Landlord charging for a deep clean

live in a shit hole @Friendlygingercat ?

I’ve lived in my house for 20 years and can honestly say I’ve never cleaned the top of the doors as it never occurred to me.

What kind of nutter cleans the tops of doors or behind radiators?

Dull people keep immaculate homes.

They would allow a fair charge if you concede to certain issues. If you dispute the costs and have quotes that are vastly different from the Landlord's, they would take that into consideration together with their own experience in the area.

We want to propose the quotes

So quite a bit of work needs doing

Did the landlord carry out a check in report when you moved in? If so, check this and see if the property was professionally cleaned when you moved in. If it was then you will probably have to pay for it to be professionally cleaned or a contribution to the cleaning, if it wasn't then dispute it. The property should be cleaned to the same standard it was when you moved in so they can't charge for a professional clean if it hadn't been done for you.

Bat one of them back at the landlord, see if he will settle. If it is substantially different you could use that at arbitration.

It does sound as if things you don't consider to be consequential have had to be remedied. You need to follow the arbitration guidance, query any and all charges you think are unjustified, with specific reasons not the language you have used here

Each deposit scheme has clear guidance on how it works...

Sounds like varied and quite substantial “issues”

Somewhat different from your OP

I learnt years ago that it's best to get a professional clean with an invoice that way it can't be disputed.
Honestly I did the most thorough clean on one property, literally scrubbing every inch of the skirting and using vinegar to pull up the furniture marks on the carpet, it took me three full days. The agent said to me it was immaculate, but if I had paid somebody and presented an invoice for a fraction of the clean that I had done there would be no dispute. Because I hadn't the landlord disputed one bit of wall in the bathroom which cost so much.

For about a decade that has been unenforceable

Its a good idea to get a pro clean, they can be called back in to finish bits they miss - if by our specifically ask for an end of tenancy clean.

But if you clean it yourself to a very high standard thats enough, properly clean is properly clean

Ma ybtenant choose to do that and then pay for a carpet deep clean

Im an inventory clerk, It would be me doing the check out report🙂

So the photos before you moved in show damage to the property; wear and tear; and not a clean property?

You don't have to pay for a deep clean, you could do it again yourselves, just make sure you don't miss anything.

I've worked in lettings for 18 years and no one ever pays for a deep clean.

For me? The checkout had lots of notes like “light debris/residue that could be removed with a wipe” and oven had burnt food marks. There was lots of notes of mould above windows and on ceilings and they complained we’d left some grass trimmings under a hedge.they wanted 75% of our deposit.

i responded with pictures from the check in inventory which noted “light debris” in every room and the email/pictures we’d sent complaining when we moved in that the oven was filthy. I also noted that the “wipeable” marks in the bathroom the check out inventory had noted was actually water damage from the flood we’d had (pipe burst in middle of night - not our fault) after which they’d promised to redecorate but never had. I attached all the emails we’d sent begging them to sort out the leaking roof that was causing damp ceilings and all our clothes and furniture to go mouldy. Lastly I sent a picture of the garden before we moved in which was so overgrown it was unusable. It was a postage stamp sized garden but it was so overgrown with ivy there was a table and chairs that you couldn’t see were there until I’d spent a few afternoons hacking at it.

i said if they wanted anything back they’d need to go back to DPS scheme and they actually had the cheek to come back and ask if we would agree to anything because the landlord would want “something” which just shows you really how some landlords treat it like a bloody Xmas bonus. I did concede £30 because we had forgotten to empty a mop in a bucket of water when we left and they claimed they had to buy a new one because it had gone funny having been left for a week and I’m still annoyed at myself for letting them have that.

It was years ago and still makes my blood boil to think on it.

edit: I’ve lived in some scruffy houses where landlords don’t really bother doing repairs and use deposit more as a rent holding in case you vanish. I’ve lived in some places that were freshly painted where landlords cared about the slightest mark/kept things high spec but charged high rent and were really viscious about deposits . The problem occurs when you get a landlord which has a scruffy house but still expects their 20 year old carpets paid for when you miss a spot hoovering when you leave.

I moved out of a rental once and cleaned the house to full “white glove” standard with my parents. My dad was in the Army and when moving out of a quarter, someone would literally come round with white gloves on and run a finger along the radiators and surfaces to check for the slightest bit of dust.

We left the house immaculate. The LL came round and confirmed he was satisfied with this. Nevertheless the letting agent insisted that it had to be “professionally cleaned” as it had been before the tenancy had started. Which was a joke since I remember the day I moved in I was disgusted to find skid marks in the toilets and dirty kitchen surfaces. However, I hadn’t taken photos of that at the time so couldn’t prove it and still had £600 deducted from my rent deposit (TDS supported the LL/letting agent). Since then I have never bothered spending any time cleaning a rental when leaving, since they will charge you for cleaning it anyway.

Hmm but what is you were a professional cleaner yourself? Do they expect you to employ someone else when you can do the job perfectly just to get a receipt? Sounds a bit suspect

did the EA see the property post clean? If so, what’s their view?

What did the before photos show?

Our before inventory showed they’d given the house to us dirty so had no right to demand £300 cleaning fee because we’d missed a spot.

why are people telling her to just pay it? Do you all just throw hundreds of pounds at scammers ?

I would always pay for a deep clean myself when leaving so I think your landlord is being reasonable here

If you are referring to before and after inventory photos, then surely that’s more about damage rather than a cleaning?

@Katemax82 it’s now illegal for them to expect a paid professional clean

Offer to go in and give it a thorough clean , Hire a carpet cleaner clean everything in sight and ask the Landlord to reassess surely that would be cheaper than paying someone.