About 949,000 households in the City of Los Angeles rent, roughly 64 percent of the total. Every one of those tenancies ends with the same question: how clean does the place have to be to get the deposit back? California’s deposit law answers in one line. Clean enough to return the unit to the same level of cleanliness it was in when the tenancy began.
This page sets out what the statute, the Attorney General and the California Courts say a landlord may and may not deduct for cleaning, the inspection you can ask for before you leave, a timeline for the last two weeks, a room by room checklist, the City services that take away what you are not keeping, and what two marketplaces publish about the cost of a move-out clean. It summarizes published rules and is not legal advice.
Maid Service Los Angeles is a referral service. We connect you with independent local cleaning providers and do not clean homes ourselves. The provider gives the price and carries out the job. No cleaner and no referral service can promise what a landlord will decide about a deposit.
Call and we connect you with a local provider for a move-out clean in Los Angeles.
What California says about cleaning and the deposit
The rules are in California Civil Code section 1950.5, which anyone can read on the Legislature’s own website. The Attorney General’s consumer alert on security deposits and the California Courts’ self-help guide explain them in plain language. Each row below is taken from the statute or from one of those two guides.
| Question | What the statute and the state guides say |
|---|---|
| How clean must I leave it? | A landlord may use the deposit for the cleaning needed to return the unit to the same level of cleanliness it was in at the start of the tenancy, and may claim only the amounts reasonably necessary for that. The Attorney General puts it as the cost of cleaning the property so that it is as clean as when the tenant first moved in. |
| What about ordinary wear? | A landlord may not make a claim for ordinary wear and tear, whether it happened before or during the tenancy, or for damage or defects that were there before the tenancy began. |
| Can a landlord make me pay for professional cleaning? | The statute says a landlord shall not require a tenant to pay for professional carpet cleaning or other professional cleaning services, or claim them against the deposit, unless they are reasonably necessary to return the premises to the condition they were in at the start of the tenancy, apart from ordinary wear and tear. A lease also may not describe any deposit as nonrefundable. |
| How large can a deposit be? | For deposits collected since July 1, 2024, the limit is one month’s rent, on top of the first month’s rent. The limit is two months’ rent for a landlord who is a natural person, or a limited liability company whose members are all natural persons, and who owns no more than two residential rental properties with no more than four units in total. That exception does not apply when the tenant is a service member. |
| Can I find out what they will charge for before I leave? | Yes. Within a reasonable time after either side gives notice, the landlord must tell you in writing that you can ask for an initial inspection and that you can be present. If you ask, the inspection is held no earlier than two weeks before the tenancy ends, with at least 48 hours of written notice of the date and time unless you both waive it in writing. The landlord then gives you an itemized statement of the repairs or cleaning proposed as the basis for deductions, and you have until the tenancy ends to deal with them. |
| When do I get the money? | No later than 21 calendar days after you have vacated, the landlord must give you an itemized statement of any deductions and return what is left of the deposit. |
| Do I get receipts? | If the deductions for repairs and cleaning together come to more than $125, the statement must come with copies of the bills, invoices or receipts. For work done by the landlord or the landlord’s employee, it must describe the work, the time spent and the reasonable hourly rate charged. |
| What about photographs? | Since April 1, 2025 a landlord must photograph the unit within a reasonable time after you return possession and before any repair or cleaning they will deduct for, and again within a reasonable time after that work is done. If a deduction is made, the photographs go to the tenant with the statement. |
| What if a landlord keeps it unfairly? | For a deposit kept in bad faith, the statute allows damages of up to twice the amount of the deposit, in addition to actual damages. In court, the landlord has the burden of proving that the amounts claimed were reasonable. |
One more point in the statute rewards asking for the inspection. If an initial inspection is held, and your belongings did not stop the landlord from seeing what needed repair or cleaning, the landlord may not deduct for repairs or cleaning that were not on the itemized statement. The statute keeps exceptions, among them anything that happens between the inspection and the day you return the unit.
The Attorney General’s alert adds a point that matters in this city: check local rules, because some cities make landlords pay interest on deposits. In Los Angeles, the Housing Department (LAHD) lists interest payments on security deposits among the things the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance covers, and publishes a bulletin with the rate for the year. LAHD counts approximately 624,000 units under the ordinance, which generally applies to rental properties first built on or before October 1, 1978. To see whether yours is one, LAHD’s page on what the ordinance covers links to a City address lookup: enter the address and open the Housing tab.
Not legal advice
This is a summary of what the statute and the state and City sources say. For a dispute, the California Courts security deposit guide explains the steps: write to the landlord first, then small claims court, where a tenant can sue for up to $12,500 and cannot have a lawyer with them in court. For questions about a rent-stabilized unit, the Los Angeles Housing Department lists its offices and lines on its contact page.
A timeline for the last two weeks
- When you give notice. Ask the landlord for the initial inspection, and keep a copy of the request. The landlord has to hold one only if the tenant asks.
- In the last two weeks. Attend the inspection and get the itemized statement of what the landlord proposes to deduct for. That statement is your cleaning brief.
- A week before. Line up the cleaner for after the movers have gone, and schedule City pickup for furniture or boxes you are not taking. LA Sanitation needs at least one business day’s notice before your regular collection day.
- Moving day. Empty every cabinet, closet and drawer, and the refrigerator. A cleaner cannot clean around belongings.
- Cleaning day. The unit is cleaned empty, from the top down. Walk it with the checklist below before the cleaner leaves, and make sure the water and power are still on.
- Before you hand over the keys. Photograph every room, the inside of the oven and refrigerator, the bathrooms and the floors, with the date showing. Keep the cleaner’s invoice.
- After you leave. Give the landlord a forwarding address. The statute says anything mailed to you goes to the address you provide, or to the unit you left if you provide none. The 21 calendar days run from the day you vacate.
Move-out cleaning checklist, room by room
A move-out clean is a deep clean of an empty home. With nothing in the way, a cleaner can reach what regular visits never touch. Compare this list with any written instructions in your lease and with the statement from the inspection.
Kitchen
- Oven interior, racks, door glass and the drawer beneath
- Stovetop, burners or elements, drip pans and control knobs
- Range hood, including the filter and the underside
- Refrigerator emptied, shelves and drawers washed, door seals wiped
- Floor behind and beside the refrigerator and stove, where they can be moved safely
- Dishwasher interior, filter and door edges
- Microwave inside and out
- Every cabinet and drawer emptied and wiped inside, with fronts degreased
- Counters, backsplash and grout
- Sink, faucet and disposal splash guard
- Floor swept and mopped, including corners and edges
Bathrooms
- Toilet inside and out, including the base, the hinges and behind the bowl
- Tub and shower walls, with soap film and mineral scale removed
- Shower door glass, tracks and seals
- Tile grout scrubbed
- Sink, faucet, drain stopper and overflow
- Medicine cabinet and vanity emptied and wiped inside
- Mirrors and light fixtures
- Exhaust fan cover dusted
- Floor mopped, including behind the toilet
Bedrooms and closets
- Closet shelves, rods and floors
- Window sills, tracks and interior glass
- Blinds dusted or wiped
- Doors, frames and handles
- Light switches and outlet covers
- Scuffs and fingerprints spot-cleaned from walls
- Floors vacuumed or mopped edge to edge
Living areas and halls
- Baseboards wiped along their full length
- Ceiling fans, light fixtures and vent covers dusted
- Sliding door glass and tracks
- Built-in shelves and mantels
- Wall marks spot-cleaned
- Thermostat, intercom and switch plates wiped
- Floors vacuumed or mopped
Floors and carpet
Hard floors are vacuumed and mopped edge to edge once the rooms are empty. Carpet is vacuumed thoroughly and spots are treated. Carpet cleaning by machine uses separate equipment and is usually sold as a separate service. Under the statute a landlord cannot require professional carpet cleaning unless it is reasonably necessary to return the unit to the condition it was in at the start of the tenancy, apart from ordinary wear and tear, so look at the state of the carpet and at the inspection statement before paying for it.
Balcony, patio, garage and storage
Sweep them out and remove everything that is yours. The Department of Water and Power lists the watering of hard surfaces such as sidewalks, walkways, driveways and parking areas among the water uses the City restricts, so plan on a broom and a damp mop, not a hose.
What cleaning cannot fix: wear and tear versus damage
A cleaner removes dirt. They do not undo age, and California does not ask you to. The statute bars a landlord from claiming for ordinary wear and tear or its cumulative effects, and limits any claim for materials, supplies and work to a reasonable amount necessary to restore the unit to the condition it was in at the start of the tenancy. It does not list what counts as wear and what counts as damage, so the items below are a practical guide, not the law’s own list.
- Marks a cleaner can usually deal with. Grease, soap film, mineral scale, dust, scuffs that wipe off, and food residue in appliances.
- Marks a cleaner cannot deal with. Burns, holes, torn flooring, chipped enamel, broken blinds and stains that have set into carpet or grout. Raise these at the initial inspection so you know where you stand.
- Things that were already there. A landlord may not claim for damage or defects that existed before the tenancy. Photographs and a checklist from the day you moved in are the usual way to show it.
Clearing out what you are not taking
An empty unit is the starting point for any move-out clean. What the City collects, and how, depends on who picks up your trash.
- Homes with City curbside bins. LA Sanitation collects bulky items such as furniture, mattresses and box springs, rolled and tied carpet and large wood pieces at the curb, on your regular trash day and at no additional charge. Schedule at least one business day before your regular collection day through the MyLA311 app, the online service request form or the Customer Care Center, all of which are on its bulky item page.
- Moving boxes and bags. The City’s Move-In and Move-Out extra pickup is a one-time collection of the boxes, packing materials and bagged trash that will not fit in your blue and black bins. Every bag, box or bundle must weigh 30 pounds or less, boxes and bundles should be no larger than 2 feet by 3 feet, cardboard must be flattened and tied, and the request has to be made at least one business day ahead.
- Apartment buildings. Buildings whose trash is collected by a recycLA service provider are covered by a separate on-call bulky item service that the City runs, paid for through the Multi-Family Bulky Item Fee. Ask your manager how the building requests a pickup.
- What the City will not take at the curb. Automotive parts and used oil, construction materials, paints, solvents and chemicals, medicines and needles, and fluorescent lights. LA Sanitation sends chemicals and paint to its S.A.F.E. Centers.
- Drop-off. Once a month LA Sanitation opens five sites for free bulky item drop-off: in Sun Valley, Northridge, San Pedro and West Los Angeles, and on East Washington Boulevard in Central Los Angeles.
Move-in cleaning and landlord turnovers
The same clean serves the other side of a move. Tenants moving in sometimes have one done before unpacking. Photograph the unit first, since its condition at the start of a tenancy is the level it has to be returned to at the end. For tenancies that begin on or after July 1, 2025, the statute also makes the landlord photograph the unit immediately before or at the start of the tenancy.
Landlords and managers arrange turnover cleans between tenants. Two rules are worth knowing. The photographs California requires have to be taken before and after any cleaning a landlord will deduct for. And Cal/OSHA’s guidance on household work says work on a property that is used for rental income, and is not the owner’s own residence, is not exempt from the state’s workplace safety rules, so an owner who directly employs cleaners for a rental should check what applies.
What a move-out clean costs: published figures
We do not set prices. The provider gives the price. These are figures that two marketplaces, TaskRabbit and HomeAdvisor, publish on their own sites.
| What | Published figure | Whose figure |
|---|---|---|
| Move-out cleaning by the hour in Los Angeles | Around $46 an hour, with an average clean of $300 to $400 | TaskRabbit, Los Angeles move-out page, read October 2026 |
| Move-out cleaning, national | Up to $500, or up to $0.35 per square foot | HomeAdvisor, updated June 19, 2026 |
| Deep cleaning, national, for comparison | $200 to $400 a visit | HomeAdvisor, updated June 19, 2026 |
They are those companies’ own figures, not quotes from us or from any provider. These are the things that move a real price.
- Size. Bedrooms, bathrooms and square footage.
- Condition. How long since the last full clean, and the state of the oven, the refrigerator and the bathrooms.
- Extras. Machine carpet cleaning, interior windows, balconies and garages are often priced separately.
- Whether the unit is empty. Cleaning around boxes and furniture is slower, and less thorough.
- Access. Stairs, elevator reservations, parking and a long carry from the street.
- Timing. A lease that ends at the end of a month competes with every other lease that does. Ask early.
Call with your move-out date and the size of the unit, and we connect you with a local provider who gives you a price.
Keep a record
Whatever the outcome, keep three things: the itemized statement from the initial inspection, your dated photographs of the cleaned unit, and the cleaner’s invoice showing the address, the date and what was done. If a deduction for cleaning arrives anyway, those are what you would show the landlord, or a small claims judge.
Where in Los Angeles, and a note on nearby cities
You can call about a move-out anywhere in the City of Los Angeles, from Koreatown, Westlake, Hollywood and East Hollywood to Palms, Mar Vista and Venice, and from Van Nuys, North Hollywood and Reseda to Highland Park, Boyle Heights and San Pedro.
The state deposit rules on this page apply everywhere in California. The City rules, meaning rent stabilization, deposit interest and LA Sanitation’s pickup services, apply only inside the City of Los Angeles. Santa Monica, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Glendale and Pasadena are separate cities nearby, so if you rent there, check that city’s own rules and trash services.
For a home you are staying in, the house cleaning and deep cleaning pages cover one-time visits, and the maid service page covers a regular schedule for the new place.
Call when you know your move-out date, and we connect you with a local provider for the clean.
Questions people ask
How clean does a rental have to be when I move out in California?
As clean as it was when you moved in. Civil Code section 1950.5 lets a landlord use the deposit for the cleaning necessary to return the unit to the same level of cleanliness it was in at the start of the tenancy, and bars any claim for ordinary wear and tear. The Attorney General’s consumer alert says the same in plainer words.
Do I have to hire a professional cleaner when I move out?
The statute says a landlord shall not require a tenant to pay for professional carpet cleaning or other professional cleaning services unless they are reasonably necessary to return the premises to the condition they were in at the start of the tenancy, apart from ordinary wear and tear. People hire a cleaner because an empty-unit clean is hard work, and because a dated invoice is a useful record. This is general information, not legal advice.
How long does a landlord have to return a deposit in California?
21 calendar days after you have vacated. Within that time the landlord must give you an itemized statement of any deductions and return the rest. If the deductions for repairs and cleaning come to more than $125, copies of the bills, invoices or receipts must come with it.
What is the pre-move-out inspection?
The statute calls it the initial inspection. After notice is given, the landlord must tell you in writing that you can ask for one and be present. It is held no earlier than two weeks before the tenancy ends, with at least 48 hours of written notice unless both sides waive it in writing. The landlord then gives you an itemized statement of the repairs or cleaning proposed as the basis for deductions, so you can deal with them first.
Can my landlord charge me for carpet cleaning?
Only where it is reasonably necessary to return the carpet to the condition it was in when the tenancy began, apart from ordinary wear and tear. That is the statute’s test for professional carpet cleaning, and the statute bars any claim for ordinary wear and tear.
Does a move-out clean include the oven and refrigerator?
Usually, but checklists differ. Ask the provider whether the inside of the oven, the refrigerator and the cabinets are included in their price, and get the list in writing.
How much does move-out cleaning cost in Los Angeles?
Only the provider can give a price for your unit. As a guide, TaskRabbit’s Los Angeles page puts move-out cleaning at around $46 an hour, with an average clean of $300 to $400, and HomeAdvisor’s national figure, updated June 19, 2026, is up to $500 or up to $0.35 per square foot. Those are the two marketplaces’ own published figures, not quotes from Maid Service Los Angeles or from any provider.
Will the City of Los Angeles pick up furniture I am leaving behind?
If your home has City curbside bins, yes. LA Sanitation collects bulky items such as furniture and mattresses at the curb on your regular trash day at no additional charge, if you schedule at least one business day ahead through MyLA311, the online form or the Customer Care Center. Apartment buildings served by a recycLA provider are covered by a separate on-call bulky item service, so ask your manager. LA Sanitation also offers a Move-In and Move-Out extra pickup for boxes and bags.
Do Los Angeles landlords pay interest on security deposits?
The Los Angeles Housing Department lists interest payments on security deposits among the things the City’s Rent Stabilization Ordinance covers, and publishes a bulletin with the rate for the year. The ordinance generally applies to rental properties first built on or before October 1, 1978. Ask the Housing Department whether your unit is covered and what is owed.
Does Maid Service Los Angeles do the cleaning or promise my deposit back?
Neither. Maid Service Los Angeles is a referral service that connects you with an independent local cleaning provider, who gives the price and does the work. Nobody can promise what a landlord will decide. What a thorough clean, dated photographs and an invoice give you is a record.
Call to be connected with a local cleaner