any one have a view as to whether annual carpet cleaning which is included in the tenancy agreement will be dis allowed by the fees ban
at present my tenants arrange their own cleaning at their own cost so not a fee as such - but hey who knows
Hey Chris,
Yes, this would be a prohibited fee under the new rules.
If you have it in a current tenancy, that’s ok.But after 1st June 2020, it will be illegal to charge this fee.
Sam
I’ll play devil’s advocate with Sam and say it’s allowed because cleaning the carpets is a service that is offered & not a fee, but I am not a legal expert. You could even suggest the tenants pay it direct to the carpet cleaners to be extra safe. To be safe though I wouldn’t enforce this unless it’s stated on the tenancy and would suggest just increasing the rent and include annual free carpet cleaning in the tenancy on your next tenancy renewal.
Any services allowed as long as they are optional. But if there is no way to refuse a paid service - it is illegal indeed.
Yes exactly, Andy.
If the tenancy agreement states that the tenant must pay a fee (e.g. for a cleaning company to clean the property at the end of the tenancy), then that is now a prohibited payment.
@Daniel1 you’re right that increasing the rent would be one way to cover the cost of a professional cleaning service if you felt the market could take such an increase. But as Andy says, if there is no option not to pay the fee, then it would now be a prohibited payment according to the Tenant Fees Act.
I see what you’re saying Daniel, but a fee is payment for a service. The idea that there could be fees not linked with specific services is one of the reasons that the Tenant Fees Act was so sorely needed in the first place.
The tenancy agreement only stats that the carpets are to be cleaned annually and at the end of the tenancy and provide proof of cleaning
It does not specify that they have to be professionally cleaned therefore the tenant is free to clean them themselves
Hi Chris, Yeah that sounds fine. Including a mandatory fee in the tenancy agreement would be when it becomes a prohibited payment.
Sam