Rules when renting a holiday place - bonkers or completely normal?

[DragonMamma]

We are renting a large property for over New Year (for a total of 3 nights). There are 10 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms. We rent houses regularly and have done for many years. This 3 night break is costing just under £3.5k so it’s not exactly cheap.

We’ve just received the list of do’s and don’ts from the owner and it reads like nothing we’ve ever come across before. It’s like they are reluctantly giving us use of the place and barking instructions at us.

Some examples below copied and pasted from their 7 page (!) instruction manual.

*YOU ARE EXPECTED TO LEAVE THE PROPERTY IN A SIMILAR STATE OF CLEANLINESS AS YOU FOUND IT, IF THE PROPERTY IS NOT SO, YOU WILL BE CHARGED AN EXCESS CLEANING CHARGE.
Including all floors to be hovered or swept, bathrooms and toilets cleaned, kitchen to be cleaned, all washing up done and put away.

Hot water will be on in the morning from 7am until 10am, briefly at lunchtime and again from 5pm until 10pm. Options for extra heating and hot water are available please see our website. These must be booked in advance.

NEVER LEAVE THE WOODBURNER UNATTENDED. IN INTERESTS OF SAFETY UNLESS YOU ARE EXPERIENCED USING WOODBURNERS WE SUGGEST THAT YOU DO NOT USE IT.

Swimming pool - Shallow end depth of approx. 1metre, deep end depth approx. 1.9 metre. STRICTLY NO JUMPING, DIVING OR OTHER BOISTEROUS BEHAVIOUR*

AIBU to think that if you’re charging over a thousand pound a night and absolutely insisting on a 10am check out (OR face yet another additional charge) then you simply cannot expect the occupants to clean 9 bathrooms and do all of the general cleaning. There’s also a strict list of what cleaning products are to be used where.

We always leave properties in a decent state - we will set the dishwater off after breakfast, give the bathroom a quick wipe so it’s not excessively dirty. We’ll bag all the rubbish up etc and make sure it’s tidy and do whatever else we have time for before leaving (strip the beds etc.). But this reads like they want us to clean it to a professional standard all before 10am!

AIBU to think this is a bonkers and that it’s not the responsibility of the occupants to do the cleaning for you? And to also have to book extra hot water in advance?

How on earth are we supposed to know when we are going to want hot water? What happens if we go swimming after lunch, do we have to sit and wait for it to come back on at 5pm? They have take a £500 security deposit and based on the list of things we may get charged for is endless and it’s really put us off going 😞

I would insist that the owners themselves check you out and confirm that the property is as you found it. If not, take loads of photos.

I'd contact the agency, particularly in regards to the cleaning. It's not normal- in the UK certainly- to be expected to do a full clean on a large luxury let and be expected to leave at 10am. I'd stress how much it's going to impact on your break, how you had chosen this agency because of their good reputation and could they speak to the owners on your behalf.

“The whole things smacks of somebody who is reluctantly letting out a family home and wants you to have zero fun and live exactly how they want you to.”

Yep. Agree with everyone about cleaning being a cost they should suck up. Definitely raise it with the holiday company now and take photos before and after.

But the cleaning one doesn't sound odd to me, that sounds pretty standard

It sounds anything but, at least in the UK.
You leave the place decent, as others have said, dishes washed, bins out, but you leave at 10am to give the cleaners time to go in and clean before the next guests, who are not normally allowed in till 3pm or 4pm.

Screw that go to a hotel

The rules for the stove and the swimming pool sound odd to me. They sound reluctant to let you use them, which is ridiculous as you are obviously paying for them

But the cleaning one doesn't sound odd to me, that sounds pretty standard?

I think the exact opposite. The rules about the pool and log-burner sound pretty standard and I think they are probably just covering their backs with regards to accidents, bearing in mind that some guests will have no common sense at all (or be drunk). I'd just take those ones with a pinch of salt and use both sensibly.

The cleaning rule I don't think sounds standard at all. When I arrive in a holiday rental I would expect it to have been professionally cleaned. When I leave it I do the washing up, clear away any mess, empty the bins and strip the beds but i certainly wouldn't expect to be do the things a professional cleaner does (cleaning windows, making sure that sinks sparkle, etc) That's why there is a few hours gap between check-out and new guests checking in - so that the professional cleaners can go in and get the house ready!

And the hot water rule sounds nuts. As someone else said, even in a travelodge you can have a shower at whatever time you feel like it!

The hot water is an absolute joke!!!!! How dare they! I would leave them a stinking review!

Why would you go on holiday to clean? I mean I understand picking up rubbish etc but that reads ridiculous to me

It sounds to me more like they’ve had some guests who’ve left it in an absolute state.

Yep!, not everybody has the same standards some they way they live would disgust pigs they really do!

Check it out with LL present and take Photos.

I presume a Hotel was unavaiable or too expensive?.

Sounds ludicrous to me - I’d book somewhere else.

Two Christmases ago we booked a very big place in Devon for a large party of extended family.
There were no such instructions or restrictions.. Obviously we left the place clean and tidy, washing up done, etc. but didn’t actually clean the bathrooms. Not a penny extra was charged.
Part of the payment is surely allocated for someone to come and clean to ‘next guests’ standard?

I rent out a similar property (12 bedrooms).

I would take the cleaning rules to be them expecting it to be left clean and tidy. A full clean takes many hours and there is no way I could rely on guests to do it to the standard I require.
Hot water should be constant. Anything else is unacceptable. I would be concerned about the heating too given the comment.
Not leaving the stove unattended is just them covering their backs. Obviously you can't put it out just because you are going out.
A 10am departure is normal if they have another group coming in the same day. It is always worth asking if that can be extended.
Have a great time!

Sounds ludicrous to me - I’d book somewhere else
Big properties book a year in advance for the holiday weekends, you would be unlikely to find anywhere available now.

Cleaning one is fairly common. But yes that an early checkout for a spotless clean .
But the hot water one would really annoy me. Especially if you're on holiday and want to get up at a more leisurely hour and it could be well past 10 by breakfast is over. I find it odd that it specify what lunch is.
The owners seem to have forgotten people are on holiday and do seem rather strict

I can understand why OP booked a rental and not a hotel, in a hotel there are not many common areas which accommodate large groups (unless you squeeze into someone’s room or are always in the bar), it’s nice when you can all sit down together and cook a meal, have a glass of wine etc - you can’t do that in the same way in a hotel.

Agree the cleaning list is excessive, I’ve let large houses in the past and the cleaning generally stipulates just leaving it in a decent state, maybe stripping the beds - not scrubbing bathrooms.

And yes limiting hot water is excessive when you’re paying a decent chunk of money, also if there’s a few of you then you need time for everyone to shower without rushing to get done before the time runs out.

You're going for a relaxing break! Who wants & has the time at the end of your break to suddenly become a professional cleaner etc how horrible! A house that size would take hours etc! It's ridiculous

YOU ARE EXPECTED TO LEAVE THE PROPERTY IN A SIMILAR STATE OF CLEANLINESS AS YOU FOUND IT

What if it’s in a state when you get there?

I presume a Hotel was unavaiable or too expensive?

OP said that a hotel could actually have been less, but that they like the flexibility of having a place to themselves ...

No way should a full clean be expected before 10am. You’d need to start around 6am for a house that size with all the kids out the way!!!
We rent a 14 sleeper regularly (6 kids) and it’s tough enough to get up and breakfasted, pack, do all dishes, take bins and recycling out and strip bed linen and be away before 10.

I can understand some people are happy to strip beds and wipe worktops when they stay in cottages but to me, if I’m on holiday I don’t want to spend any time at all cleaning, so while I would never leave the place in a state I would expect stripping of beds, hoovering, bathroom & kitchen cleaning to be covered in the cost.

The only cleaning I’d be prepared to do would be wiping up specific mess like spilt drinks/food or hoovering something specific like sand or mud off boots, I certainly wouldn’t be hoovering the whole place.

YOU ARE EXPECTED TO LEAVE THE PROPERTY IN A SIMILAR STATE OF CLEANLINESS AS YOU FOUND IT

I disagree. There’s a “turn-around” between 10am and roughly 2pm usually for the owners to get cleaners in to take it from “neat and tidy” to properly clean for the next guests. Owners do not get £1000 a night for no input!!

This is why I hate Air BnB type accomodation, because they usually aren't professional operators and don't really understand what is and isn't reasonable expectations when someone is paying to stay. It's just not acceptable to expect paying guests to do proper cleaning. Even doing the dishes is a courtesy they can ask guests to do but not really expect.

I wouldn't want to stay there, but you might struggle to find something comparable with so many rooms

What if it’s in a state when you get there?

Well, with a break of only a few days that's easy ... they become "unavailable" while OP's there, claim later that it's her group who created the mess and happily trouser the £500 deposit

As said, a call to the agency seems appropriate (and I'd also want to know who's "holding" the deposit)

The first two things are crazy.

These, not so much:

NEVER LEAVE THE WOODBURNER UNATTENDED. IN INTERESTS OF SAFETY UNLESS YOU ARE EXPERIENCED USING WOODBURNERS WE SUGGEST THAT YOU DO NOT USE IT.

Swimming pool - Shallow end depth of approx. 1metre, deep end depth approx. 1.9 metre. STRICTLY NO JUMPING, DIVING OR OTHER BOISTEROUS BEHAVIOUR*

It is easy to overfire a wood burner, and broken necks are not funny. I grew up with a quadriplegic.

never, ever, ever ever dive into a body of water you do not know.

As somebody mentioned up thread - we like large properties over hotels as there’s communal areas and we have multiple kids with varying bedtimes so they can sleep whenever they need to.

Plus it makes eating together far easier as we can feed the kids before seeing to the adults, which is difficult to do in a hotel (or at least do without a tonne of stress!)

We always leave places clean, but not 'new renter' clean.