End of Tenancy Refurbishment Checklist for London Landlords
Updated 12 June 2026|8 min read
Every day a rental property sits empty between tenancies is rent you will never recover, so the goal of an end-of-tenancy refurbishment is simple: get the property re-let ready, fast and fully compliant. A typical void turnaround, redecoration, flooring refresh, deep clean and compliance checks, can be completed in one to two weeks if it is planned as a single coordinated job rather than a string of separate visits. This checklist sets out exactly what to refresh between tenancies, the compliance items that must be confirmed, realistic cost ranges, and how to minimise void days.
Why fast void turnarounds matter
Void periods are the quiet killer of rental yields. A property earning £2,000 a month loses around £66 for every day it stands empty, so a turnaround that drags from two weeks to six has cost the best part of £2,600 in lost rent alone, before a penny of works.
The mistake most landlords make is treating the turnaround as a series of separate errands: book a decorator, then a cleaner, then chase the gas engineer, then arrange the EICR, each visiting on their own schedule with dead time in between. Run that way, a fortnight of actual work spreads across six weeks of calendar.
The alternative is to treat the void as a single project, surveyed once, scheduled as one coordinated programme, and handed back ready to market. That is the model behind our work for landlords and letting agents: one point of contact, all trades and compliance items sequenced together, and the keys back in days rather than weeks. We work regularly with landlords through our for-landlords service and with agents managing portfolios through our for-letting-agents service, precisely because speed of turnaround is what protects their income.
Getting the property back on the market quickly is worth more than almost any saving on the works themselves.
What to refresh between tenancies
Not every void needs a full refurbishment; most need a targeted refresh that makes the property show well and removes the wear of the last tenancy. The recurring list is short and predictable.
Redecoration is almost always worth it: a full repaint in a clean, neutral scheme is the single highest-impact, lowest-cost improvement, brightening the property in photographs and in viewings. Flooring comes next: carpets that are stained or worn rarely survive more than two or three tenancies, and replacing them, or refreshing hard flooring, transforms how a property feels. A professional deep clean, including the oven, kitchen, bathrooms and windows, is non-negotiable and is what makes the difference between a property that lets at the first viewing and one that lingers.
Beyond those three, address the wear that accumulates: ease and adjust sticking doors, replace damaged or dated kitchen and bathroom sealant, repair or replace cracked tiles and grout, fix dripping taps and running toilets, replace tired light fittings and worn handles, and make good any holes or damage. Check the kitchen appliances work and the extractor is clear.
The aim is a property that feels cared for and move-in ready, because that is what commands the rent and lets fastest.
The compliance checklist: do not let a property without these
A void is the ideal moment to confirm the legal safety items are in date, because the property is empty and accessible, and letting without them exposes a landlord to serious liability. Treat this as a hard gate before any tenant moves in.
The Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is required for rented homes in England and must be renewed at least every five years; an empty property is the easy time to have remedials done. The annual gas safety check, with a Gas Safe certificate, is required where there is gas. Smoke alarms must be fitted on every storey and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance, and they must be tested and working at the start of the tenancy. The Energy Performance Certificate must be valid and at least the minimum rating to let lawfully.
For HMOs, the bar is higher: interlinked fire alarm systems, fire doors, emergency lighting where required, and the conditions of any HMO licence must all be confirmed, which is where our fire-safety-compliance and hmo-compliance work comes in.
The table summarises the core items and their renewal cycle. Confirm every one before marketing, not after a tenant has signed.
Compliance item
Requirement / cycle
EICR (electrical safety)
At least every 5 years
Gas safety certificate
Annually (where gas present)
Smoke alarms
Every storey, tested at tenancy start
Carbon monoxide alarms
Rooms with combustion appliances
EPC
Valid, minimum rating to let
HMO fire alarm / doors / lighting
Per HMO licence and FRA
Fire risk assessment (HMO / blocks)
Reviewed, action plan closed
Cost ranges for a void turnaround
Void works do not need to be expensive, but they do need to be the right works, and knowing the typical ranges helps you budget per turnaround and decide what is worth doing.
A full redecoration of a one or two-bed flat runs roughly £1,500–£3,500 depending on size and condition. Replacing flooring, carpets or hard flooring, across a flat is roughly £1,200–£3,500. A professional end-of-tenancy deep clean is £150–£400 for a flat, more for a house. The compliance certificates, where due, are modest individually: an EICR is around £150–£300, a gas safety certificate £60–£120, alarms £30–£80 each fitted, though remedial works flagged by an EICR are separate and variable.
Small repairs, sealant, grout, taps, door easing, handles, light fittings, typically add £300–£1,000 across a flat. A complete light refresh of a two-bed flat, decoration, flooring, deep clean, small repairs and in-date compliance, commonly lands at £4,000–£9,000, turned around in one to two weeks.
The table gives indicative ranges. Spending here is rarely the expensive part of being a landlord; the expensive part is the rent lost while the property sits empty waiting for the work to be coordinated.
Item
Typical cost (flat)
Full redecoration
£1,500 – £3,500
Flooring refresh / replacement
£1,200 – £3,500
Professional deep clean
£150 – £400
EICR
£150 – £300
Gas safety certificate
£60 – £120
Small repairs (sealant, taps, doors)
£300 – £1,000
Typical full refresh, 2-bed
£4,000 – £9,000
How to minimise void days
Reducing void days is mostly about overlap and coordination, not about rushing the work, and a few habits make the biggest difference.
Start before the tenant leaves. Book the check-out inspection promptly, and where the property is mid-tenancy and the works are known, line up the survey and quote so the team can mobilise the day the keys come back, not a fortnight later. Survey the whole turnaround at once, works and compliance together, so nothing is discovered late.
Sequence the trades into a single tight programme rather than separate visits: clean follows the works, compliance checks slot in while the property is accessible, and the property is photographed for marketing the moment it is ready. Order any materials, flooring, fittings, in advance against the start date.
Crucially, market the property during the works, not after. With a clear completion date, a good agent can advertise immediately, conduct viewings in the final days and have a tenant ready to move in on completion, collapsing the gap between works finishing and rent restarting.
The single biggest lever, though, is using one contractor for the whole turnaround, which removes the dead time between separate trades that is where most void days are actually lost.
One contractor for the whole turnaround
The reason coordinated turnarounds beat piecemeal ones is structural: every handover between separate firms is a gap where days leak away. A decorator finishes Friday, the flooring firm cannot start until the following Wednesday, the cleaner comes the week after, and the gas engineer has the next free slot a fortnight out. The work itself was a week; the calendar said five.
Using a single contractor who holds the trades and the compliance relationships closes those gaps. The decoration, flooring, repairs, deep clean and the compliance checks, EICR, gas, alarms, fire doors where relevant, are scheduled as one continuous programme, each stage booked before the last finishes. One survey, one quote, one point of accountability, and the property handed back marketing-ready.
This is exactly the service Apex London provides to landlords and letting agents across London: fast, fully compliant void turnarounds run as a single project, drawing on our property-repairs, painting-decorating and fire-safety-compliance teams under one roof. For agents juggling multiple turnarounds, it means one call per property instead of five.
If you have a void coming up, or one sitting empty now, call 020 3962 0455 and we will survey it and give you a fixed turnaround date along with the quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I refurbish between tenancies?
At minimum, redecorate in a neutral scheme, refresh or replace worn flooring, and have the property professionally deep cleaned. Then address accumulated wear, sealant, grout, dripping taps, sticking doors, tired light fittings, and confirm all compliance items (EICR, gas, alarms, EPC) are in date before marketing.
How much does an end-of-tenancy refurbishment cost in London?
A light refresh of a two-bed flat, decoration, flooring, deep clean, small repairs and in-date compliance, typically costs £4,000–£9,000 and takes one to two weeks. Individual items: redecoration £1,500–£3,500, flooring £1,200–£3,500, deep clean £150–£400, EICR around £150–£300.
What compliance checks are needed before re-letting in London?
An in-date EICR (renewed at least every five years), an annual gas safety certificate where gas is present, working smoke alarms on every storey, carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with combustion appliances, and a valid EPC at the minimum rating. HMOs additionally need interlinked fire alarms, fire doors, emergency lighting and the FRA action plan closed.
How can landlords reduce void days?
Survey the turnaround before the tenant leaves so work starts the day the keys return, sequence all trades and compliance checks into one tight programme, order materials in advance, and market the property during the works rather than after. The biggest single lever is using one contractor for the whole turnaround to remove dead time between trades.
How long does a void property turnaround take in London?
A typical refresh, redecoration, flooring, deep clean, small repairs and compliance checks, can be completed in one to two weeks when run as a single coordinated job. The same work spread across separate, independently booked trades commonly stretches to four to six weeks, every day of which is lost rent.
