Hi, I lived in a one bedroom flat, and I did drop the ball with the cleaning when i moved out, and was told some professional cleaners would come in on the back of my deposit.
I just wanted to hear if you think this is a valid end of tenancy clean charge.
It is £519 including carpet clean and oven clean. I did attempt to clean the carpets myself with a carpet cleaner.
I just think it is a lot for a one bedroom flat. What do you guys/girls think?
It sounds excessive. Ask to see the bill and question the charges with the operator.
LL is not allowed to charge you for professional cleaning, would be £519 or £1. It’s classed as a prohibited fee.
I suppose your deposit is registered with one of deposit protection schemes and you’re given the details (as you should be). Dispute the charge through the adjudicator, and you will win.
Landlord cannot insist that tenant pays for professional service when vacating, though LL can use professional service and charge tenant afterwards. This is permitted.
Can you give me a link to a relevant legislation to corroborate this? Are you saying that if LL uses professional cleaning service after T has moved out, adjudicator will award him part of deposit to cover the costs? Not in our experience. And what is the difference between charging the T while vacating or afterwards?
Should have cleaned properly !
Here is excerpt. Post with link is pending approval.
“You cannot be required to use a particular company to clean the property. If the property is not left in a fit condition, landlords and agents can recover costs associated with returning the property to its original condition and/or carrying out necessary repairs by claiming against your tenancy deposit. You should ask your landlord or agent to justify their costs by providing suitable evidence (such as an independently produced inventory, receipts and invoices.”
Tenant fees act 2019
Guidance for tenants
LOL. You tell’em! )))))
The tenant has opportunity to clean while in possession, whether professional or self. If they leave sub standard landlord can then pay someone to do the job that the tenant should have. “A professional”
Thank you. Lools like adjudicator doesn’t know the legislation. Funny that. If we made our own inventory, without involving the third party, would it invalidate the claim?
From what I hear an independent inventory carries most weight. Seems unfair. I have yet to test this.
As a landlord I do my own inventories. An independent inventory may be preferred by the deposit schemes, although a DIY inventory can still be used and would not invalidate a claim as long as it is well put together with quality before and after photos which are date stamped in order to make an undeniable case to the adjudicator.
Do you do this as a print out and get them to sign every page?
I need a good template for this, its the eternal ball ache.
I use SmarterInventories.com There are others. It provides you with all the categories kitchen, lounge, bedroom etc. Or you can create your own categories if the category you want is not on the standard list. You just click on the category and start taking pics and add notes where necessary. When your done you upload it to their website and they send you and the tenant a pdf of the inventory and you and the tenant can sign it electronically. The presentation looks very professional IMO and it only costs a few pounds. Check it out. I think they give you the first one free.
Can you use it on your laptop?
Once you upload the photos you can log into your account from your laptop and then view the inventory and make amendments etc…
“You cannot be required to use a particular company to clean the property. If the property is not left in a fit condition, landlords and agents can recover costs associated with returning the property to its original condition and/or carrying out necessary repairs by claiming against your tenancy deposit. You should ask your landlord or agent to justify their costs by providing suitable evidence (such as an independently produced inventory, receipts and invoices.”
Tenant fees act 2019
Guidance for tenants
Yes, Mark, that was it! I got confused the two. LL is not allowed to ask T to professionally clean the property during the move-out. Not LL cannot claim against cleaning bill.
After reading a different thread it occurred to me that an independent professional inventory clerk will record odours in a property. For example if the tenant was smoking in the property or kept a pet. I imagine if you had to make a claim against the tenants deposit for additional cleaning costs the claim would carry more weight with the adjudicator if these claims came from an independent person. Otherwise claims for physical damage that can be shown with photographic evidence should be the same whether you do a DIY inventory or employ a professional.
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