Moving Out of a Battersea or Nine Elms Flat: Lifts, Concierge and Check-Out

Moving out of a flat in a big managed block differs from moving out of a terraced house. The cleaning stays the same for the most part. However, everything around isn’t: the lift, the concierge, the loading bay, the bin store, the car park you can't use.

This guide is for people vacating flats in Battersea, Clapham Junction and Nine Elms, from the mansion blocks around Battersea Park to the new towers by the river. It tells you what you need to arrange with the building, what to tell cleaners, and what’s typically skipped.

The homes we're talking about

After SW18, SW11 is the second busiest postcode for the cleaning requests we get from Wandsworth. Throughout the borough, most requests aren’t for houses, but for flats- four in five of the requests.

There are two main types of flats. One is the flats in the older Edwardian mansion blocks, with shared stairwells, high ceilings and period features. The second is the flats in the newer developments around Nine Elms and Battersea Power Station, where the Northern line extension now stops. These feature lifts, concierge desks, balconies, and lots of glass and polished stone.

Both types have one thing in common: the building has rules, and someone else manages it.

First things first, book the lift

When people book with us, one thing they mention the most is access. Nearly a third of the notes we get from London clients mention the floor, the lift or the stairs. These come up more than any cleaning request.

Vacating a managed block? Start with the building management or concierge. Do it a week or two before you move out. You should ask:

• whether you need to book in the removal firms and cleaners. If so, how far ahead you should do it.
• whether there's a goods lift or a lift that calls for protection? Can you use it?
• whether there's a loading bay. How long can a vehicle stay?
• What time can contractors start? When must they finish?
• whether visitors should sign in at the desk? Do they need to show anything?

Every building is different, so the answers aren’t a general guide. They’re rules only for your move. When you book, fill us in on these rules for the floor, the lift, the door codes, and any timeframes. You want a cleaning team that starts on time, not one that waits in the lobby.

The part people forget: parking

Many newer developments sit on private roads or have their own car parks, and that matters. In Wandsworth, a trade parking permit is only valid in the CPZ sub-zone it was issued for. You can’t use it on private roads, in housing estate car parks or in pay-and-display bays – it’s not valid there.

Should your building have its own car park or access road, find out from the management whether contractors can use it. When booking, inform us. Do you also need space for a removal van on the street? Our guide explains bay suspensions for the removal van.

Balconies, glass and stone

About one in eight notes we get mention a balcony or terrace. Many blocks have them, and many people remember them only when the inventory clerk steps outside.

Our job includes cleaning balconies and terraces. If we can reach them from a balcony, we also clean the outside of the windows. In a flat with glass facing the river, that’s important.

Newer flats have a lot of chrome, glass and polished stone inside. While they look amazing at check-in, they will show every smudge at check-out. Remember a couple of things:

• Limescale shows quickly on glass and chrome. All the water in the Thames Water region is hard, so shower screens and taps scale up quickly.
• Stone doesn’t mix with acid. Strong descalers can dull natural stone worktops and floors. Check the surface material before you clean.

Check out the details in our guide to hard water and limescale before check-out if you’re most worried about limescale.

The bin store

In a block, you don’t take out your rubbish on the street. You put it in a communal bin store. When and how, that’s up to your managing agent.

Find out where the store is, whether you need a fob or code, and what to do with anything that doesn’t fit in the bins. Do it before moving day. If you leave bags or furniture in a corridor or at the wrong store, you'll be charged extra. Have larger items? Remember that the council's bulky waste collections go to the block's communal collection point. Get the details from the move-out guide.

Keys and timing

We can clean while you’re away. When booking, give us key instructions; we’ll proceed accordingly. Don’t forget about any concierge arrangements.

To give you an idea, we need 3 to 4 hours to clean a studio or one-bedroom flat, 4 to 5 hours for two bedrooms and 5 to 6 hours for three. If it’s a managed block, we need extra time on the day to sign in and use the lift. We conclude the job with a signed cleaning checklist, an invoice and before-and-after photos. If we’ve missed something, please tell us with photos within 7 days. We’ll return and re-clean at no charge.

Moving out of a flat by the river?

Start by figuring out the building. Next comes the cleaning, then the photos and meter readings. Handing back the keys is the last step. Moving out of an older block with no lift instead? See how we plan a clean around stairs and no parking. Ready to book? Here’s what our Battersea and Wandsworth move-out clean includes: