HOW TO HIRE · CLEANING

How to hire a moving cleaner in the UK
The checks, the questions and the paperwork.

No register applies to moving cleans. Anything taken away needs a registered carrier; keep evidence for a rented home.

  • Search and compare — no account needed
  • Nearest to you first
  • One score from Google, Trustpilot and Locufy reviews

THE 60-SECOND VERSION

Hiring a moving cleaner in five steps

  1. Which side of the move?Move-in clean of an empty home, or move-out for a check-out.
  2. Confirm accessKeys, codes and parking on the day.
  3. Leave utilities onWater, power and lights until the clean ends.
  4. Rubbish?Registered waste carrier only.
  5. PhotosDated, after a move-out clean.

BEFORE YOU BOOK

Check before you book

No register applies

Nothing licenses move-in and move-out cleaners in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland, so a moving clean can be offered by anyone; trader status, insurance and references carry the weight.

Ask for a business name, an invoice for the moving clean and the name of the insurer.

Waste carrier registration if rubbish goes

A business that takes waste away needs waste carrier registration — the Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, SEPA or the NIEA — and in England and Wales section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 makes you hand household waste only to an authorised person. That applies to bags left over from a moving clean.

If the moving clean includes taking rubbish, ask for the waste carrier number and search the public register. environment.data.gov.uk →

Deposit evidence for renters

For a rented home in England or Wales, gov.uk says the deposit sits in a government-approved scheme and stays protected there during a dispute. A move-out clean's receipt and dated photos are the evidence you bring to it.

Keep the receipt and photos from the moving clean together. gov.uk →

Public liability insurance

Insurance is not a legal condition here, yet public liability cover is what pays when a moving clean marks a floor or breaks a fitting. Your right to reasonable care and skill in the moving clean comes from the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Before the moving clean, ask the cleaner for the insurer and the cover level.

VAT

A moving clean is standard-rated at 20%. A cleaning firm whose takings pass £90,000 a year must register, charge the 20% on the clean and its extras, and print it as its own line on the receipt you keep for the move.

Ask for the VAT number and keep the receipt with the 20% shown apart, with your move paperwork. gov.uk →

“Is this a move-in or move-out clean, and does the price differ?”

A good answer: Yes; a move-out for check-out takes longer.

“Can the cleaning work around the key handover?”

A good answer: A time slot agreed.

“Will the moving clean include inside cupboards?”

A good answer: Yes, emptied ones.

“Is the oven included in the moving cleaning?”

A good answer: Priced.

“Will the cleaner take rubbish?”

A good answer: Only with a waste carrier number.

“Are you insured?”

A good answer: Public liability, insurer named.

Getting the quote right

  • Property size
  • Move-in or move-out scope
  • Oven and carpets priced
  • Rubbish and carrier number
  • Who actually attends the move clean, and whether they are employed or subcontracted
  • The VAT number, and 20% VAT shown under the property price and any oven or carpet extras

Walk away if

  • Takes leftover furniture with no carrier number
  • No fixed time on moving day
  • No receipt
  • No insurance
LOW
£90
TYPICAL
£200
HIGH
£350

What a moving cleaner costs: £90–£350 per visit

Moving cleans are priced per visit by the size of the home and which side of the move it is. Move-in / Move-out Cleaning price guide →

Guide prices compiled by the Locufy team from published Irish and UK provider price lists and 2026/27 cost guides. Updated 2026.

KNOW WHAT TO LOOK FOR? NOW FIND ONE

Moving cleaners near you, with the badges that matter shown

ID checked, trader status and one score from every review — on the card, before you message anyone. Nearest first. No account needed to look.

Or post the job free and let them come to you.

  1. AccessKeys and parking confirmed.
  2. CupboardsEmptied units cleaned inside.
  3. Kitchen and bathroomsCleaned and descaled.
  4. Walls and fittingsMarks, switches and skirting.
  5. FloorsWashed and vacuumed.

Move-out clean
A clean after you leave, often for a landlord's check-out.
Move-in clean
A clean before you unpack.
Check-in inventory
The record a rented home is compared against.
Waste carrier
A business registered to take away waste.
Duty of care
Your duty to hand waste only to an authorised person.
Deposit scheme
Where a tenancy deposit is protected.

AFTER

When the job is done

Photograph the roomsDated.
Keep the receiptWith the scope.
Check cupboardsInside and out.
Say how it wentYour rating of the moving clean sits on the moving cleaner's Locufy profile for others to read. Something wrong? Use make-it-right first and we follow it through.

STEP 1Complain to the moving cleaner firstContact the moving cleaner first, in writing, and keep a copy. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the moving clean must be done with reasonable care and skill; you can ask for the faulty part to be done again free of charge, and if that fails, for some or all of the money back.
STEP 2Use the make-it-right stepGive the moving clean fewer than four stars and you can send the issue to the moving cleaner first; we stay on it until there is an answer, and then your review is posted.
STEP 3Trading Standards, through the helplinesTrading Standards is reached through a helpline, not directly: Citizens Advice on 0808 223 1133 in England and Wales, Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, and Consumerline on 0300 123 6262 in Northern Ireland can log a complaint about the moving cleaner and pass it on.
STEP 4Small claims, if money is owedIf money is still in dispute over the moving clean, the small claims routes need no solicitor: up to £10,000 in England and Wales on the small claims track, £5,000 in Scotland under simple procedure, and £5,000 in Northern Ireland's small claims court.

Hiring a moving cleaner: questions people ask

No. No licence or register applies.

Only if registered as a waste carrier.

The receipt and dated photos, for the deposit scheme if there is a dispute.

£90–£350 per visit, about £200 for most homes. For what moves the figure, see the move-in and move-out cleaning price guide, and search your town above to find cleaners nearby.

A move-in clean of an empty home, usually.

Three to eight hours.

MORE GUIDES

More hiring guides in cleaning

How to hire: End of Tenancy CleaningHow to hire: Deep CleaningHow to hire: One-Off CleaningHow to hire: Oven CleaningHow to hire: Carpet CleaningHow to hire: After Builders CleaningHow to hire: House CleaningHow to hire: Window CleaningAll 701 hiring guides →

Moving cleaners near you

Moving cleaners in LondonMoving cleaners in ManchesterMoving cleaners in BirminghamMoving cleaners in GlasgowMoving cleaners in BelfastAll moving cleaners on Locufy →Do it yourself: cleaning an empty home before you move in →

Sources — checked October 2026

  1. gov.uk — register as a waste carrier, broker or dealer (England)
  2. Environment Agency — public register of waste carriers
  3. Environmental Protection Act 1990, section 34 — duty of care
  4. gov.uk — tenancy deposit protection
  5. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 49 — reasonable care and skill
  6. Citizens Advice — more help with a consumer issue (England)
  7. VAT rates — VAT rates for goods and services: standard rate 20% on most goods and services
  8. GOV.UK — Register for VAT: when to register