to think that end of tenancy inspections are just yet another way of ripping tenants off?

[Thisarmingman]

I mean, really, you can lose money from your deposit which afaik is supposed to cover damage because your extractor fan isn't taken apart and cleaned or the inside of the kitchen cupboards aren't pristine? Since when was that damage?

Seems like landlords aren't happy enough getting tenants to bankroll their lifestyle - they want tenants to prepare the property for the next person too which is surely the landlord's job.

People who own houses and sell them don't have to do this on pain of losing several hundred pounds. It's just a rip off.

[Thisarmingman]

The fuckers.

[5OBalesofHay]

Do you expect other people to clean up after you?

[happymum73]

I totally agree with you!!

[LassWiTheDelicateAir]

Why would you not leave the house clean and tidy? What an odd idea.

[Redglitter]

You can't generalise though. I cleaned my flat when I left - anyone I know who's moved from a bought house does the same. There were a few minor things that I expected to be penalised for but for my whole deposit back.

You've obviously had a bad experience but some landlords ate decent

[Redglitter]

*got my whole deposit back

[CherryChasingDotMuncher]

Rule of thumb - leave it in the state you found it in. If LL got a professional cleaner in, you get one in too. Any problems then dispute it with the deposit scheme.

One LL tried to charge us for professional cleaners due to dust on the cistern and a couple of bits of fluff in drawers the house we'd lived in for nearly 2 years was riddled with mould, we had to put up with that but she got so affronted at a wee bit of dust.

OTOH, I let out a small flat, I clean it myself before a new tenant arrives and I expect tenants to clean before they leave (accounting for wear and tear). Yes I will charge you for the drawings your kids made on the wall, and yes I am going to deduct the whole cost for a Venetian blind even though there are 'only' 2 slats missing. If it's filthy I give them the opportunity to come back and clean before I try myself or get cleaners in. Why should they be allowed to leave a filthy house for the next person to clean?

[CanadaMoose91]

When I moved into my current rental, it was a mess and had a lot of things missing, like a garage door, which my husband has since built since the landlord couldn't be arsed to fit one like he said he would in the contract. We will be leaving the house with updates we did ourselves to improve the home and it will be pristine, but I wouldn't be surprised if our twat of a landlord refused to give us back our deposit for some ridiculous thing, like the mould that has developed in our bedroom that he won't get rid of (despite us tellinf him about it repeatedly for a year).

[rachmoon]

I think it's just right I mean if u trash the place u really shouldn't get the deposit back?

However some landlords are wankers about it. I had to chase for over 2 months to get my deposit back. He finally left it in the estate agents minus £40 cos apparently he had to get chewing gum removed from the carpet that was in my 1 yr child's room!! There was defo no chewing gum on any carpet. He was just being petty. I was so upset as i had treated the place like my own and scrubbed to to bottom when I left. Dickhead

[CondensedMilkSarnies]

As an ex LL I wasn't so bothered about general mess and dirt , although some tenants were filthy , it was more about the twat that had ruined a carpet by mixing cement on it .

My tenants didn't 'bankroll' my lifestyle , I worked bloody hard and took a big risk when I bought a property to rent out. I lost quite a bit of money too from damage and non payment of rent. There are always two sides- being a LL was very stressful and certainly not easy money.

[WellThatSucks]

The extractor fan shouldn't have been clogged up with grease and dirt if you regularly cleaned it and yes, that can damage it and make it not work effectively. Cupboards not pristine when you left? Why not?
Yeah, if I have pay someone to deep clean the place after you move out so its move in ready for the next tenant, damn right I'm deducting the cost from your security deposit.

And yes, people who move out of houses they own do have to leave the places clean there are generally clauses in the contracts to that effect and there are financial penalties involved if they don't. Most people would do it anyway, you know, because it's the decent thing to do.

[CherryChasingDotMuncher]

YY Condensed I hate being a LL (I'm an "accidental" LL) and trying to sell the flat to no avail

Please anyone with these LL problems make sure you are part of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme or Mydeposit, it's illegal for your LL not to sign you up, they are very good at settling disputes! You should have received a certificate within a month of your Tenancy start date

[londonrach]

Rented for years and rented about 8/9 places in total. Weve always got the full money back each time. If not in agreement you complain to desposit scheme, photos of before and when you leave looked at. Its all done fairly. Yabvu and how on earth did you leave the place if they took money off?

[Neverknowing]

I agree and I disagree. Some landlords are pricks and some are reasonable.
My mums ex landlord took £100 off her deposit for damp that was already there when she moved in and she had complained about the whole time. He was just a prick. I've lived in a few places and never got the whole deposit back, one landlord kept £10 and I could never work out why
Apparently very few landlords make any money at all! The letting agent fees are crazy so most people break even with their mortgages and all. Tbh I always think of landlords doing me a favour, I'd never be able to afford to live anywhere and there's not enough social housing so as much as we can resent people who are better off than us we do need them!!

[TheFreaksShallInheritTheEarth]

When my last tenants left, the repairs, cleaning and replacing things they'd taken or broken took £100s more than the deposit.

Works both ways.

[DimplesToadfoot]

The last privately rented house I had was an absolute flea ridden cesspit, I decorated throughout, repaired damage, replaced doors that had been punched through etc when I moved out I paid for professional cleaners to go through the house. I still lost my deposit for apparently leaving an unclean house ... at least now there are safety deposit schemes to safeguard the tenants

[Obviouspretzel]

All letting agencies I have rented through also charged for carrying out the check out inspection. The last one was £50 that I had to pay just for the inspection to take place, not optional. In my experience, private landlords can be hit and miss, but letting agents always try and rip you off for anything they can on the deposit, whilst doing as little as possible to help you while you are in the property.

[Obviouspretzel]

And Neverknowing landlords are NOT doing you a favour, although many of them would have you believe it. You are doing them a favour by paying into their pension pot.

[londonrach]

Neverknowing ll are not doing you a favour. You paying their mortgage. They have selfishly taken a house off the buying market so reducing what you can buy and putting prices up. (Gets off soap box). Im so glad ive escaped the rent trap. Still say op to not get desposit back left house in a state as theres safe guards now. You look after the house you rent.

[MargaretCavendish]

You have my sympathies, OP - I've been totally ripped off with minor deductions from the deposit before. I was once charged £130 for 'cleaning the microwave and high level dusting'. When I pointed out there was no microwave in the property they reduced it to £70 - but obviously the bill they'd shown wasn't for our property at all! And yes, I could have disputed it, but the landlord always has a big advantage here as they can just delay and delay with no disadvantage to them but a massive one to the tenant. The deposit on that place was £1500 - so they basically told me I could either have £1430 within a few days, or dispute it and probably get back the whole £1500 but in a few months. I couldn't afford to be without that money for that long.

I still don't know what 'high level dusting' even is! Dusting up high, or really good dusting?!

[Lostwithinthehills]

People who own houses and sell them don't have to do this on pain of losing several hundred pounds. It's just a rip off

While I'm sure that there are unscrupulous landlords and agents taking money from tenants for false or exaggerated cleaning and repairs you are wrong to think people who own houses don't have to leave them in good condition.

Most home owners who try to sell a house will make sure that any necessary repairs are carried out, make sure that the house is spotless and that the decor is in good condition. If you try to sell a house that is in poor repair, dirty and in need of redecoration you will be looking at losing several thousand pounds not several hundred pounds.

[CurbsideProphet]

I've been through the official dispute process with one of the deposit schemes, as the landlords wanted to keep our deposit to redecorate. We won

YANBU Letting agents are always looking for new ways to rip off tenants. We'll be leaving this place in the next 6 months, so I'll be checking about an inspection fee!

[Trills]

These days it's a lot harder for anyone to take money from your deposit.

Your deposit will be with a deposit protection service and they will not release that money without your approval

Make sure that any existing dirt or damage is noted on the inventory when you move in.

If something is not on the inventory then it does not exist.

Talking about people "bankrolling someone's lifestyle" makes you sound unreasonable. It sounds as if you are starting out with the opinion "landlords are bastards" and then looking for evidence to back up the belief that you already hold.

[MargaretCavendish]

Your deposit will be with a deposit protection service and they will not release that money without your approval

Yes, and they also won't release it without the landlord's approval (well, they will eventually but it takes months of no action at all on their part). Which, as I said, gives them a huge advantage in disputing it - it's no skin off their nose if the money sits there for months while both sides argue about £100, but for the tenant that's stopping them accessing any part of the deposit.

[MargaretCavendish]

All letting agencies I have rented through also charged for carrying out the check out inspection. The last one was £50 that I had to pay just for the inspection to take place, not optional.

Our last rental place the letting agent charged £50 for 'end of tenancy inspection' when we moved in - and then tried to charge it again when we moved out! They took it off the bill as soon as we complained, but I imagine they get a lot of easy money that way from people who can't remember what they paid months or years earlier.