Thats awful, I wish I had a database of really normal tenants and landlords could be referenced too, reviewed .
That’s what a check-in inventory report provides. Proof of standard of cleanliness as assessed by a competent third party. It should always include copious amounts of photos. No reasonable landlord insists on a professional end of tenancy clean. I do not write it into the tenancy agreement. I expect tenants would like to live in a clean environment but am often surprised at their interpretation of an acceptable standard of clean - even allowing for variation in interpretation. Rental properties should be handed back to landlords in at least the same standard of cleanliness as when tenant’s received them. That standard assessed by the inventory clerk who does the check-out inventory. Who cleans the property it is up to the tenant. Simples
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You can dispute it, assuming your tenancy doesn’t state you have to have the property professionally cleaned yourself upon leaving.
I’ve had a landlord try to deduct for professional cleaning. Despite the fact it wasn’t in my tenancy agreement that it had to be done I’d already had the property professionally cleaned at my cost and had reciepts to prove as much. Unsurprisingly I had all my deposit returned by DPS.
A good habit to get into is taking photos on the day you move in and the day you move out as these are helpful to you if you need to have a dispute with the DPS service involved. It’s possible that the letting agent is the one being the spanner in the works and the landlord isn’t aware that they are being funny.
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Not sure about the rest of the UK but in London tenancy fees (including professional cleaning) have been banned.
Hi all, yes to clarify points from @Samantha and @Luca79, the Tenant Fees Act (2019) has applied to all tenancies, including ongoing ones, from 1st June. That means that terms in tenancy agreements that require the tenant pay for professional cleaning are no longer enforceable because that would now be a prohibitted payment under the Act, even if the tenancy was signed before the Act was passed.
If the property is not left in a fit condition, then landlords can claim money from the tenancy deposit to cover the cost of cleaning. Of course, tenants can dispute this via the usual tenancy deposit scheme channels.
I hope that clears this up now that we have moved past 1st June 2020, the final commencement date of the Tenant Fees Act.
Sam
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I’m a landlord and I would have charged at least £200, that’s the going rate per day for an industrial cleaner. […] I was left with a £10,000 refurb bill […]
How can you say this without having seen the property or knowing anything apart from what I wrote? You wouldn’t have gotten away with this. Please don’t try to recover your costs by unfairly overcharging tenants which had nothing to do with the reason you’ve lost money.
Here’s the outcome of the “Deposit Protection Service Dispute Resolution” - ADJUDICATION DECISION:
The state of the studio at the end of the tenancy was not exactly the same as at the beginning. However, the cleaning defects at the end of the tenancy were very minor. The letting agent was awarded a total of £20.00.
This I find reasonable. The letting agent’s original claim of £130.00 was absurd. As soon as we involved the dispute resolution service, they lowered the claim to £90.00, probably knowing that their claim was unreasonable. Thanks to @Sam and everyone who has contributed to the discussion!
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