To think this is unacceptable - photos attached

[Pinkdot97]

I signed for the keys for a private rent today and the landlord then rushed off saying he has an emergency appointment. I looked round the house and some photos below of the cleanliness. green thing is some substance on the carpet. This is only a few photos but the whole house needs deep cleaning. I’ve since spoke to him and he’s refusing to have someone out to clean it so I have to do it all. The toilet is also filthy and has waste in it.

Aibu to think it isn’t acceptable? I did look round the house but that’s when the previous tenants were still in, I was expecting it to be cleaned when they moved out.

I'd take lots and lots of photos and then pay for an outside company to do a deep clean and take your own inventory of everything in the home too with photographs. And maybe video every room, save in a file on your laptop, along with the invoice for having to pay for a professional clean.

In the event that the landlord tries to keep your deposit in future you can then forward all of this on to the relevant people at the time.

As someone who works in a related field a couple of things

Refuse to move in - up to OP but she still has to pay rent
Withold rent - in breach of contract
Find somewhere else - still liable for rent and rental properties are in high demand so it might not be possible. Where is she supposed to live in the meantime?
Demand its cleaned - or what?
She expected it to be clean - of course she did and a decent LL would have but unless it was specified he would then you can't assume.

I am not defending the LL, he sounds awful and I am sure there will be other issues further down the line but what OP can do is limited here

She just means, however much of one you put in, put the same amount of the other in.

Disgusting. So sorry you have to experience that.

At first I thought you were a bit unreasonable as the first pics were not clear , but when I opened the other pics and saw the oven... gross!
No excuse for not cleaning between tenants. I have always assumed that kind of thing is what the deposit is for (previous tenants), so that it gets cleaned and the LL then deducts it from the deposit.
It makes me wonder that the previous tenants lived like that

My house was like this when we moved in. It was like a squat. Food was thrown everywhere, dog pee on the carpets, fag burns all over the bath etc. We had no choice but to take it though at more than double the rent we were paying previously.... we cleaned it and did it through just enough to be clean and livable. It's been 2 years but I refuse to spend any proper money on it as the landlord doesn't give a toss and we're hoping to buy at some point.

But really does OP really want it?

OP also stated she met LL at the property when it was empty to sign contract. I read all of OP's post, not just the first post.

Not if she has an alternative but given that she seems to have signed a Tenancy agreement of at least 6 months (probably 12) she might not have much choice in the matter unfortunately

OP, make sure you check all your appliances work , your heating and hot water and your drainage etc. check all the sinks drain freely and check all the radiators warm up.

Call your council housing department, they'll help you

They advocate for private tenants and will pull rogue landlords into line (or will at least, try very hard to)

That’s disgusting. Totally unacceptable.
I was a LL for 20 years and would never have rented out a property that hadn’t been deep cleaned including windows, oven, etc.. If I wouldn’t live in it myself I’d never rent it to someone else.
Check with Shelter LL has given you all the paperwork, EPC, gas and electric safety certificates, right to rent leaflet, Legionella risk assessment etc…

I’m sorry you’ve had this happen, must be very upsetting. Some LLs really shouldn’t be.

and please check the smoke alarms and CO2 detector are all working. If LL is this slack they may not have been checked.

I have no idea about your rights here, but that is utterly disgusting and needs professional levels of cleaning.

OP that's minging. I'd have viewed the property first.....then given it a sharp swerve.

I think if I was you I’d ring him up & ask/insist he pays for an after tenancy clean. I would say you would like this contract to get off to a good start and he needs to rectify the very bad start its had.

Thanks everyone. Yes sorry the photos are a bit blurry but I zoomed in on them. I’ve taken photos of everything. Turns out the extractor fans don’t work either. I was expecting it to be cleaned before I move in as this is the experience I’ve had in other rentals. I took the property on as the area is perfect for work and I had to move quickly. I didn’t have time to walk round with the landlord as he stood with me and said he needs to rush off for an emergency appointment, Told me to read and sign the tenancy agreement and then just quickly left.

No gas safety cert given, he’s given me the contact details for his gas man to arrange this. Also no physical copy of the tenancy agreement. He told me to take photos of each page.

Luckily I’ve got the keys but stayed with my mum whilst I’ve had it deep cleaned as I just didn’t feel comfortable staying in that condition. I’m now worried that there’s a mould and damp problem and that the landlord has just painted over it

Also, keys missing for windows and they’re locked and he doesn’t know where they are. So fire safety hazard too

It could have been in the tenancy agreement that there would be a deep clean beforehand and the LL has not fulfilled this.

Don't ever agree to a tenancy on a place that is filthy during the viewing. Massive red flag of a scummy LL.

You should have been given a pack with gas certificate, electric certificate, EPC rating, a copy of the contract, photos of condition of each room and gas electricity and water readings and deposit details from government approved scheme should follow once you've paid deposit across to LL within 14 days. Check you've got a carbon monoxide monitor in every room with gas eg boiler and gas cooker. I give a fire blanket, fire alarm in every bedroom and a first aid box too. I get tenants to sign to state all have been received too including to sign a copy of each room photo and utilities photo. That way both parties know everything is in order at the outset.

Thank you . The only thing I was given from this list is the DPS certificate. The Only fire alarm is downstairs. He’s given me one that needs fitting upstairs. Not sure how I’ll do it as it’s high up but he’s told me to tell the electrician to do it when he comes and does the electric certificate

Good luck with that one.

Oh no way you are not being unreasonable! I will be honest it sounds like you’re going to have a ride with this landlord… if the place is already in this state, no keys to windows etc. hopefully it is not the start of what’s to come. I’d get advise asap

This LL sounds disorganised. He's told you to tell the electrician to fit the second fire alarm, you have to wait for a gas fitter to come to do the gas certificate. This should all be done BEFORE you move in.