The office move-out cleaning checklist

First, read the lease: broom clean vs move-in ready

Commercial leases usually specify the condition the space must be returned in. Broom clean is the common minimum: everything out, floors swept or vacuumed, no debris, no obvious dirt. Some leases go further and require the space to be professionally cleaned or returned in the condition received, normal wear excepted. The distance between those standards is where deposits get argued about, so know which one you signed before deciding how deep to go.

If the lease is vague, a short email to the landlord asking what they expect at turnover is worth more than any checklist. It sets the standard in writing and usually earns goodwill that pays off at the walkthrough.

The room-by-room checklist

Work areas and offices

• Remove everything, including cables, mounting hardware, and the contents of every drawer and closet.
• Dust and wipe where furniture sat: desk outlines, shelf lines, and the tops of any built-ins.
• Spot-clean wall scuffs and remove nails, anchors, and tape. Patch holes if the lease requires it.
• Wipe light switches, door handles, and door frames. They show more hand traffic than anything else.
• Vacuum carpet edge to edge and spot-treat stains. Sweep and damp-mop hard floors.

Breakroom and kitchen

• Empty and wipe the fridge, then leave the doors propped if power is being shut off.
• Degrease the microwave, counters, cabinet fronts, and the sink.
• Empty all trash and recycle bins and take the liners with you.

Restrooms

• Sanitize toilets, sinks, counters, and mirrors, and descale fixtures where the Gulf Coast hard water has left marks.
• Sweep and mop the floor, including behind and beside fixtures.
• Remove any supplies and personal items from cabinets.

Whole-space pass

• Dust vents, ledges, sills, and baseboards. Dust lines are the first thing a walkthrough eye catches.
• Clean interior glass and the entry door, inside and out.
• Check closets, server rooms, and storage areas for anything left behind.
• Photograph every room after the clean as your condition record.

What landlords actually look at

Walkthroughs are faster than tenants expect. In practice the inspection lands on a handful of tells: the dust outlines where furniture sat, wall scuffs along hallways and behind chairs, the restrooms, the breakroom, and whether anything got left behind in closets. A space can be ninety percent clean and still fail the eye test on those five things, because they are exactly what shows in a quick lap around an empty office.

The inverse is also true. Handle those five well and the whole space reads as cared for, which sets the tone for the deposit conversation and the reference your next landlord might call about.

DIY or hire it out?

A small suite with light wear is a very doable DIY job with a Saturday and the checklist above. The math changes when the space is larger, the lease requires professional cleaning, the timeline is tight against a lease end date, or the team that would do the cleaning has a business to move. A one-time commercial move-out clean for a small office typically runs a few hundred dollars, quoted per project rather than hourly, and turns the whole problem into one scheduled visit between the movers and the walkthrough.

One Florida note either way: commercial cleaning is subject to state sales tax, six percent plus county surtax, so expect it as a line item on any professional quote.

Frequently asked questions