Landlords cleaners came in and threw out tenants possessions

[GreySkiesAndBirds]

Hi I am looking for guidance please on how to word an email to the managing agents. My DD is at uni and rented a property. Just before leaving, the managing agent advised the property would be deep cleaned the week before the tenancy ended. I spoke to the agent, and received an email from the agent confirming that my DD and another tenant would not clear their rooms for the deep clean, the deep clean was to avoid their rooms, and that my DD and the other tenant would empty and clean their rooms themselves before leaving at the end of the tenancy.
My DD and her housemate arrived at the house to find that the cleaners (part of the managing agents' company) had been in their rooms, put most of their possessions in bin bags, put half of these in the front garden, left half in the house. They had also been through my DD's memory box, taken her letters out of the envelopes (so we assume they read them), taken out a wallet and emptied it (it contained only sentimental items, which they left on the desk next to the wallet) and so on.

We recovered a lot of the items from bin bags, I washed her clothes etc, to reduce the loss. Some shoes were gone, some shoes were covered in cleaning effluent so we left them in the bins, along with some kitchen appliances that were put in the bin bags and covered with cleaning grot (airfyer, slow cooker, toaster, kettle etc).

I am about to email them with a list of the items that were either thrown out and not located, or left in the bin bags as they were too grotty to recover.

Can anyone help me with the right words to use in my email, as I know that the landlords/their agents ought not to access tenants rooms without permission, it was agreed that the deep clean would not go ahead, and I have no idea what the score is with regards to the agents throwing out the tenant's possessions, during the tenancy.

Thanks for any help

Your poor DD 😔 Chat GPT is brilliant for this type of thing.Not sure if you use it or not but this is what it said:

You’re absolutely right to raise this formally — based on what you’ve said, the managing agents may have breached both your daughter’s tenancy rights and data/privacy protections. Below is a professional and firm email you can send to the managing agent. It sets out the situation clearly, refers to their written agreement, and outlines the issue without becoming emotional — while still strongly highlighting the seriousness of what has happened.

Subject: Urgent: Breach of Agreement and Mishandling of Tenant Possessions

Dear [Managing Agent’s Name or Team],

I am writing in regard to the recent deep clean carried out at [Property Address], which my daughter, [Daughter’s Full Name], has been renting as part of her student accommodation.

Prior to the end of the tenancy, I received written confirmation from [Agent’s Name] that the deep clean scheduled for the property would not include the rooms of my daughter and another remaining tenant, as they would be occupied and cleared/cleaned by the tenants themselves before departure. Despite this agreement, upon arrival at the property, my daughter discovered that cleaners—contracted or employed by your agency—had entered her room without permission.

Not only had her private space been accessed, but many of her possessions were removed and placed into bin bags. Some were left in the house, while others were left outside in the front garden. We were able to recover a number of items, though many were damaged, contaminated with cleaning products, or lost entirely. Particularly concerning is that deeply personal items were interfered with — including a memory box containing letters (some of which had been taken out of their envelopes) and a wallet holding sentimental belongings that had been emptied and left exposed.

This conduct constitutes:

1. A breach of the written agreement confirming her room would not be entered;
2. Unauthorized access to a tenant’s private room during a tenancy;
3. Unlawful interference with a tenant’s personal property;
4. A potential breach of data protection and privacy, given the nature of the personal items disturbed.

I am currently compiling a full list of items that were either lost or rendered unusable as a result of this incident. These include shoes, clothing, and several kitchen appliances (e.g. air fryer, slow cooker, toaster, kettle) that had been put in bins or bin bags and were too soiled to salvage.

I would be grateful if you could:

• Confirm who authorised access to my daughter’s room;
• Explain why the agreement that her room would not be entered was disregarded;
• Provide details of your complaints procedure and your process for compensating tenants for damage or loss of property;
• Acknowledge this message as a formal complaint.

I trust this matter will be treated with the seriousness it deserves. I look forward to your prompt response.

Kind regards,
[Your Full Name]
[Contact Details]

oh wow that is amazing @yourcallisimportant
thank you so much I will use this!

Don't forget theft or potential theft

Contact the Housing Department at the Local Authority.

Their Housing Advice team should be able to help

As its student accommodation there may well be licensing issues

BUT until the tenancy ends the tenants have the right to the 'quiet enjoyment' of their home.

I might also talk to the Police as well about Criminal Damage/Theft

I don’t understand why a deep clean was scheduled before the end of the tenancy? That makes no sense at all. None of the tenants should have agreed to this and then there would have been no confusion. That said, whoever did clean, should not have accessed your DD and her friend’s room if you had been assured this would not happen. I’d be threatening legal action. And I’d be asking for a refund of X days’ rent and compensation for items lost.

Why on earth were they doing an end of tenancy deep clean before the end of the tenancy?
I don't think the cleaners got the right memo, definitely a LL issue
Yes, many grounds to complain. Have you got pictures ?

DS has just moved out of Y2 uni house - their contract states it has to be professionally cleaned a week BEFORE the end of tenancy so it could be checked in time for the next people! They are so greedy they don’t even allow a single day in between tenants - last day of DS & co July 31, first day of next lot 1 Aug, so they are always getting 12 months full rent.

Unfortunately there’s just no other option in the city they’re in, rentals are in such high demand. They had to pay deposits in Dec 2023 for a Aug 2024 move, and will (hopefully) only be getting them back next week - a whole 18 months later