End of tenancy clean 16 October 2006 at 3:16PM in Is this quote fair? 18 replies 41.6K views

liz545

Hello all,
I'm trying to get an idea of how much I should expect to pay for an end-of tenancy clean on our flat. It's got 3 db beds, 1 small single, small kitchen, bathroom and a lounge. Wood floors throughout, except the stairs and hall which are carpeted (and need steam cleaning). it's not filthy, so just needs to be brought up to standard. Our landlord has quoted us £400! :eek:
To be honest I'd be surprised if this was more than about 4 hours work total, and this seems like an awful lot! We're in London but looking at gumtree the going rate for a cleaner is between £6-£8/hr. Any input?

silvercar

The problem will be that the clean has to be to the standards expected of a professional clean. The cleaners quoting £6-8 per hour will be of the sort that people use to assist with day-to-day tasks rather than professionals.

CGG

Why not get a couple of quotes from local carpet cleaners yourself and discuss them with your Landlord? You may find a cheaper quote than that of your Landlord, and so will save anyway.
I can't blame any Landlord wanted a professional clean of carpets at the end of the tenancy. I've little doubt that when you moved in that the carpets were up to scratch, otherwise you'd have mentioned this in your opening post.
You may be moving out, but there will be a tenant moving in after you, and they will expect everything to be just so, as you did when you moved in.
Sorry, but I take the Landlords stance on this one.

liz545

CGG wrote:

I can't blame any Landlord wanted a professional clean of carpets at the end of the tenancy. I've little doubt that when you moved in that the carpets were up to scratch, otherwise you'd have mentioned this in your opening post.
You may be moving out, but there will be a tenant moving in after you, and they will expect everything to be just so, as you did when you moved in.
Sorry, but I take the Landlords stance on this one.

I completely understand why he wants the property professionally cleaned - while the carpets aren't in a terrible state, they were professionally cleaned when we moved in, and I'm sure the new tenants will appreciate it. It's not the cleaning per se that I question, just the price! I'm getting some quotes myself, but I just wondered whether any MSE'rs had any experience/professional input on what the average price is...

shirlgirl2004

Last year I paid for a spring clean of my house. It took them (3 people) about 4 hours and cost £250 but they did a rubbish job. Obviously it was fully furnished and they didn't do anything like steam cleaning. I called Molly Maids or someone similar I can't remember and they wanted £20 an hour for your bog standard domestic cleaner. It does sound about right although expensive I bet that's the going rate. Why don't you get someone over to give you a quote? Can you negotiate with the landlord than you will do a thorough clean and then he just gets it steam cleaned?

Lorian

Is there no fee detailed in the tennancy agreement?

Otherwise you could aks the landlord ofor the detail of the work to be carried out in his quotation and then do it yourself or employ someone to do it for you?

Debt_Free_Chick

shirlgirl2004 wrote:

Last year I paid for a spring clean of my house. It took them (3 people) about 4 hours and cost £250 but they did a rubbish job.

Three people who each take 4 hours is 12 hours cleaning in total, so it worked out at about £20 per person, per hour .... which is the same as Molly Maid. Although, 12 hours of cleaning sounds a lot, this not a weekly clean buy a complete spring clean of the whole house.

It does sound about right although expensive I bet that's the going rate.

Agree ... if the standard domestic clean is working out at about £20 per hour, so £250 for a Spring Clean then £400 sounds "about right" for a steam clean as well.

That said, I paid about £160 for a single room a few years ago - that was to DryChem the carpet, suite and curtains. So £400 for the whole house sounds good, to me. Of course, I could have been ripped off when I paid £160, but it did make a huge difference. You'd be amazed at how much dust & grime can be absorbed - you really notice the fresh colours afterwards.

Debt_Free_Chick

liz545 wrote:

Wood floors throughout, except the stairs and hall which are carpeted (and need steam cleaning).

No upholstered furniture, curtains or soft furnishings?

alzeebub

Unfortunately it is quite typical of many landlords to quote a much higher price for an End of Tenancy clean than would be quoted elsewhere.

Get other quotes, I'm sure you'll get it done cheaper. But be sure and ask the landlord what level of cleanliness he expects... if your cleaners come in and don't do a thorough job, he'll probably still quote a further charge to bring it up to his 'standard'.

Good luck!

Benji

alzeebub wrote:

But be sure and ask the landlord what level of cleanliness he expects... if your cleaners come in and don't do a thorough job, he'll probably still quote a further charge to bring it up to his 'standard'.

Good luck!

Could you then do it yourself by hiring equipment etc?

Wickedkitten

I've never paid to have an end of tenancy clean. We moved out of our flat back in June after living in it for over 2 years and just cleaned it ourselves and got our full deposit back.