Dirty bedsit

[MuyBien]

Hi all, just moved in and it's really dirty. The landlord said was professionally cleaned which was bullshit. Here is a list of problems;

1. Old and brown poison mouse trap behind oven with mouse droppings running along the back bottom of kitchen wall

1. Oven glass completely brown and old greasy food stuck to it on inside

1. Extraction fan filter completely brown.

1. Shower full of limescale

1. Food crumbs over surfaces and of bits of food lying around.

1. The room has a musty cat litter smell

1. New mattress has stains.

I just plugged in a fabreeze scent thingy to try and mask the smell

This is normal when renting? I was living with family for the last 2 years and previously the family home.

Very common. Most landlords don’t give a fuck and just want your money. Once you’ve signed the tenancy and moved in they’re laughing all the way to the bank.

Febreeze won't work you need to clean.

Start from the top and work your way down so cobwebs, marks on walls, then surfaces from highest to lowest, then hoover and mop.

It obviously hasn't been professionally cleaned if there are crumbs everywhere so take photos of it with time and date stamps and keep those in a folder somewhere so you don't delete them. Make sure you take photos of any permanent damage too so you don't get blamed for it when you leave, things like holes in walls or torn flooring.

Sounds grim sorry. I would crack on and clean though. Best thing for the oven door is those old fashioned scouring pads the ones with pink stuff inside them. After that buy a box of oven pride for the inside.

The cat litter smell is hard to shift I had it once in a property. Windows open at all times as much as you can. Shake and vac works quite well though it's temporary.

I think your right. He said to sign the tenancy at the office so I couldn't see the property before I moved in.

I will take photos including one of the old mouse trap and droppings and email them to him so he knows what condition it was when I moved in.

Hi thank, the property going to be cleaner than when I moved in. I could never leave a property in the state it is.

I'll take photos of everything before I clean and any damage.

I’d also email the letting agent to inform them of the state of it, if I were you.

Hi, I'll take photos of everything and send them an email.

There is even a dead pigeon on the patio roof lol

I won't be using the duet and pillows they supplied either 🤮

Get a really good thick mattress cover too, and maybe spray the mattress with aerosol Dettol?
Try turning it over as well
good luck

I was thinking the same thing! Thanks

It's crazy how the estate agents lie right to your face. Never trust any estate agent again

Ovenpride works wonders

If there is a letting agent, make them come in and do an inspection. When this happened to my son when at Uni with a shared house, they had several irate parents on the phone, came in and then sent in a cleaning team. They replaced the matresses.
As PP said, take good photoes make a list of issues, and comment on the conition of everything. Send to LL, get a read receipt if you can, and make sure you don't loose them.
I would insist on a visit before signing anything.

Golden rule of life !

If you can afford it buy a worktop oven / microwave combi (panasonic are brilliant)then you

will not have to use their filthy one or clean it and you will have proof it was filthy when you moved in.

Yikes. Did you not get an inventory to sign detailing the state of the property? If no, insist on one to protect your deposit.

Yes photographs and a formal complaint to the letting agent/landlord. Put it in right away that the state of the house is NOT professionally cleaned, and as such you want the landlord to arrange such a clean at his expense, or agree for you to arrange it and deduct from next rent.

You absolutely need a photo of every scratch, ding and dent. Counter tops, doors, sofa upholstery, carpets, curtains (which are hard to clean), sealant round the bath, stains in the sinks and toilet, scale on the shower, inside the fridge etc. Also any cracks in tiled floors, rusting of sink or door fixtures, etc.

For the cleaning itself, I recommend old fashioned Shake n vac - they do a mattress version, which helps to clean and freshen.

anything you can lug out into bright sunshine do so - mattress, sofa cushions. Sunlight is a good cleaning agent.

Hi, I took photos and videos but I'm going to take more in-depth photos of everything.

The letting agent said he will email me the inventory.

Thanks!

I would still insist that the letting agent visits and sees and records the state of the place. If the LL has genuinely paid for a professional clean, they need to get the cleaner back to actually do it or get a refund. I suspect the Letting agent would have organised a clean (if it happened) and they need to see what their contractor has or has not done.
I wold be raging about a new mattress being stained as well.
someone is either lying or has not overseen a job properly, either way, you do ot want to be paying for any making good at the end of your tenancy.
Make sure you get all of the paperwork for your deposit etc.
You haven't mentioned bathrooms- is it a shared bathroom or is it a studio flat, with your own bathroom? What is that like?

@MuyBien
Just had another thought or two.
Firstly make sure your request for the inventory is in writing- email will do.
Secondly,when you get it, copy it and annotate the copy with the issues
e.g bed with mattress -- stained matress, broken slat mark on headboard, and then take a photo, if you haven't already.
Copy your annotated inventory, and send it to the Letting Agent, with the photos. That way you have proof on the condition on takeover which should protect your deposit.

Hi, sorry for the late reply. It's has everything in one room expect for a shared toilet.

It's so disgusting. There is even algae growing on the taps

I don't think hot water is coming out of the hand basin or the kitchen sink. I'm moving in tomorrow but I got the keys last Thursday and signed the tenancy.

I need to check everything properly

I will upload some photos

Couldnt upload photos.

I'm going to cry!

I just worked out why my room smells like urine. It's the old mattress they left in the property. My body heat is making the smell come out even more. I just bought new bedding and a mattress protector and its now starting to smell like urine.

This is awful!

You can't have an inventory by email, it's a process that someone has to come out and do in person and it needs to be signed by both parties.

I think you should demand a new mattress. If they refuse then can you buy a new one yourself? If so then make them remove the old mattress as that's bordering on biological waste.

The letting agent said he will email me the inventory.

Nooooo! That's not how it works!

The letting agent's inventory taker (often actually independent) walks round with you and ticks of/takes photos of the contents and condition.

Look on the bright side, with full evidence of the state it was when you moved in, you're not going to have to pay for a professional clean when you move out - as long as you keep it reasonable, you'll have no trouble proving you left it in the same state as when you moved in or better.

Check the lightbulbs - I'm still smarting from not reporting some blown bulbs at one place, then being stung for replacing them when I moved out (bet the landlord didn't even bother and just did the same to the next tenant too)

I just read your update - you need to be an absolute thorn in their side until this stuff is fixed - is it an HMO? There's special requirements for that, pester the council too.

Why are you living in a bedsit if there was a family home?