brought a house - but it was filthy when i moved in!

decogecko

Hi - longtime lurker here.

Completed on my house just under 2 weeks ago. The family I brought off moved out the same day as I moved in.

However they hadn't cleaned a thing, probably since I'd looked round in February! The range cooker was part of the sale, but this hasn't been cleaned - ever, judging by the crusty black substance welded to the bottom of the oven! The kitchen cupboards were filthy, one cupboard had years of oil that had crusted over. I could go on!

Firstly, I'd always believed that you had to ensure the house was clean when you move out? Am I wrong on this? Although I moved my furniture in on completion day, due to the state of the kitchen and bathroom I wasn't able to move in for 3 days and had to stay at my mum's (lucky for me!) until I'd given the kitchen and bathroom a thorough clean.

Secondly, if it is part of the criteria on house sales that it is left in a clean condition, could I ask them to cover the costs of the range cooker being cleaned (I am going to have to hire professional oven cleaners, a steam cleaner & various oven cleaning products have barely made a dent in the dirt!)

Many thanks in advance for your help.

PasturesNew

There's no requirement for anybody to clean any house.

I'd get one of those "oven genie" type of people round for the oven, £25 I think they are.

Grimbal

unfortunately, when you buy, I don't think anything has to be cleaned. It's different in the case of a rental - that usually specifies that the property has to be cleaned prior to check-out. AFAIK, this isn't the case with a purchase - you just have to rely on the good nature of the vendor.

zara*elise

As the others have said, they can leave the house in whatever state they like, though you'd hope common decency would play a part.

mlz1413

someone I know moved to a house that had had years of curry and old oil tipped down the drains until they were blocked - which it turned out was some years ago! nice job for the first weekend :eek:

Unless your solicitor has added a clause about the state of the house you will not be able to claim any cleaning money. And I daresay you didn't specifically request the oven was cleaned upon completion.....

PasturesNew

For some people it's not possible to clean when they leave. Although you can clean before the removal day, sometimes the act of moving makes areas accessible that weren't visible before, or creates some unexpected mess.

And, it's not possible for everybody to be available to clean once the house is empty. For one thing, your stuff might be in a lorry and the drivers are now en-route to your new place and they'll need letting in and directing where to put stuff.

decogecko

Many thanks - I'd always thought it was part of the house sellers contract to ensure it was clean.

Never mind! Will make sure I stipulate house is left clean if/when I buy my next property.

Thank you for your quick & helpful replies

G_M

Grimbal wrote: »

unfortunately, when you buy, I don't think anything has to be cleaned. It's different in the case of a rental - that usually specifies that the property has to be cleaned prior to check-out. AFAIK, this isn't the case with a purchase - you just have to rely on the good nature of the vendor.

Not so. There is no requirement for a landlord to (ensure the property is) clean prior to a tenancy starting.
Nor is there a requirement for tenants to clean prior to check out (though many contracts specify this unenforcible term).

There IS a requirement on each tenant to leave the property at the end of the tenancy as it was at the start.

So if it IS clean at the start, the tenant must leave it clean at the end.

However if it is dirty at the start, the tenant can leave it dirty at the end whatever the contract may say.

catfish50

The only way you be sure the house is in a satisfactory state (clean, empty of furniture) is by calling there in person on the day of completion, and only giving your solicitor the go-ahead for completion when you're satisfied it's ok.

If the vendor understands that this is what you intend to do, that knowledge helps to encourage them to clean the place up -- or at least move out the unwanted furniture. Believe me, finding it dirty is nowhere near as bad as finding it full of rubbishy furniture.

grimsalve

When I part-ex'ed my old house the developer had a clause in the contract that stated the property had to be clean, tidy, and any marks left by moving furniture had to be made good, etc. (secured by a £500 retainer). I even went round with a paintbrush after the removal company moved all my furniture out.

The house was spotless when I left so I got my money back - good idea on behalf of the developers though. I might include the same thing when I move house again!

Mallotum_X

Had a similar experiance, current house was pretty messy when moved in and last owners hadn't appeared to have cleaned the Kitchen ever!, Not a lot to do but get stuck in, however we got quite a lot of satisfaction from telling anyof the neighbours that asked how dirty the last lot were, small and petty of course but amusing all the same.