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Residential checklist

Move-out cleaning checklist

In BC, a landlord can hold back part of a damage deposit for cleaning — but only for what a move-in condition report shows was clean when you moved in. This is the level of clean that survives a walkthrough.

36 points4–6 hoursPrint-friendlyFree to use

Read this before you start

Read this first

Photograph every room on the day you finish, with the date visible. If a deduction is later disputed, photos taken after the clean are the only evidence that usually counts.

Empty the home completely first. Cleaning around furniture is how corners and skirting boards get missed, and it is the first thing an inspector notices.

0 of 36 done

01Before you start

02Kitchen

The room where deposits are most often deducted.

03Bathrooms

04Living areas & bedrooms

05Floors, walls & marks

06Final walkthrough

Do this with the checklist in hand, room by room, after everything is dry.

What a BC landlord can actually deduct. Under the Residential Tenancy Act, a landlord can keep part of a deposit for damage or cleaning beyond normal wear and tear — but they must give you a written statement within 15 days of the move-out date, and condition-report photos taken at move-in are what they compare against. Cleaning that matches the condition you received the unit in is normally enough.

Want this done properly?

Move-out / possession day clean — Empty-home handover standard. From $329 · 4 hr.

See move-out / possession day clean Book a clean

More checklists

CHECKLIST Room-by-room cleaning checklist 36 points · 2–3 hours CHECKLIST Deep cleaning checklist 32 points · 4–5 hours CHECKLIST Seasonal cleaning calendar 32 points · 12 months

Using this checklist with a contractor? Send them the link — it is free to share. Last reviewed November 2026.

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