moved into a Flithy Appartment - Can I void the agreement

greendale9061

Hi,

I got the keys after a 6 week wait for a stunning appartment on Friday.

Friday night I took a few cleaning products to do a little spring clean before I moved my furniture in.

To my horror the kitchen and bathroom was flithy. The kitchen had 2 years worth of heavy thick grease, esp in the cupbaords alone and the bathroom was full of soap scum and hair!.

When I viewed the appartment 6 weeks ealier, I did point out to the LA that the oven & hob needed a good scrub and they agreed.

The previous tennant has left most of the kitchen equipment i.e. cuttlery, pot, pans and a microwave. But it is all caked in grease which i find discusting. This was un noticed at the viewing, because I didn't want to seem rude by rooting through the cupboards.

I complained to my LA this morning about the condition & she told me that she inspected the appartment last week & was in a clean and fair condition?

I dissagreed with her & asked her to come down to have a look and I wanted it to be professionally cleaned (I think im in the right by asking this?)

She disagreed and replied the kitchen was in satisfatory condition and they will not pay for it to be cleaned, and it would be from my pocket to do so.

I dont think i am being un reasonable, but I know it would take me at least 3hrs of scrubing inside the cupboards and work tops to get it to my clean standard (I WOULD LIKE TO STATE IM NOT A MONICA)

The LL has now said, he has already removed furniture (1 bed and a dinning table) for me that I didn't want, to accomodate me, and now "i'm being picky" & doesn't want to spend any more money on me. He did however, nicely agreeed to re paint & clean the carpets before I moved in.

As a paying Tennant I think the LL should want me to feel relaxed and comfortable in the appartment. This attitude from the LA & LL saying I'm very hard to please is very upsetting.

The last thing I want is to have a arkward or bad relationship with the LL or LA at the begining of the Tennancy. Should I give in, or kick up a fuss, therefore I'm very tempted to tell them to Void my aggreement as the inventory is incorrect (this was done in my absence - which is their policy, which I had 48 hrs to repsond if any discepancies )


ANY ADVICE? Thanks :-)

PS I hope ppl aren't thinking im a drama queen. lets just say to touch the worktop your hand is left sticky & if a swab was to be done, im sure i would have a,out of hand bacterial growth!

sooz

greendale9061 wrote: »

. Should I give in, or kick up a fuss, therefore I'm very tempted to tell them to Viod my aggreement as the inventory is incorrect (this was done in my absence - which is their policy, which I had 48 hrs to repsond if any discepancies )


ANY ADVICE? Thanks :-)

you can't void your agreement. If the inventory is incorrect, alter it, & send a copy with your alterations to the LA, recorded delivery. Take lots of pics of the state of the flat, including the dirt. Enclose copies. Include a letter to them saying how disappointed you are with the cleanliness of the flat, & their response.

On the plus side, if you put it in writing to them, & amend the inventory, you won't have to clean so much when you leave

PasturesNew

What sooz said.

greendale9061

Thanks for your repsonse. I can not live in the current condition, I have taken pics, but that was after me scrubing the hob & oven clean.

I feel like I could quite easily get food posioning or some other bacterial infection by cooking in there.

NEH

This is quite common when renting houses and flats I have found....

When I rented a room I spent the first hour cleaning it and when I got my flat two years ago they assured me they would clean it before I moved in...

Err no they didn't. I was cleaning soap scum, hairs and god knows what off the bath and sink etc...It wasn't disgusting but it obviously hadn't been cleaned and I ain't a Monica either....:rotfl:

We're moving into rented accomodation this week and I wait to see if the magical clean has happened...i've allowed cleaning time if it ain't...

PasturesNew

If it were me I'd pay for professional cleaners myself and just be done with it. Spread over the months I'd plan on being there it'd only be a few quid and it'd be job done and all shiny.

foxy-roxy

My house was disgusting when i moved in, i had to go out and buy all sorts of cleaning stuff.
I just got on with it and done it.

princeofpounds

The important thing is to document the state of the place and ensure the inventory is correctly amended. photos printed professionally with date stamps is great for this.

It means at least that you don't need to clean on exit. Then you clean or get cleaners in, as you would normally have to do at the end of a tenancy.

It's a pain, it's all too common, but that's just the way it is.

Fire_Fox

Make sure all complaints or changes to the inventory are in writing - phone calls are not formal communication.

greendale9061

Just got a cleaner for £55 to scrub the kitchen & bathroom. I suppose i wont get this money back from the LL, but at least i not have that ikey feeling when i try to make a brew. Will re take photos tonight with the date on & will send them into the LA, to show I wasn't over reacting followed by a nice letter.

Many Thanks for your advice. :-)

Ste_C

Surely one of life's little pleasures is moving into a new property and giving it a damn good clean and spending time getting it exactly as you want it?

Granted you don't want endless amounts of grease, but most people spend time cleaning when they move in anyway don't they?

And you shouldn't have worried about being rude, you should have had a right good nosey at everything you could to make sure.