Help Please help - Complaint Re: Apartment Cleanliness

PinkLipgloss

Evening all,

I have recently moved into a rented apartment. It is owned by a private landlord but leased via an estate agency which manages the let. I moved in last week and was disgusted (upon close inspection) by the general state of cleanliness (mould along the bottom of the shower door whilst under the couch looked like something out of "How Clean is Your House?" etc).

I strongly object to having to clean up the previous tenants filth!

Then - to top it all off - I received a highly detailed inventory in the post from the estate agent CONFIRMING the state of cleanliness (comments like "Gas hob greasy - needs cleaned") :eek: They did however miss some points (like the mould growing in the plant pots, shower etc)

Anyways - is there any point sending them a letter of complaint or will they simply place the blame on the landlord? They clearly didn't see it as being their responsibility to ensure it was clean given all of the comments in their inventory.

I was under the impression that - as the managers of the let - it was their responsibly. Am I wrong?

System

Did you not view the property before agreeing to rent it? Or did you notice the state of the place and assume it would be cleaned between your viewing and moving in?

Usually the estate agent organises it all though, as some landlords are dealing with multiple properties and don't personally inspect everything, so they leave it in the hands of their agents.

Different people have different acceptable levels of cleanliness. Clearly the previous tenants didn't mind living in such filth and the agents thought it was acceptable. I'd definitely file a complaint and push to have it cleaned, especially if it could damage your health. Next time ensure that dirty flats will be cleaned before you move in!

PinkLipgloss

Hi candyflossing,

Thanks for your reply.

I viewed the property with the estate agent a few weeks before entry. At that point a tenant was living in it.

It's too late to push to have it cleaned as OH and I spent several hours cleaning before we unpacked (we couldn't possibly have used the shower/cooker etc in the state they were in).

wary

Similar thing happened to me once. I did alert the letting agent to the state of the place prior to us moving in, and they passed this on to the landlord offering to get a cleaner. But he declined saying he'd clean it himself. The bathroom was especially disgusting and it took me 3 hours to clean it was that bad. I made my feelings known to the letting agent about how it shouldn't have been let in this state, and they did pass my letter on to the landlord. The next time I saw him he casually mentioned that he'd got a cleaner in, but I knew it wasn't true.

My understanding is that the previous tenants should clean it before departing. Failing that, it is the landlord's responsibility before a new tenant moves in. In our case, the letting agent weren't providing a managed service otherwise we could probably have got them to sort it out. Otherwise you're at the mercy of the landlord, and we just decided to clean it ourselves as it was only once we'd moved it that we realised that he'd done nothing to sort it out.

mrcol1000

I would complain to the letting agent. I moved into a house a few months ago and their inventory had photos on. The photos were obviously taken at least before the previous tenant moved in or possibly before the one before that. It also looked like the inventory was done at the same time as the photos as it beared no resemblance to what the actual condition of the place was in. We saw the place and they said the landlord would be doing some work on the place before we moved in. Anyway it took 3 weeks for all the paperwork to go through and we took possession and went a week before we moved in and the place was like a building site! So we rang the letting agent and they assured us the place would be ready for our moving in day. ANyway we had planned to have Sunday dinner at the new place before moving in Monday as obviously we spent the weekend packing the old place up. So we go in Sunday afternoon and the place was still a mess. So we had to freeze the chicken we had brought down for dinner and had fish and chips instead and spent 4 hours cleaning the place and moving all the tools and building stuff around so we could move in the next day. We just started moving in on the Monday and all the workmen appeared to rip out the bathroom, replaster the celling and replace the front door all while we moving in!
Anyway the outcome was that we spent our first week with builders who had been told we were moving in the following month and we complained to the letting agent who said they had meant to get a cleaner in before we moved in but forget and blamed the landlord for the muddle with the builders. Anyway they sent us a cheque for £100 which they would have paid the cleaners which made up for all the cleaning!
So I would complain to them and just over emphasis how much hard work you had to put in to it. If its not too late takes some photos and make sure you change the inventory to highlight any differences and send them a copy. Otherwise they may try and charge you for any thing different which wasn't your fault.

andyrules

candyflossing wrote: »

Did you not view the property before agreeing to rent it? Or did you notice the state of the place and assume it would be cleaned between your viewing and moving in?

Usually the estate agent organises it all though, as some landlords are dealing with multiple properties and don't personally inspect everything, so they leave it in the hands of their agents.

Different people have different acceptable levels of cleanliness. Clearly the previous tenants didn't mind living in such filth and the agents thought it was acceptable. I'd definitely file a complaint and push to have it cleaned, especially if it could damage your health. Next time ensure that dirty flats will be cleaned before you move in!

Any idea how to do this?

My DD moved into a (privately) rented house last year - the owner promised to clean but when we helped her move in I spent 2 days cleaning it! Now the cheeky barstewrds are saying they haven't left it as they found it (hence they are attempting to withhold the deposit) - too right they haven't - it's much cleaner!!

Last time we rented a property, through a large local agent, I pestered them beforehand re cleanliness, heating tested etc as my two were babies then. Again, it was so dirty that oh had to drive the kids around whilst I scrubbed - having to boil water as the heating had broken. (before new regs regarding gas). We had the heating fixed, tidied up the jungle they called a garden, washed the filthy rags they called curtains, cleaned carpets that disintegrated as we worked, got rid of an ant infestation and yet, guess what, they tried to withhold the deposit!!

I don't agree with the 'different perceptions of cleanliness' - a place is either clean or dirty.

OP, definitely complain in writing, setting out problems. If it's not too late get phot evidence. And be very careful when you leave that they don't try the trick of keeping back the deposit with you!

frivolous_fay

The rest of it sounds nasty, but I don't think you need to worry too much about mould in plant pots.

Pssst

Letting agents are only there to make money from you and the landlord. they really have little interest in the state of the property and they will merely pass them on to the landlord who will duly ignore them. Meanwhile they have your deposit and a contract which says you pay them rent every month for x months.

pinkshoes

Just fill in the inventory, and make it very clear the disgusting state you found it in, along with photos as evidence. That way, they can't charge you for professional cleaning when you leave! Send a copy off to the letting agency, keep one for yourself, and I would also send a copy to the owner, just incase the LA is pulling a fast one, charging LL for cleaning, when they're blatantly not doing it!

Also, make sure they've protected your deposit in the scheme.

PinkLipgloss

Thank you for your replies.

I have sent a strongly worded letter to the estate agents together with a copy of the inventory which I have updated with relevant comments (re: cleanliness). I have kept copies of the letter and updated inventory and sent an email to the estate agents telling them to expect it shortly in the post.

If they do not reply I will continue to harass them until they do! Will post outcome (if any!).

Lipgloss

System

andyrules wrote: »

Any idea how to do this?

Easy - tell the agents that you are renting on the condition that the flat is cleaned thoroughly and to make it a condition on the contract you sign. I think hiring a professional cleaning agency is best as then there are no arguments in regards to acceptable levels of cleanliness.

As for cleanliness, well, I've rented with other students who haven't cared about cleanliness, in the knowledge that they themselves are never going to clean. Some people just don't care.