Previous Tennant items left in property AIBU?

[Clareel]

Hi all, recently moved into a (furnished) rented flat which is owned by the landlord but let and managed by one of the big estate agents. Basically the previous Tennant has left a load of rubbish in the flat, all broken and/or dirty. We don't have a car to take to the tip and it is large items which can't be broken down and put in the household rubbish such as a metal clothes maiden, large picture frame, 3 double duvets etc. There is loads of stuff and it is taking up all of our storage space, the agency and landlord are refusing to remove it but are happy for us to dispose of it in any way we see fit but I just don't know how to get rid of it? I have looked at bulky waste collection via the council but they charge over £50 for a max of 5 items and we would need 3-4 collections to get rid of all this stuff.

Who is right here? I feel that it should be down to the landlord or agency to dispose of what is essentially rubbish left by the previous tennant but maybe IABU?

[mumonashoestring]

Seriously? I would never expect to move into a house let by a professional agency and find it full of crap unless I was being paid a fee to give the place a clean. They're trying their luck and hoping you'll do the job for them - get a number for their head office and send them some photos, ask if they usually consider the state of your flat to be acceptable condition to let to a new tenant. The place should have been professionally cleaned before you moved in.

[YelloDraw]

That is absolutely the LL's responsibility to dispose of, and charge the previous tenant via deposit.

I expect the yprobably already have charged them but not disposed of the rubbish...

You could and probably should fight this, or for an easy life get a mate with a car to help you take it to the tip.

Or for the PA approach take it piece by piece to the letting agent's office.

[OohhThatsMe]

They should let it to you in a clean condition, with only items on the inventory in it. It's their responsibility to sort it.

[user1480182169]

the agency and landlord are refusing to remove it but are happy for us to dispose of it in any way we see fit

Bring it to the agency office and dump it around their desks!

[ZoFloMoFo]

Have you spoken direct to the landlord?

Shit like this is exactly why we stopped using an agency and I deal with our houses myself. There's every chance the landlord doesn't even know. These agents get paid for doing fuck all.

Personally I'd load the lot into a taxi and send it to the agents, letting them pay the taxi bill at their end. Twats.

[LouiseBrooks]

Hi

This is absolutely outrageous. No way should you have been put in this situation. As mumonashoestring says, contact their head office. Also try and find out who the CEO is and write directly to him as well and hopefully he will give the local office a kick up the proverbial.

If all else fails, tell them you are contacting the Daily Fail. It's a rag but the threat of some bad publicity might do the trick.

[harderandharder2breathe]

Yanbu

I moved into a flat with the previous tenants stinking duvet and pillows still there. A friend who helped ne move was able to take it to the tip for me thankfully

Tell the agents you're not able to dispose of it yourself and it's their responsibility to get rid of to enable you to use the storage space you're paying for. They can recoup their costs from the previous tenants if they need to

[Clareel]

Thanks so much for your replies they have actually been so firm about it I started to question myself. They said the flat had been professionally cleaned before we moved in but there was dog hairs all over the couch and old food in the freezer so I think they're having us on. I am really no good with this sort of thing, I am getting nowhere with the member of staff I'm dealing with at the moment via email. Should I just ask him for the contact details of his manager?

[TrickyD]

You should not have to remove it. Our previous tenants left a lot of rubbish behind, entirely filling the available outside storage space, so we picked it up and disposed of it ourselves. On the other hand, when the new tenants wanted a bed removed, we told them they must do it themseves and replace it at the end of the tenancy,

[Passmethecrisps]

Argh! As a tennant this used to drive me mad - living with other people's crap that the landlord wouldn't remove citing bullshit about it being "theft to remove it" and now as a landlord I am driven mad by tennant leaving shot for other people to deal with.

My line (no agency though) is that if it isn't on the inventory it should be removed on termination of the contract. We had someone recently left a load of stuff so we took it to the tip. In future I will consider taking cash from the deposit from the previous tennant - would that seem fair to you?

[YelloDraw]

Dog hairs and food in the freezer? Photo photo photos, document in emails. Have you had your check in inventory and condition check? Make sure you are there for that.

[TrickyD]

It certainly seens fair to me, Crisps

[Allthebestnamesareused]

Will that stuff not just into the usual bins though if you put it out bit by bit? (I do agree it shouldn't be your responsibility)

[Clareel]

ZoFlo - apparently the landlord is aware and has said they are not willing to pay for removal of the property. I know they live in a different city which might be why they are using the agency.

And yes the duvents are filthy and stinking. There was more stuff here like towels stc which were dirty but I just binned them as soon as we moved to be honest but this stuff is bigger.

If I knew anyone with a car I would ask them to help but we are new to the are and haven't really made any friends yet. Thank you so much for your responses everyone I thought I was going a bit mad

[ZoFloMoFo]

Yes our agents used to tell our tenants that we were aware of things, but we weren't.

You need to get tough with the agents. I can't believe you've let them get away with allowing you to move into a filthy flat. Get some photos and start complaining long and loud and escalate it to the most senior person you can get hold of.

[NoSquirrels]

You need photos (with date stamps) and a written complaint.

Tell the agency (and cc the LL if you have their details) that if they do not deal with it ASAP, you will charge them the cost of removal and a full clean. Get 3 quotes for each service (man with van rubbish removal & cleaners).

You should move into a clean and empty property. The inventory should detail this. If you haven't had sight of an inventory, you need it NOW.

Please tell me they gave you the details of the deposit protection scheme?

(Ex LL and also ex tenant)

[Clareel]

YelloDraw - we stupidly just cleaned the couch and threw the food away without taking any pictures which is so annoying but just didn't think.

With regards to the inventory they did it on the morning before we moved in, then apparently lost it and we had then gone on holiday, so they came to do another inventory but our stuff was obviously all over the place by then so the inventory is wrong anyway. I think they might have seen some of this crap in the wardrobe etc but assumed it belonged to us.
I feel really stupid as should have made a big deal of this sooner but just feel like they are really taking the piss now. OH is very laid back and not really helping.

[Passmethecrisps]

I agree that you should take photos and contact the manager. It is possible that the landlord has no idea the property is in such a state and is being charged professional cleaning when it hasn't been done.

Does the contract say anything about the state the property should be in? The agency may be in breech of contract by moving you in when it clearly hasn't been properly prepared.

I am annoyed on your behalf. Absolutely disgusting behaviour.

[lottiegarbanzo]

Of course it should come out of previous tenants' deposit. Disposal is time consuming and expensive.

Idiotic tenants sometimes seem to think they've done the landlord a favour by leaving bits of furniture behind as 'gifts'. This sounds like simple rubbish and dirt though.

Refuse to sign your inventory until it is accurate. Do send pictures to the ll, the head of the company - and keep them for the deposit company at the end, detailing lack of cleaning as well as mess.

[Clareel]

NoSquirrels - yes the deposit is in a deposit protection scheme and we have the details sp that is something!

[Passmethecrisps]

Sorry - cross posted a bit

[NoSquirrels]

The LL can't be "not willing". It's their responsibility.

Anything left in the property when it is vacated by previous tenants is the responsibility of the LL to dispose of, and to reclaim his costs from the deposit via the deposit protection scheme. Ditto the cleaning - if it was not done to a satisfactory standard by the previous tenants, then LL charges them the cost of a professional clean.

You would totally win this as a dispute - the LL and agency are in the wrong. Photos, correspondence in writing.

[NoSquirrels]

Ah. The inventory was "lost", huh?

Sounds like the person at the agency has fucked up and is covering their own arse if you ask me.

Ask who did the "lost" inventory....

[Clareel]

We have not signed the inventory as I mentioned it is incorrect, I did contact them about this at the time but they just said not to worry. I don't actually have any contact details for the landlord as the property is let and manged via this company everything goes through them. I have pictures of all the rubbish left and have forwarded them to the agency but the flat now has been completely cleaned (by me) so I haven't really got the grounds to complain about it being dirty as it is not anymore. To be fair it was really just the dog hairs and then food in the freezer the bathroom carpets etc where clean.

[lottiegarbanzo]

They need you to sign the inventory, they can't just 'do it'. They could get in big poo with the deposit protection scheme if they try to claim anything off your deposit and can't provide a signed inventory. Especially with your photos as evidence of reality.