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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think that getting our flat deposit back minus £245 for cleaners is ridiculous

62 replies

SoftlyCatchyMonkey1 · 23/07/2018 19:13

We moved out of our 2 bed flat last week. We cleaned the bejesus out of it - it took bloody ages and was hard work. I would say that it was 90% spotless. Couldn't get it to 100% because I didn't have some of the relevant cleaning products. I hoped that, given how clean we got it, we would get all our deposit back. But no...the landlord decided it was not good enough. He said that the balcony floor should have been scrubbed, we should have cleaned the outside of the windows, there was residue in the soap drawer of the washing machine (ok I forgot to do that) and some cobwebs on a wall. Which, as I'm not a cleaner, I can accept and take on the chin. However, he had said that he has got some cleaners in to quote what needs doing and he's been quoted £245 and will reduce our deposit accordingly.

I can't accept that it would take £245 worth of cleaning work to put right. We had our new house (4 bed house) quoted at £300!!

Perhaps some cleaners can shed light on how they quote for an end of tenancy clean, and whether iabu then at least I will feel a bit better about losing the money!!

OP posts:

Greaterthanthesumoftheparts · 23/07/2018 20:00

@firesuit there are no government inspections in Switzerland but expectations of cleanliness are very high and its normal for the leaving tenants to pay for professional cleaners when you leave, these come with a guarantee that the cleaning will be accepted by the landlord or that they will redo it at their own expense until the landlord is happy. We moved last week and laid chf 1790 for a 4 bedroom house to be cleaned!

Mascarponeandwine · 23/07/2018 20:00

Our landlady tried this nearly 20 years ago (she had sold the house and was exchanging contracts the day after our tenancy ended). Wouldn’t have it that it was wear and tear not damage.

Eventually wesaid fine, but we want to see receipts proving the work was done at this address, and we want to come and inspect the work, so oh dear you’ll have to delay completion and keep paying your own mortgage until this process has been completed to our satisfaction.

Funnily enough nothing more was said.
What a swizz!

Blackbirdblue30 · 23/07/2018 20:00

Landlords are greedy by nature. Have not known a single one who hasn't tried to pocket the deposit. In my next place I'll be videoing it on the moving day and the moving out day to prove it's as perfect as it ever was and not paying the last month of rent, telling them that the deposit will cover it. Sad but I think it's the only way to avoid this shit from them.

causeimunderyourspell · 23/07/2018 20:01

You can't make good once the keys are handed back. But I agree with PPs, don't make it easy for him. Ask for itemisation. Argue the fact that a whole end of tenancy is not necessary as you have already done the lions share, but that you are prepared to pay for 2 hours of cleaning, maybe £50ish? Ask for photos after it is done and a receipt.

The thing that irks me the most, is we all know they rip people off with deposits but they never actually spend the money. I've moved into places where holes in walls have been patched up horrendously and massive marks/scuffs by previous tenants. I know full well they'd have been billed for that but they've not actually had the work completed!! Cheeky as fuck!

NotSoFastCuckoo · 23/07/2018 20:03

Tell him to do one. He's trying it on big-time. One reason I never paid the last month's rent unless genuinely nice LL. Most LLs are ridiculous.

NotSoFastCuckoo · 23/07/2018 20:03

ridiculous thieving bastards I meant to say.

NotSoFastCuckoo · 23/07/2018 20:06

there are no government inspections in Switzerland but expectations of cleanliness are very high and its normal for the leaving tenants to pay for professional cleaners

but in this country (UK) in my experience many Landlords let their flats and houses hovels in a less than pristine state shall-we-say i.e. often quite dirty, even filthy. my last LL left me some nice fleas to deal with as well just for good measure ...

Bluelady · 23/07/2018 20:09

Just report it to the scheme that holds your deposit. They almost always find in the tenants' favour.

Plsbemyturn · 23/07/2018 20:13

If managed by estate agent, they always spend your money to clean up. Doesn't cost them anything and make their customer happy.

TheDishRanAwayWithTheSpoon · 23/07/2018 20:20

It really depends how clean it was when you left it and that's hard to say over MN, but it does sound like there's quite a few things that werent clean.
Do you have photos?

You can ask the landlord for the quote from the cleaning company to clean the property and also the invoice to prove that is what he/she has spent on cleaning the property

I always assumed landlords did this so they could get the property professionally cleaned before the next tennant moved in and therefore say "it was professionally cleaned" at the start of each tenancy, if the property is clean to high standards then the landlord is being cheeky but if it's not then it's fair you pay for that to be done. You could say you will pay for 2 hrs for a cleaner and a window cleaner or something? But 245 sounds about right for an end of tenancy clean

Mississippilessly · 23/07/2018 20:27

Report to your deposit scheme.

That's what we did - turned out there wasn't one. Landlady greed for attempting to charge us £280 ended up with her having to pay us just over £2,500.

Challenge it. You have to return the premises back in the condition you moved in. It's up to him to prove that didn't happen.

AngelsSins · 23/07/2018 20:53

ARLA qualified here. Two key points:

Was it 100% clean when you moved in?
Was a full independent inventory carried out when you moved in?

The cost he’s quoting is about right, they pay different cleaners to come in for specific tasks. Where I am it’s about £300 for a 1-2 bed flat. But depending on the other points, he may not have the right to.

9amTrain · 23/07/2018 21:08

Jesus, who did the hire? Kim and Aggie?

DarklyDreamingDexter · 23/07/2018 21:33

I paid £300 for an end of tenancy clean on a 3 bed house last year, so it's a the going rate for a professional clean. There was no requirement for a professional clean but the list of things to clean on the tenancy agreement was so onerous I decided to throw money at it to get my deposit back, which I did.

BerylStreep · 23/07/2018 22:28

Nice to see a bit of landlord bashing on the thread

shinyredbus · 23/07/2018 22:44

sorry - that sounds about right OP - the cleaning for our flat after the tenants moved out was about 320 pounds - 2 bed 2 bath in London.

TaleasoldasTimee · 23/07/2018 22:54

OP is your deposit protected in a deposit scheme. Were you notified of which scheme it was protected in within 30 days?

If not, they can make no deductions!

Amanduh · 23/07/2018 23:00

What does your tenamcy agreement say?
If you left it dirty. Even 10%... i don’t think he’s BU

ohnothanks · 23/07/2018 23:20

To reiterate your repsonspibility as a tenant in England is to leave the property in a clean and tidy state and comply with your contractual terms.
You do not have to leave it cleaner than you arrived and landlords cannot try to.charge you for reletting costs or wear and tear.
The reason there is landlord bashing on here is because so many people have been bashed by private sector landlords.

In my 20 years of renting I had precisely 1 landlord who did not try to screw me over. And the one who didn't was in a much more heavily regulated country.

MaverickSnoopy · 24/07/2018 06:59

When we moved out of rented our contract said to have professionally cleaned or to clean to a good standard. We chose the latter and had several people over to help. It looked brilliant afterwards. The LL actually released our deposit and then emailed me to say we owed her money for a clean as it was in an awful state (she even kindly recommended a cleaning company that we used - her cleaning company!) I responded with a fantastic email which meant I never heard from her again. More than happy to send onto you if needed, but I imagine that as your deposit has not yet been released and you'll go through the scheme, you won't need it.

To give you an idea of the sorts of things the LL picked up on...she said we hadn't dusted inside of the radiators. The radiators were the type that had very closed grills and we're actually painted shut. There was no reachable dust on the top, it was well inside. So to clean inside we would have had to have taken the screws off on the side and the repainted the radiators when putting them back together again.

Our contract had specified that the windows and oven needed to be professionally cleaned. This was naughty of us (but she had treated us very badly and we were skint) but we actually cleaned those things ourselves and a family friend who has their own cleaning business provided us with two fake invoices for the windows and oven.
Interestingly she said the windows and oven were cleaned to an excellent standard, but that it was just the rest of it that wasn't. Of course she didn't know that we had done it all ourselves.

I digress. When we left our 2 bed house when we were selling we paid for it to be professionally cleaned, as well as the 3 bed we were moving into. The 2 bed cost £80 and the 3 bed £100. This was a different cleaning company (not the family friend so no discount) and in an expensive part of the South East. Although we didn't ask for an end of tenancy clean. We asked for a good clean of all rooms to include dusting, hoovering, mopping and wiping down of any dirty sides. So probably less than an end of tenancy clean, but both houses were spotless. Can you phone a couple of cleaning companies to get more of an idea?

Mummyoflittledragon · 24/07/2018 07:27

What does your inventory say?

Does it state the balcony floor and windows were clean before you moved in?

Or did it state the place was professionally cleaned?
And if so, what was professionally cleaned?

Are there any receipts as proof?

Were any cobwebs or other dirt noted in the inventory and did it clearly state what was clean?

Did the inventory state the inside of the soap tray was clean?

What photographic evidence is there?

Please ask to see the cleaning quote for the cleaning. This sounds steep for the work required.

Cheby
I’m a landlady. I asked for cleaners to just go in a 2 bed house and hoover any mess and dust on skirting boards after an electrical safety check. They wanted £70 for the privilege. No way would cleaners attend a property for £25.

Dh and I lived in Belgium for a while. I’d heard the horrendous stories of ripping expats off. As in people being hit for 10k of damages. The inventory was carried out by 2 lawyers. I’m fluent in French and spent 2 days going through the inventory with a fine toothed comb and posted a whole bunch of scratches and bits that had been missed. They accepted my document. When we moved out, the charge was absolutely minimal. Dh thought I was bonkers. I’m glad I did it though.

whatwouldyoubelikeat28 · 24/07/2018 08:05

As someone who used to be a real estate agent, there is a world of difference between someone who thinks they did an awesome job (but left marks on fridge, cobwebs, dirty windows, marks around thee sink, and a grubby balcony) and a full deepclean. Lots of people think they can clean and they just can't. Their version of clean is amazing by their standards but shite by a professional grade.

That said, if he doesn't have the correct paperwork to prove it, fight it, and you might win. Need entry and exit condition reports and the videos will help.

Forgottencoffee · 24/07/2018 08:07

Who is your deposit registered with? Dispute it!

OrchidInTheSun · 24/07/2018 08:11

Unless it's in the tenancy contract that the tenant pays for a professional end of tenancy clean, she has the right to dispute it. It's unreasonable for a landlord to expect a tenant to clean it to a state fit for a new tenant - that's part and parcel of being a landlord.

Cheby · 24/07/2018 13:15

Mummyoflittledragon I think you’re being ripped off. My cleaners charge £12.50 per hour (including cleaning products) and do a fantastic job. They do a big 4 bed house in 4 hrs, including windows and skirting boards.

£70 for wiping skirting boards and doing a bit of hoovering is extortionate.

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