Letting agent want's to charge us for not having a receipt for carpet

sevenupcan

Hi. I wonder if someone can help me.

I have just recently moved out of rented accommodation. Upon leaving I made sure than the property was in good working order and that the inventory matched that of the original.

Now the letting agent is threatening to take some money out of our deposit because we do not have receipts to prove that the carpets were cleaned.

The carpets were cleaned with a vax vacuum cleaner and cleaning solution. There were no obvious stains or marks when we left and it was cleaned to a professional standard.

Does the letting agent have the right to charge us for cleaning the carpet for no reason? We were not told verbally or in writing that we would need a receipt to prove that the carpets were cleaned.

What is more frustrating is that the letting agent hasn't even been in the property. So I find it hard to see how they can justify with-holding my deposit for not having cleaned the carpets.

Thanks for listening. Been a stressful week.

Cheers

moromir

What does your tenancy agreement say? Is there is a clause requiring carpets to be cleaned and reciepts submitted? If there is I don't know how enforceable it actually is, but someone wiser than me will be along shortly who will know, as I would suspect not provided they are brought up to good condition.

sequence

Even if there is a clause, it's unenforceable. You only have to return the house to it's original condition, less wear and tear.

jockosjungle

If the carpets are clean I don't see the issue, if you left the carpets covered in mud but had a receipt saying they'd been cleaned they'd still charge you

R

StudentMoneySaver

Has the LL undertaken a Check Out inventory? In fact, was there a Check In inventory?

They will probably need both in order to make a successful deduction from your deposit with the Deposit Protection scheme they used (it was protected wasn't it?).

As alluded to above, having a receipt for cleaning doesn't mean the carpet is clean. The LA needs to go there to verify the condition you have left it in (the purpose of a Check Out inventory).

clutton_2

how do you know they have not visited the property ?

Judith_W

As sequence says they cannot force you to get a professional clean, only cleaned to a professional standard - check out shelter's website.

If you have not left a stain and your deposit is in a protection scheme don't worry as they cannot take anything from the deposit for it

sevenupcan

Hi.

Thanks for everyone's replies. I'm going to talk to someone from Citizens Advice and see what they suggest.

The deposit is protected so really I shouldn't have anything to worry about. They have added some extra charges to the bill, I couldn't stop laughing when I heard them. One includes hiring a cleaner for an hour to get rid of 1 cobweb. Oh dear, my sides almost split.

Thanks again.