Move out cleaning cost: how much more companies charge to hand back an empty home

What is a move out cleaning?

A move out cleaning is a one-off cleaning of an empty home at the end of a tenancy or before a sale, done to a standard a landlord or a buyer will accept.

How much does a move out cleaning cost?

A move out cleaning costs a median of $180 per visit among the 1,392 US companies that publish a price for one, against $149 for a standard clean. The middle half runs $130 to $250, and the 5th to 95th percentile runs $90 to $400.

How much more is a move out clean than a standard clean?

A move out clean is about 69% more than a standard clean at the same company, which is the widest service premium in this data.

The comparison that matters is paired, because comparing one company’s move-out price against another company’s standard price mixes cheap firms with expensive ones and flattens the gap to 20%. Among the 358 companies that publish both, the move-out price is higher in 78% of them, the same in 13%, and lower in 9%. The median gap inside a single company is +69%, with a middle half of +16% to +115%.

Is the move out premium bigger than the deep clean premium?

Yes, and the two differ in a way worth separating: the move out premium is wider and the deep clean premium is more consistent.

Move-out is larger inside the same company — a median +69% against +50% — but it applies less often, raising the price in 78% of the companies that publish both against 83% for a deep clean. A move out is the bigger surcharge when it applies; a deep clean is the one you can count on being charged.

Why do companies price a move out so confidently?

Companies price a move out confidently because the job is defined by an outcome, not by a condition. An empty home has a known scope — every surface, inside every cupboard, no furniture to work around — so it can be sold as a product with a number on it. That is also why the +16% to +115% spread is so wide: the product is the same, but the homes behind it are not.

Is a move out cleaning the same as a make-ready?

Yes, a make-ready is the same job under a landlord’s name, and some companies publish it as a separate line at a similar price.

Where can you compare move out prices?

You can compare move out prices in the states where enough companies publish one.

• To see where that premium lands in one market, read what Texas companies publish, with the sample size behind the figure.