Renters handing back keys
You are judged at the landlord’s walk-through against the condition at move-in. Kitchen appliances, bathrooms and floors are where cleaning charges are most often argued, so they come first.
Move-out & vacant-home cleaning in Austin
Move-out cleaning in Austin for empty homes
Insured · Written cleaning scope · One point of contact · 5.0 stars from 12 Google reviews · Austin, TX
Empty house. Keys due back. A landlord walk-through, a closing or a new tenant on the calendar. We clean vacant Austin homes, apartments and rentals top to bottom, and when the last occupant left more than dust behind, we scope the trash-out and the heavy work in the same quote.
What does a move-out cleaning in Austin include?
A move-out cleaning is a top-to-bottom clean of a home after the furniture is gone: kitchen including inside the oven, fridge, cabinets and drawers; bathrooms descaled and disinfected; baseboards, doors, switches and window sills wiped; blinds dusted; and every floor vacuumed and mopped. Bailey & Bear quotes it from photos and the deadline, and adds trash removal or heavy-duty work only when the property needs it.
Who books a move-out clean
The same empty-house clean serves very different deadlines, and the deadline changes what matters most. We ask which one you are working to, because it decides the order of work.
Owners selling a vacant house
The buyer’s final walk-through and the listing photos are the audience. Glass, fixtures, cabinet interiors and the first ten feet inside the door carry the impression.
Landlords and small portfolios
A single-family rental or a duplex between tenants. Speed to re-list matters, and the clean often has to follow a repair or paint visit rather than precede it.
Realtors and investors
A listing that sat, an estate sale that left a mess, a just-closed purchase. Often the home needs a cleanout first; see house cleanouts and trash-outs.
What is included, room by room
This is the standard vacant-home scope. Anything in the “on request” column is quoted separately so the price you approve matches the work you actually need.
| Area | Included | On request |
|---|---|---|
| Kitchen | Inside and outside of oven, range top and drip pans, inside fridge and freezer, microwave, dishwasher door and gasket, cabinet and drawer interiors, counters, backsplash, sink and fixtures | Range-hood filter soak, behind-fridge and behind-range pull-out, pantry shelf liner removal |
| Bathrooms | Tub, shower walls and glass descaled, toilet including base and behind, vanity inside and out, mirrors, fixtures, exhaust-fan cover dusted | Heavy hard-water or rust removal on glass, grout scrubbing beyond a standard pass |
| Bedrooms and living areas | Closet shelves and rods, baseboards, doors and frames, switch plates and outlets, window sills, blinds dusted, ceiling fans | Wall washing, interior window glass and tracks, light-fixture covers removed and washed |
| Floors | Hard floors vacuumed and damp-mopped, carpet vacuumed, stair treads and risers | Carpet shampoo or extraction, floor stripping and refinishing |
| Utility and garage | Laundry area wiped, washer and dryer exteriors, garage swept | Garage degreasing, attic or shed clear-out |
| Whatever was left behind | Small loose trash bagged | Furniture, bags, appliances and debris hauled off — scoped as a trash-out |
Move-out clean, heavy-duty clean, cleanout or make-ready?
Most quoting confusion comes from calling four different jobs by one name. The test is what the home looks like the moment the last box leaves.
| If the home is… | You need | Why it is priced differently |
|---|---|---|
| Empty and lived-in clean: normal dust, kitchen and bath use | Move-out cleaning (this page) | Predictable scope, quoted on size and appliances |
| Empty but neglected: baked-on grease, heavy scale, pet hair, smoke film, spoiled food left in the fridge | Heavy-duty house cleaning | Labor is driven by condition, not square footage, and often needs a second pass |
| Not empty: furniture, bags, belongings or yard debris left behind | House cleanout and trash-out, then a clean | Haul-off is priced by weight, volume and disposal, not hours |
| An apartment unit in a managed community on a turn schedule | Make-ready and turnover cleaning | Per-unit, capacity-driven, coordinated with maintenance punch |
| Fresh off a remodel or new build: drywall dust and construction residue | Post-construction cleaning | Fine dust needs rough and final cleans in sequence |
Not sure which one you have? Send photos of the kitchen, one bathroom and the worst room. That is usually enough to tell.
What the property needs before we arrive
A move-out clean goes fastest, and is priced most tightly, when four things are true on the day. If any of them is not, say so up front; it changes the plan, not necessarily the date.
- The home is empty, or the items that stay are clearly marked. Cleaning around boxes is slower and leaves outlines.
- Water and power are on. No hot water and no lights is the most common reason a vacant-home clean cannot be finished properly.
- Access is settled: lockbox code, gate code, garage opener, or a named person meeting the crew.
- Trades go first. Painting, patching, carpet replacement and appliance repair before the final clean, or the clean gets done twice.
Deposits, walk-throughs and what cleaning can and cannot do
In Texas, a landlord must refund a security deposit on or before the 30th day after the tenant surrenders the premises, and may withhold amounts for damages and charges the tenant is legally liable for under the lease — but not for normal wear and tear (Texas Property Code, Chapter 92). The landlord is also not obliged to refund until the tenant gives a written forwarding address.
What that means in practice: a thorough clean removes the dirt that becomes a cleaning charge. It does not repair damage, and we do not promise any deposit outcome or inspection result, because those decisions belong to the landlord and the lease. What we can do is leave the home clean and give you dated photos of every room when we finish.
Renters: photograph the home yourself before the clean starts and after we finish. Landlords: the before photos are your evidence for any charge, so take them before anyone wipes a surface. Our move-out cleaning checklist covers the details most often missed.
Vacant after a remodel or new build
Homes that sat empty through renovation carry fine dust in places a move-out clean never reaches: inside vents and light fixtures, on top of door frames, in cabinet interiors, along window tracks. That is a different job with a different sequence. If your home was just remodeled, our post-construction cleaning page explains the rough-and-final approach; if it was remodeled and then lived in, a heavy move-out clean usually covers it.
What decides the price
We quote vacant-home cleaning flat and in writing after seeing photos or walking the home. The variables are the honest ones:
- Size: bedrooms, bathrooms and approximate square footage.
- Condition, which matters more than size. A dirty 2-bedroom can take longer than a clean 4-bedroom.
- Appliance count and condition, especially the oven and the fridge.
- Add-ons: interior windows, wall washing, carpet extraction, garage.
- Anything to haul away, and how much of it.
- Access and stairs, and whether the deadline forces a larger crew.
No price is given over the phone without seeing the home, because the phone quote is the one that changes on the day.
Where we work
Austin and the surrounding area, including Westlake, Cedar Park, Round Rock, Georgetown, Lakeway, Dripping Springs and Bee Cave. Travel time for outlying addresses is built into the written quote, not added afterward.
Related vacant-home services
Vacant-home cleaning
House cleanouts & trash-outs · Heavy-duty house cleaning · Emergency & deadline cleaning · Move-out cleaning checklist
Related Austin cleaning
Make-ready & apartment turnovers · Trash haul-off & disposal rules · Post-construction cleaning · Property management cleaning
Reviews
Read what Austin clients say on our reviews page, then send photos of the property for a written scope.
About Bailey & Bear Cleaning
Owner-operated in Austin, Texas. The owner oversees the written cleaning scope, access plan, schedule and final quality check for every vacant-home job. The price is agreed in writing before work starts, and anything found on site that falls outside the scope is raised before it is touched. Certificates of insurance available on request. Call or text 512-689-8346; the line is open 24/7, and crew availability is confirmed before booking.
Frequently asked questions
How much does move-out cleaning cost in Austin?
It is quoted flat after we see photos or walk the home, because condition moves the price more than size does. The main variables are bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage, the state of the kitchen and bathrooms, appliance interiors, add-ons such as interior windows or carpet extraction, and anything that has to be hauled away. You approve the written price before work starts.
Do you clean inside the oven, fridge and cabinets?
Yes. Inside the oven, fridge, freezer, microwave, cabinets and drawers are part of the standard move-out scope, because they are the first places a landlord or buyer opens. Pulling out the fridge and range to clean behind them is available on request.
Does the home need to be empty?
It is best if it is. Cleaning around furniture and boxes is slower and leaves outlines on floors and walls. If items have been left behind, we can remove them first as a trash-out and then clean, quoted together.
Do the water and electricity need to be on?
Yes. Hot water and working lights are needed to clean properly and to check the result. If utilities are already off, tell us when you book so we can plan around it or move the date.
Will a move-out clean get my deposit back?
A thorough clean removes the dirt that leads to cleaning charges, but no cleaner can promise a deposit outcome. In Texas the landlord decides deductions under the lease and may not deduct for normal wear and tear. We leave the home clean and send dated photos of each room when we finish, which you can keep as your own record.
Can you clean the same day I move out?
Often, but not always, and we will not promise it before checking the schedule. Text the address, photos and the deadline to 512-689-8346 and we will confirm whether the crew can make it before you count on it.
Do you do move-in cleaning too?
Yes. A move-in clean of an empty home uses the same scope as a move-out clean, done before your furniture arrives so cabinets, closets and floors are clean when you unpack.
What if the home is in worse shape than a normal move-out?
Then it is a heavy-duty clean, and we say so before quoting rather than on the day. Baked-on grease, heavy scale, pet hair, smoke film and spoiled food left in appliances all add labor. Photos let us tell the difference up front.
Send the address, photos and deadline
Tell us what the property looks like now and when it has to be ready. Photos let us scope the job before anyone drives out. Prefer to text? Send photos to 512.689.8346.