Dirty rental property aibu?

[wtfisgoingonhere]

Apologies in advance as this is going to be long, but don’t want to drip-feed.

Me and DH rent, in current place 2 years, previous property 3 1/2. We keep it clean, in good condition have never missed or been late with a rental payment nor had any issues raised at periodic inspections.
We consider ourselves to be good tenants.

Current tenancy ends mid-august, we started viewing new property's in June

Found new place we liked (with different agency) , the landlord didn't want an empty property for any period, so to secure it we had to sign for it from early July (when existing tenants moved out) - fine by us

This date was pushed back a week as landlord switching to fully managed contract so an inventory needed to be done -again fine by us

Sooooo, sign for it Saturday (11th) and go straight round.
Still love the place BUT it's dirty. Particularly kitchen and bathroom - think dirty fridge (mouldy) dirty cupboards, greasy door handles, oven not cleaned, dirty toilet, dirty bath, lime scale all over fittings, mouldy sealant - all the sort of things we would expect to cause a deduction from our deposit.

Ring agents same afternoon and tell them the house is dirty - is it going to be/can it be cleaned? Letting agent agrees it wasn’t professionally cleaned by previous tenants (your telling me!) and agrees to put it to landlord.

Wednesday we receive the inventory by email (never had it after move in day before but there we go) and it was all highlighted on there, much of it listed as “being required before a new tenant moves in” - follow this up with agents who advise LL is on holiday.

Pop in Saturday (18th) to chase them up and also ask for a cleaner recommendation for our old property (as current LL recommended cleaner is on holiday)

They confirm that landlord has agreed to a clean, has £100 from old tenants deposit, and will top it up himself - their recommended cleaner (who is coming out to quote us Tuesday) has been sent the inventory to quote the clean and will clean it this week.

Good news for us as we planned to move some small things ourselves this weekend (would have done sooner if we could) in advance of moving everything else in on 3rd august (booked a local company to help)

Cleaner called us last night as she was stuck in traffic and couldn’t make our appointment to quote old place. We rescheduled but whilst on phone I confirmed with her she was doing the new place this week. She said she had agreed with the letting agents to QUOTE for it this week

I feel bad keep chasing the letting agents up, as we haven’t even moved in yet and don’t want LL to think we are difficult as we plan to stay in the property long term (at least 2-3 years) but we have always kept our properties nice and clean, and I expected the new place to be clean on moving in.
I really want it clean for this weekend, as it is our only chance to move things in before ‘the big move’ which we have already booked and paid for, but I know ultimately the pressure will be put on the cleaner.

In hindsight I wish I had got someone in to do it, paid them then quoted this back to letting agents (as I offered to get them a quote but they said they use only their own contractors)

By Saturday we will have paid £350 rent, and haven’t been able to move in.
Am I BU, or should they have sorted this out before I moved in? Or should I just go round and clean it.

will check back at lunch as I'm at work
Tia

[19lottie82]

can you not contact the Landlord directly (there should be contact details on your lease)? This will be more effective than dealing with the LA, as all they are essentially just the middlemen for the LL.

[wtfisgoingonhere]

No we can't as it's a fully managed contract so all contact is via LA. not met landlord and on contract it has his name c/o letting agents

[TheChandler]

Do you have keys? tbh I would just clean it myself. Less hassle, and then that's it done before you move in.

[98percentchocolate]

We moved in to a house that was filthy not he understanding it would be professionally cleaned beforehand. Not done. Then we said we wanted it done int he first week. It was never done. All we got was an apology whilst I had to scrub faeces off the bathroom wall. (And the kitchen has grease so baked on that I can't get it off without specialist equipment which LL will not pay for and I can't afford)
Keep nagging them and tell them you'll deduct it from rent if you have to either hire someone or do it yourself.

[PurpleHairAndPearls]

You shouldn't have to clean it yourself. They will be charging the landlord a management fee.

I would email the agency, just saying please can you advise, as already agreed, what day the clean will be completed this week as this needs to be done before we move in on xxx. Please can you also confirm you will be refunding rent for the period prior to the clean as we could not take occupation.

Let them sort it out but you're going to have to be firm. If you have the landlords email I would copy them in too, so they know what's going on.

[Damnautocorrect]

I spent 2 days cleaning my rental, bought a new cooker, fridge and freezer, new curtains as they were so bad.
But it's all on the check in that it was that bad, so when we leave (it won't be in that state for a start) I know we don't need to worry.
I'd accept it if it's written down its filthy.

[Flossyfloof]

If you really want to contact the landlord you can find the owner of the property on the Land Registry website, it will cost a couple of quid.
You will be paying a fat fee to the agents and so will the landlord. Don't feel bad about chasing them up. I think I would ask them to meet you at the property and show them the state of it and get their agreement that it will be cleaned.
Sounds like an absentee landlord maybe? I would definitely try to make contact, the agents are not doing their job well at all.

[SycamoreMum]

Oh my letting agent was useless with this exact same problem. Took them two weeks (!!!) just to find a cleaner but by then I needed to move in right away. I just decided I'd do it myself, so I had my sister film the flat as it was before I cleaned. Contacted the letting agent and said I've cleaned the flat myself for x amount of hours and have footage of the state of the flat before I moved in and will be leaving a copy with my solicitor. The letting agent sent back an email saying sorry fir the delay, thank you for cleaning (idiot) and he would send me a letter noting I'd cleaned it myself. That letter is practically framed in my hallway. I want most if not, all of my hefty deposit back (£3100.)

[whois]

Time to get hardball. You need to be on the phone to the (shit) agents three times a day until it is fit for habitation. Follow up with emails so there is a paper trail.

Then claim back the rent via small claims court for the days you couldn't move on because the tasks required per the inventory 'prior to new tenant' we're not completed.

I would always b v suspicious of landlords who don't leave a week or so void period - means that cleaning and maintenance is v unlikely to be done.

[MakeItACider]

Why make a big fuss over it? If you insist it is professionally cleaned before you move in, then they can insist it is professionally cleaned before you move out.

Take good photographs, make sure it is mentioned in the inventory report BEFORE you sign it. Then insist that the requirement for a professional clean before you move out is NOT in your contract.

Then give it a good clean yourself, in the knowledge that you will save money at the end of your contract.

[AnulTheMagnificent]

I would take clear photos of it before any cleaning, send a copy to the agents, and if you find the landlord, a copy to them as well.

Our agents tried it on when we left. The photos on the inventory were really bad when we moved in. When we left after 5 years they took really clear ones and tried to accuse us of trashing the place, although we got a rent reduction because of the condition it was in before we took it - mostly carpets with moth damage, burns etc. and cracks in ceilings etc. which were listed in the inventory and which we pointed out to them.

[specialsubject]

you are entitled to the contact details of the landlord although I'm not sure if that is the same before you move in. Once you move in you can definitely have them. Keep records and make sure the landlord is informed of all this, he may trust his agent to do a good job (more fool him...)

and yes, I would leave a week between tenants for a cleaning/maintenance blitz to catch any problems that had not been reported.

[NoMilkNoSugar]

Make sure any photos you take are time and date stamped, or they can deny, they are from the time frame in question.

[wtfisgoingonhere]

This date was pushed back a week as landlord switching to fully managed contract so an inventory needed to be done

^^ I assumed during this time the inventory AND cleaning would be done.

Tbh if I knew I'd be chasing this long I'd have got a cleaner in or done it myself.

What with sorting out for moving and not wanting to come across as a shitty tenant on the 1st day time has flashed by...

They agreed today to get it done this week only after I sent a very stroppy email (based on you guys reassuring me), I'm annoyed with myself for not making enough of a fuss to have it done sooner

Thanks for posting

[meercat23]

makeitacider is spot on. If you insist on professional cleaning before you move in they can insist on professional cleaning before you move out. If it were me I would get my own cleaner in now and then just leave it cleaned to my own standard at the end. Whatever it says in your tenancy agreement about having it professionally cleaned at the end, if it wasn't cleaned to that standard at the start they cant enforce it. They are not allowed to ask you to leave it better than you found it. That would be betterment.

I do sympathise though, trying to move in when the place is grotty is no fun at all. Hope you get it all sorted.

[rallytog1]

The most important thing from your point of view is that the inventory is a correct record of the state of the property when you got the keys. If it was filthy then, you can leave it filthy when you move out. I'd just sort your own clean out (so it'll be done to your standards), then look forward to having one less thing to worry about at the end of the tenancy.

[PurpleHairAndPearls]

Glad it's sorted OP, hope the inventory is up to standard too!

I really don't think OP should have to clean a filthy house herself, on top of all the moving hassle. I bet OP is paying a substantial fee to the agents for referencing etc, who will also be paid by the landlord to manage the property including pre tenancy checks and cleaning. If it was left dirty by the previous tenants, their deposit should Pay for cleaning. Providing of course, it was clean when they moved in, this is why the pre tenancy clean at the start of a management service is so important. The agents should do their job.

Also, even if I had to clean a filthy house myself on move in, I just wouldn't be able to leave it dirty at the end of the tenancy anyway! The shame