Agent telling me to do washing up...

[PercyPigfangirl]

Advice please. Had flat inspection today, I was not able to attend due to work however ensured flat was generally tidy. Hoovered etc. Had a few friends for dinner last night so there was some plates and cookery things by the sink for washing.

I've been emailed by the agent saying they want to talk to me as concerned about the cleanliness of the flat. I asked them to be more precise and they said the amount of washing that needs doing in the kitchen.

This was something I was not thinking would be any issue... Having some washing by the sink. I admit there was quite a bit due to having friends around but surely I am entitled to reasonable enjoyment of the property and having dishes to be cleaned has nothing to do with them. I would understand if it was something that could damage the property or a dirtiness issue.. but that flat was overall tidy. Don't know how to respond to them and if I've been entirely unreasonable here by not doing it?

Yanbu

A red flag for what?

Leaving food and scraps lying around is well known to attract pests, so I don't blame the agent for ticking you off to be honest.

Did someone sound the klaxon horn for the obsessionally tidy ? This thread is going to go off topic soon, I suspect and become a housework rant.

It's a professional not parental inspection.

It is a PROPERTY inspection. NOT a housework inspection.

The letting agent had absolutely no business commenting on the dishes in the kitchen sink or any other aspects of housework.

A PP has already summed up a good response. I think it was something like, 'thank you for confirming that all is in order with the property I rent.' Please be advised that I have withdrawn my consent for any future unsupervised PROPERTY inspections of my home.

Do not comment on how rude they are to comment on your lifestyle i.e. a few dishes and pans that will get washed up when you come home from the work that you do to earn the money to pay the rent.

If you ever go into the agent's office. Pointedly look at any coffee cups etc that might be on their desks. Or ask, 'I guess the kitchen in this workplace must be spotless, eh ?'

Never forget you are a tenant and as such have legal rights. You are not a house sitter. You do not pay rent as a favour.

Do not, as tempting as it is, start your correspondence with:
Dear Cheeky Bastard

I like that too.

I used to work as a leasing agent and this is ridiculous! We would never dare say to tenants to do the washing up.

Landlords/agents cannot tell you how to live within your home. So long as you are not causing damage to the property you can do as you wish and live as dirty as you want (not saying you are dirty btw)
The only time an agent should be concerned about this is at the end of the tenancy when the property is being handed back

@ComeTheFckOnBridget
Perhaps it's my extraordinary cooking, but passionate sex often follows and who wants to follow that up with marigolds and fairy liquid?

Possibly someone with a latex fetish...
😁

I will start by saying that I absolutely despise buy to let leeches and estate agents...

But in this case I think they might have a point.

It sounds to me that the agent might have seen in your kitchen a pile of dirty dishes and food leftovers on the kitchen table tops.

Which is very different from having a couple of plates soaking in the sink.

Because you are supposed to be the only person renting that would set alarm bells ringing because they will think this is how you leave the kitchen: dirty plates piling up over a period of time without being washed and that is definitely an hygiene concern.

If you happen to live in London where so many of us end up in close proximity to mice it is an even bigger concern become it might attract vermin in your building and cause concerns to your neighbours. My friend had that: neighbours left food lying around and ended up with mice which then made their way to her spotless flat.

Or they might think that you have more people living in the flat or regularly host loud parties with several people.

Personally I think it wasn't smart of you to do that.

Nobody would have noticed a couple of things in the sink (which is what some people above have commented above) and the agent would have been unreasonable to comment on it but that isn't really what happened here...

Make sure you explain what happened rather than be offended about this and risk the agent and landlord become concerned about the standards that the flat are kept in.

I assumed her great height would add to the overall effect of intimidation. They were clearly planning to intimidate me so I wanted to be prepared. Best advice I've ever had.

Absolutely this. What a cheek.

Good grief.

How very dare those spiders.

If someone is visiting to inspect it then you don’t leave lots of dirty dishes in the sink without at least explaining that it’s not the norm. It’s not a good look at all and shows little respect for e inspection visit.

In my experience letting agents will always find something to pick up on. It’s their way of justifying their fees and making it look like they’re doing something to the landlord. I’d just ignore.

If you want to stay there, reply politely apologising saying that you’d had a dinner party the previous evening and due to your work schedule, the washing up was done the next afternoon (or whatever). Attach a nice clean photo.

although you don’t “need” to, it’d repair confidence in you as a tennant. they don’t need a good reason to get you out. they can simply say the property is being sold, get you out and magically no sale happens and they put a new tenant in.

I'd think that if you left it like that for an inspection, what is like the rest of the time....

I'm bloody amazed at the amount of people agreeing you shouldn't dare leave some unwashed dishes out in their own home because of a busy body inspection. What next, the bed was unmade, your cushions weren't puffed up enough, hadn't dusted the side table?!

It is a PROPERTY inspection. NOT a housework inspection.

Exactly this!!

Wow, a real mixed bag of responses. I'm still perplexed by those saying they can't believe I didn't do the washing up 😅 I'm sorry, it seems far-fetched to me!
For context, the rest of the place was immaculate. The kitchen worktop was clean and not covered in leftovers as some on here have alluded to..
Will draft my response and post on here before emailing.

Which is none of your business in someone else's home. As long as the property itself isn't being trashed you have no right to dictate someone's housework schedule.

The thing is if I have notice of a flat inspection, I’d make sure flat was as clean and tidy as possible so they get the best impression - especially if I like living there and they treat me well generally.

after we have a dinner party as we annoyingly don’t have a dish washer, the amount of dishes look insane. If someone didn’t know we had just had a dinner party and saw them, I think they’d safely assume we don’t regularly do our dishes which could lead to a rat problem etc.
the fact you left them when you had a flat inspection probably looks to them that this isn’t something you’re concerned about doing and in turn has concerned them.
if I hadn’t had time to do the dishes I would have popped a message saying sorry had a dinner party last night so bit of mess left over from that… to pre empt this but that’s just me and I guess it depends how many dishes were left.

most people seem to agree you’re in the right though so just wanted to offer a different perspective!

Don't worry OP, I lived on my own for many years and often wouldn't wash up the same evening especially if it was late. Unsurprisingly my home didn't get invaded by rats or other vermin, the property didn't fall apart and the world didn't end 😊

I’m a landlord and my advice would always be: if you get unfair deductions like this then contest it and let it go to tribunal.

The landlord has to prove they’ve suffered a material loss as a result of your actions and cannot claim for an unfair amount. The tribunal almost always sides with the tenant over the landlord.

Worst case is that they say the deductions are fair, in which case you’ll need to pay up but best case (and most realistic) is that you’ll be sided with and not have to pay much / anything

Urgh. Don't be a minger. Just do the washing up! It's gross the day after and more difficult as everything is congealed etc. And stinky.

Why is that weird? We've had mice before thanks to me being lazy and leaving dishes out overnight. And ants.

IME agents seem to just want to find something to write on their report.... ours once said "the garden is looking wintery" ........ it was December 🙄