possible deposit argument coming up?

qwertyjjj

qwertyjjj wrote: »

Well, I don;t think I caused any, it looked clean to me and the landlord hasn't sent me any evidence yet.
If the arbitrator puts all benefit of doubt towards me then I'll go with that.
I've heard too many stories about the "check out" cons same as the "admin fees" con that estate agents use.

They want to charge £50 and I haven't seen photo evidence or anything yet.
Any advice?
Seems strange that the £50 is a very round number also coinciding exactly with what professional cleaners charge and that estate agents ask their landlords to do before a new tenancy.
I've asked for evidence but nothing appearing yet.

BitterAndTwisted

I think £50 is very reasonable. I think you should agree the deduction as I reckon you've got off pretty lightly under the circumstances

qwertyjjj

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

I think £50 is very reasonable. I think you should agree the deduction as I reckon you've got off pretty lightly under the circumstances

circumstances?
It's my money !!!!!!.
you must be a landlord.

For example, if they provide evidence (which, I haven't seen yet), even then the arbitration would probably say that I don't have to pay the full £50: http://www.letlink.co.uk/articles/deposits/alternative-dispute-resolution-and-tenancy-deposits.html
I don't believe landlords have the right to just go about applying a standard cleaning fee at the end of all their tenancies just to get some extra cash, which was probably taken off them by the estate agent in the first place as a finder's fee.

clutton_2

what an offensive post.. i am glad you are not my tenant with that attitude...

you have damaged the carpet, whether through cleaning, or however, and you should agree to pay for it.....

Brb

This reminds me of those old carpet cleaning company scams that offer a free trial. They come in, clean an area in the middle of the carpet and then leave it to you to have a silly clean bit in the middle of your carpet if you decide not to go ahead and get it all cleaned.

£50 seems reasonable to me. It is about that for one room (additional rooms being cheaper). I've signed tenancies before now that have required me to have the windows professionally cleaned and carpets professionally cleaned before leaving when it's been grubby when I moved in. It was my choice to sign a tenancy.

However it's a matter of pride to me that I leave a house cleaner than when I found it. It is also means that you get a good reference for your next landlord

not_loaded

Cleaning just a bit of a dirty carpet was obviously not a good idea.

You seem to be well up on the ‘tricks’ an LL might play at this stage, but you say: ‘Now I'm pretty sure I cleaned these areas although they were drying when I left’, which shows that it was all just a weak last minute attempt.

Next time borrow a Vax from a friend and spend a couple of hours on it.

qwertyjjj wrote: »

circumstances?
It's my money !!!!!!.
you must be a landlord. …

In resolving problems I always try to see the other party’s point of view. You appear to only be looking for 100% support for your position here, rather than a consensus of opinion. You surely realised that landlords might have a view on this and post?

tbs624

qwertyjjj wrote:

..So, the carpet is not bright white because it's a few years old. There are some mud stains, which I clean cleaner than the rest of the carpet but I should have cleaned the whole carpet better than I got it????? ..

Yes, if that's what it would take to remove the mud stains put there by you.

qwertyjjj wrote: »

circumstances?
It's my money !!!!!!.
you must be a landlord.

FWIW, BitterandTwisted's posts on this board to date have not indicated that she is a LL.

Yes, its your money but by the same argument, it's the LL's carpets. You are obliged to return the property in the same condition as when let to you, save for "fair wear and tear".

What you describe does not come under the FW and T mantle. If you stain/mark a carpet you are obliged to remove those stains, not leave new ones in their place, by the process of your cleaning method.

You could have sought advice from the LL/LA and a carpet cleaning frim *prior* to attempting to deal the problem yourself. If you are so convinced that you are in the right, take the matter to adjudication ( or to court if your prefer) and let us know how you get on.

qwertyjjj wrote: »

I don't believe landlords have the right to just go about applying a standard cleaning fee at the end of all their tenancies just to get some extra cash, which was probably taken off them by the estate agent in the first place as a finder's fee.

Of course LLs don't have such a right, but then Ts don't have a right to cause marks on a carpet which were not there at the start of a Tenancy and expect the LL to foot the bill for sorting it out.

BitterAndTwisted

qwertyjjj wrote: »

(You've got off pretty lightly under the) circumstances?
It's my money !!!!!!.
you must be a landlord.

Actually, I'm not a landlord, I'm just a fairly ordinary and reasonable tenant.

It really doesn't make sense to me for you to have only spot-cleaned a carpet in the last hours of your tenancy before handing the property back. I would have thought it would have been much more sensible to have hired a carpet-cleaning wotsit and done the whole room a couple of days before you vacated. And probably to have addressed these small stains at the time they occurred as well.

The landlord is now going to have to hire the very carpet-cleaning machine you didn't bother hiring yourself and I think £50 is a very reasonable charge. If they had to hire a cleaning company to come in and do it the charge to you would inevitably be much higher.

Heliflyguy

If the carpets had not been cleaned prior to you moving in then I would sugest you try and find a happy medium with the LL, say 50/50 cost of cleaning the carpet, or borrow/hire one and do it yourself.
Unfortunatley your position was dammed if you do clean the mud staines off or dammed if you dont, maybe you cleaned the mud stain a bit too well.

qwertyjjj

Heliflyguy wrote: »

If the carpets had not been cleaned prior to you moving in then I would sugest you try and find a happy medium with the LL, say 50/50 cost of cleaning the carpet, or borrow/hire one and do it yourself.
Unfortunatley your position was dammed if you do clean the mud staines off or dammed if you dont, maybe you cleaned the mud stain a bit too well.

Ok, so taking both sides of the argument.
What should I ask for before paying the £50 out?
Pictures, receipts of the cleaning?
My argument half stems from the fact that the landlord has said they would take the £50 and instead of cleaning the carpet, they would put it towards a new carpet. Now in all the cases I've checked on arbitration on the net, the abitrators said that wasn't justified and the age of the carpet would be taken into account, the arbitrators said the landlord would only get a small percentage of a new carpet.

If I see pictures and it's stained then £50 for cleaning seems fine but I don;t think £50 contribution to get a new carpet is the same...not legally anyway.