Boston Move-Out Cleaning Checklist for Renters
A move-out cleaning checklist starts where a normal clean stops: inside every cabinet, drawer, closet and appliance, once the apartment is empty. Below is the full list by room, plus the Boston timing and building details that decide whether the job is easy or rushed.
Before you start, check two documents
Read the cleaning section of your lease, if it has one. Some leases spell out what has to be done before you leave, such as cleaning the oven or the carpets. Then find whatever record you have of the unit's condition when you moved in: a written condition statement, an inspection checklist, or your own photos.
Those two things tell you what your landlord expects and what was already there before you arrived. A clean unit does not decide what happens to your deposit; your lease and your landlord do. It does make the final walkthrough simpler for everyone.
The move-out checklist, room by room
Work top to bottom and dry before wet: dust high surfaces first, then wipe, then do the floors last so nothing falls onto a clean floor.
Kitchen
- Inside the fridge and freezer, including shelves, drawers and door seals
- Inside the oven and broiler drawer, plus the stovetop, burners and knobs
- Inside the microwave, and the outside of every appliance
- Inside every cabinet and drawer, shelves wiped and crumbs removed
- Sink, faucet and drain area scrubbed
- Counters and backsplash degreased
- Floor along the cabinet base and, if it can be pulled out safely, under the fridge
Bathrooms
- Toilet inside and out, including the base and the hinge area of the seat
- Tub, shower walls, grout and the shower door or curtain rod
- Inside the vanity and the medicine cabinet
- Mirror, faucet and light fixture where reachable
- Exhaust fan cover dusted where reachable
- Floor, including behind the toilet
Bedrooms and closets
- Closet shelves, rods and the closet floor
- Window sills and the inside of window tracks
- Baseboards, door frames and doors
- Light switches and outlet covers wiped
Living areas, hallways and entry
- Radiators or baseboard heaters dusted
- Built-in shelves and any mantel
- Interior side of windows and the glass in doors
- Floors vacuumed and mopped, corners and edges included
- Entry, stairs inside the unit and the front door
Leave lightbulbs in place, close every cabinet, and take photos of each room when you finish. Those photos are your record of how you left the unit.
What a move-out cleaning will not cover
Cleaning removes dirt and buildup. It does not repair or replace anything. A few items renters often expect to be part of the job are separate work:
- Patching nail holes or touching up paint
- Shampooing carpets or upholstery
- Hauling away furniture, boxes or anything left behind
- Washing the outside of windows
- Removing mold, or treating pests
If your lease requires any of these, schedule them separately and before the cleaning, so the cleaning can be the last thing that happens in the unit.
Moving out in Boston around September 1
Many Boston leases turn over on September 1, which makes late August and early September the busiest moving window of the year. If your move falls then, book the cleaning as soon as you know your dates, because movers, trucks and cleaners all get scarce at the same time.
Plan around your building as well. Reserving curb space for a moving truck takes a city street occupancy permit, and condo and apartment buildings often require elevator reservations. Your building may also ask vendors for a certificate of insurance before they can work there, so ask the management office what it needs from anyone you hire.
A sensible order for the last few days
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Book the cleaning for after the movers
The unit should be completely empty. Cleaning around boxes means cleaning the same floor twice.
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Keep the utilities on
Water and electricity need to stay on until the cleaning is done. A dark unit with no hot water is hard to clean well.
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Clear everything out
Take out all belongings, trash and anything you do not want, including food in the fridge and items in the freezer.
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Arrange access
If you will not be there, agree ahead of time on how the cleaners get in and how the unit is locked afterward.
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Walk through and take photos
When the cleaning is finished, check each room against your lease and photograph it before you hand back the keys.
Doing it yourself or hiring it out
A studio can be a manageable one-person job if you start early and are not also packing. A larger apartment with a full kitchen, two bathrooms and years of oven grease is a long day, usually at the exact moment you have the least energy left.
If you hire it out, a professional move-out cleaning covers the empty unit in the order above, inside cabinets and appliances included. For a unit you are moving into rather than out of, the same scope works before your furniture arrives. Roommates can split the cost of one cleaning the same way they split the rent. The apartment cleaning page explains how building access and walk-ups are planned, and the pricing page covers what changes the quote.