How much cleaning can landlady reasonably bill me for?

tizhimi

I always clean my carpets when I move. However that is my perogitive to make.

Jomo

It is actually helpful to know what the LL expects you to do on vacating the property. This should already be in the contract but it isn't always clear enough so to have that input before finding out that you are being charged astronomical amounts for not doing so when you didn't realise it was expected!

anselld

tizhimi wrote: »

I think its presumtious to demand a carpet to be cleaned. I'd be furious.

The presumtion is that they will be returned in the same state of cleanliness as when the tenancy started. That is the tenany's responsibility. Fair enough, if they have been kept clean for five years they will not need further cleaning.

Alex_LS

Jomo wrote: »

If the LL disagrees with what is reasonable wear and tear and hires professional cleaners to clean them rather than the tenant do something about it themselves it might cost the tenant alot more.

If you mark the internal paintwork by accident that isn't always seen as fair wear and tear and the LL would expect the paintwork to be redone.

Same with the oven, that would have to be spotless, why would they not expect the carpets to be cleaned?

Marks, stains or dirt is completely different to wear & tear. Were the carpets professionally cleaned prior to the tenancy? If not, why is it reasonable to expect them to be so at the end of the tenancy?

In any case, the obligation on the tenant is only to make sure the carpets are clean (assuming they were clean when he moved in). Any clause specifying something must be professionally cleaned would be unenforceable.

kunekune

Now, I'm not usually someone who stands up for a LL, but actually I would expect to pay for cleaning of carpets from time to time. And five years is a long time. If I was a tenant for 5 years I would have them cleaned during that time, perhaps once every year or at most 18 months. If I didn't, I don't think it would be reasonable to object to a cleaning when I left. 5 years of just vacuuming is not really quite enough from the perspective of the next person.

DJ_Mike

Thanks for the opinions, guys!

I'm not staunchly objecting to paying for carpet cleaning - as kunekune says, I have been here for 5 years and I haven't done any cleaning beyond vacuuming in that time, so £120-ish isn't an unreasonable price to pay to "clean up my mess" as it were.

I'll see if my landlady is OK going down the self cleaning route. I must confess, though, that with the amount of moving I have to do, I'd really rather just get professionals to do it and be done with it - I'm keen not to add more work at this point!