Landlord will be doing an inspection and I'm freaking out at the state of my house.

[Whatsthatspookynoise]

There was a leak under the bathroom floor so the landlord and a plumber had to fix it. I know my landlord wiped down a cupboard in my bathroom and I was humiliated when I realised. I have a 3 year old and an 11 year old and a very dirty husband.

So the landlord wants to do a house inspection on Fri and I'm desperately trying to make it look squeaky clean. I am getting NOWHERE. I asked husband 6 times to tidy and clean down his side of the bed. He eventually did and it was so bad I had to do it properly on top of the hundreds of other things I have to do. Husband will cook at night and pretty much trash the kitchen. Sauce flung up cupboards, breadcrumbs all over, food trod through the kitchen and living room. It is just so bad. Conversations about it go over his head because he TRULY believes he's an extremely clean and organized person. Anyway, I kind of stopped cleaning enough months ago as there was just no point. It would be trashed immediately. I feel that other people understand that feeling. I clean so I don't have germs or dirt etc, but my white walls are grubby and everything is a bit dusty if that makes sense. Well not cleaning a lot anymore has come back to bite me on the arse. I don't know what the landlord is going to look at? Is he going to look in my fridge, my wardrobe, my cupboards? I'm trying so hard to deep clean and I just can't seem to do it right. I am absolutely terrified he will kick us out for it. I'm just ranting because I had to sit down from polishing as I was starting to panic.

Thanks for reading xx

You should look up the organised mum method she has clean alongs on Patreon and they are amazing you get so much done in a short space of time especially if you are feeling overwhelmed and don't know where to start

I doubt he'll look in cupboards or wardrobes.
He will want to make sure you're mess isn't damaging the house.
My previous tenants never opened windows and left mould all over the bedroom walls for example.
You say you 'clean so don't have germs or dirty' This doesn't make sense.
Your husband sounds like a useless twat , probably be tidier in your house without him there.

Sorry don't mean to sound harsh , I hope you manage to get on top of it.

Kicking the husband out will make your house much tidier.

They won’t be looking in cupboards and the fridge.

Sorry I mean things like kitchen sides, floors, toilets are clean, but things like walls, skirting boards, glass are a bit grubby.

Yes, as much as I love him I do fantasize about living in a really tidy house alone with the kids. Toddler mess is fine and my 11 year old mostly cleans up after himself. So it would be a dream!

Think about it from his perspective. He's got a large amount of money invested in his property and wants to make sure nothing is devaluing it. Normal wear and tear,or anything you, or more likely professionals, would completely clean when you leave the property should be ignored. But if you let children draw on the walls, or you damage flooring or kitchen cabinets then those are more likely to be issues. Having said that, if you've got tomato sauce stains on areas that means it will need decorating that's not so ok!

Inspecting we look for mould damage to the walls, doors, carpets. Windows, your untidiness isn't our problem. It's the fabric of the property that affects the landlord.

Thank you. I hope they don't. There's nothing dirty in them, but I'm trying to deep clean too many things at once.

I would imagine as long as its not damaging his property itshould be fine but I would get everyone to clean all their own bits then try to keep on top of it all. If you have loads of washing hide it in the car or something (my DSD done this)

To be honest, people like your husband will be the reason why I would never have a buy to let. Would he behave like that in his own place?

The thing with not being tidy is that there is the potential for damage to be hidden and what could start off as a small problem can easily turn into a much bigger (and expensive) one to fix.

So LL’s confidence that you’re looking after the property has probably been knocked if they’ve seen that the bathroom is in a bad state. They will most likely be pulling back the curtains and lifting any blinds right up to check mold hasn’t been given a chance to grow and same where furniture is pushed up against walls and heaped with piles of unironed laundry for instance or checking the back of the work surfaces in the kitchens to make sure that where surfaces are covered in a load of ‘stuff’ water hasn’t been lift to sit and make ingress under laminate etc.

Just say no to the inspection (you have the legal right to, no matter what is written in your contract). Or postpone it, if you are feeling kind.

Yes, these are absolutely amazing! You'll never believe how much you can get done when someone is telling you exactly what to do and when. Especially good for when everything is a mess and getting started seems impossible.

https://www.rockthehousework.co.uk/misc

The Cleaning Crisis one might be a good one!

I would work on removing as much clutter as possible, cleaning visible surfaces, and doing a good hoover/mop. I doubt the insides of your cupboards will be of any interest, but the visible cleanliness will be, so work on surface areas that are visible.

Sometimes, like a parent coming to stay with a young person, this kind of visit can be really good for you ilke a nasty medicine to make sure you and of course the lazy husband do cleaning you both know should have been done more regularly.

If husband splashes food up the sides of things when cooking then he or someone else should clean that off every day not just leave it.

I mean as long as it's just mess and not damage landlord should be fine. But the treading food through the other rooms might be an issue if carpet is ruined as landlord would probably take their out of your deposit for cleaning. Does your husband not factor that in before he goes about his grotty ways?

@Tippexy - that's actually not true, the landlord has a right to inspection in order to meet their own legal obligations.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/repairs_and_inspections_access_to_your_rented_home

I like a tidy house so once our 4 are done for the day whoosh I'm out with my cleaning stuff lol hate things getting piled up. Always dabbing st carpets oh the joys of 3 under 2s lol.

Postpone it to give yourself more time. Make a plan. Have someone look after the toddler for a whole day. Even 2 if you can manage it. Write a list of everything that needs doing. This is what I do, and I get my sister in to help me. My house isn’t dirty or messy but I still hate that someone comes round looking, but it does give me a reason to do the things I don’t do often, like the skirting boards for example. Clean the carpets. Wash the walls. So that’s my advice. They shouldn’t judge you on being a bit untidy. And your husband sounds like a tit so get rid of him for a few days while you do it too.

There are 4 of you (including 2 young children) in one house and so it’s not going to ever be spotless.
The LL will understand that it’s not a shoe home.

I can’t work out if your DH is dirty or you are over the top.

Get him to clean certain rooms and you clean the others.

If I have people like this out I will focus on getting the kitchen and bathroom clean mainly (the garden too if there are toys on it).
Then the rest of the home I’ll obviously clean but not be as worried.

It's probably only fair the landlord sees it in the state you actually keep it?

We've just evicted a tenant. Found a gallon container of flea killer. They left a mattress which was full of dead fleas, lifted the carpets to bin , dead fleas on the floor boards. Now that's really icky. The tenant worked in the health sector. So there's far worse tenants. I would clean the carpets.

I’m a landlord. When I inspect I am
mostly checking:

-that there’s not a cannabis farm in the spare room
-that it’s not been sublet and has 15 people crammed in on mattresses
-that everything is working and safe
-that there is no damage beyond normal wear and tear

I don’t look in cupboards. I only look at white goods if they are supplied (and I am
checking they work)

I do look at flooring, general condition of walls, kitchen etc

I don’t expect anyone to do any special cleaning or for it to be immaculate- so it depends, if you are living in a state worthy of social services intervention then yes I’d be worried. But if it’s hygienic that’s fine.

They will look for mould, rotting or left out food, signs of rodents, pet dirt, stains, damage, and any type of mess that could damage the house. They don't care about dust on a glass table or a shirt lying on the bed.

If you have food tramped into the carpets, the carpets should be cleaned. If there are big stains of tomato on the ktichen cupboards, those should be cleaned, etc.

Why are you the only one cleaning? I mean, you asked your husband to tidy his side of the bed….which is less than I expect of my 6 year old.