original) wiped inside. The second bedroom (rear-facing, smaller) had a single sash window and was straightforward.

The bathroom — a simple suite. Bath-shower combo with a plastic curtain (not a glass screen — we clean what's there, not what we wish was there). Limescale at ~270 ppm. Phosphoric acid on the bath taps and the shower fixtures, 10-minute dwell. The bath itself — descaled at the waterline. The curtain was cleaned in place (sprayed and wiped — replacing it is the landlord's call). Toilet under the rim. Tiles wiped. Floor mopped. The extractor fan cover was dusty — removed, cleaned, replaced. Downstairs WC: basin, toilet, floor.

The garden — 25ft, mostly patio with a strip of lawn at the back. Patio swept. The moss on the step was scrubbed — it came up well on the paving but a slight green tinge remained in the mortar joints (documented as exterior weathering, not tenant neglect). The garden fence panel had been repaired with a mismatched timber at some point — we noted it as existing condition.

Robinson Jackson inspected two days later. Their Woolwich office does clipboard checkouts — a person walks through with a form, ticking items off. They checked the oven (clean, glass between panes done), the sash tracks (finger-tested — clean), the bathroom (descaled, curtain cleaned, fan cover done), the kitchen worktops (no scouring marks), and the garden (patio swept, moss addressed). The paint-worn floor was noted and accepted — they'd seen it at the last inspection too. The fraying sash cord was flagged to the landlord as a maintenance item. Passed. Deposit returned within 9 days. No deductions.

This was a straightforward Woolwich job — no concierge, no digital system, no listed features. Just a solid Victorian terrace cleaned properly by a team that knows how to protect the tenant's deposit. The landlord was charged nothing because the clean was thorough and the documentation covered the building's existing condition. That's how it should work. If it doesn't, our guide on unreasonable deductions explains your rights.