Tenancy agreement help - RE professional cleaning.

sc85

Having a right nightmare at the moment in regards to ending our tenancy/getting all our deposit back.

Can anyone help?

Our landlady is saying we need to get the flat professionally cleaned prior to moving out on the 1st July. We did not know anything about this and we did not sign an inventory, nor see an invoice proving the property was professionally cleaned prior to us moving in to the property in 2008.

I have been told it is in our contract. Now, I have found the section which says "cleaning"

Can I have opinions on how you interpret this:

1)"To present the premises and the fixtures and fittings at the end of the tenanct in a clean and tidy condition and in good order in accordance with the tenants obligations"

2)"To pay for the professional cleaning or washing of such carpets, curtains, upholstery and loose covers, counterpanes, blankets and linen which shall have been soiled, including items stored during the tenancy and which at the termination of the tenancy may require to be washed and/or cleaned. To provide to the landlord or the landlords agent receipts for such"

Is there anything in that which suggests we need to pay for a professional cleaner to come in to clean the whole property? Or just the carpets?

Thanks in advance

BitterAndTwisted

Under normal circumstances you would be expected to return the property in the same condition of cleanliness at the end of your tenancy as it was at the start. How you achieve that standard is your own business.

The lack of an inventory is totally in your favour as the landlord is going to have a devil of a job proving to the deposit-protection scheme's arbitrators exactly what the state of the property was when you took on the tenancy.

sc85

Thank You, thats how I read it. I'm just worried she's going to screw us over as the deposit is very much needed to cover the deposit of our new home!

I'll be interested in hearing other peoples opinion on this too.

dancingfairy

1) is fine and is standard, 2) is probably an uneforceable term - it would be reasonable to expect something to be cleaned if it was dirty but to have to give receipts . I have had problems with carpets before and a) we didn't clean them as they didn't appear to be dirty but upon lifting a rug the carpets were sadly a different shade (due to dirt)in one house , and b) we haven't had much sucess when trying to hire a machine to clean them ourselves (in a different house).
Based on this I would say personally get the carpets cleaned if you can afford it. Is your deposit in a scheme? If so as long as you hand the property over to the landlord in as good as you find it then you will most likely end up going through the dispute resolution service of whoever your deposit is held with if the landlord still insists on things being professionally cleaned - unfortunately I don't have any experience of going through the dispute procedures so don't know if it is quick/easy or not .
df

Pupnik

Our tenancy agreement states that we must have the carpets professionally cleaned- all those other bits seem excessive but then again my flat was unfurnished and did not even have curtains. Is your flat furnished? If so they yes, you need to clean the curtains/ soft coverings on sofa etc. It may be cheaper if you could just take those items to a laundrette and have them cleaned there (ask for a receipt) and hire a carpet cleaner and do it yourself (again, make sure you get a receipt) as I imagine a cleaning firm will be more expensive.

BitterAndTwisted

She can try but she will need proper records not just some Mickey-Mouse clause in her contract to persuade the arbitrators.

However you should still clean the place from top to bottom just like you would if there was a dual-signed inventory. I'd suggest you look into hiring a Rug-Doctor or similar for the carpeting.

dancingfairy

Unless she has photos/video evidence or even providing cleaning receipts may be enough to convince a dispute resolution service of the standard of cleanliness - however as long as the property is returned in a good, clean condition I would hope that the dispute resolution service is fair and sees through an dodgy landlord.
Make sure you take pictures of everything when leaving in case she does turn funny and try and get her to do a checkout with you at the time of exit as she may try and claim that it was dirty a week or 2 after you moved out - if you can get her to sign something on the day then that will help, also if she does pick up any minor things if you have a duster and a cloth you can quickly sort any little niggles she may have.
df

sc85

Pupnik wrote: »

Our tenancy agreement states that we must have the carpets professionally cleaned- all those other bits seem excessive but then again my flat was unfurnished and did not even have curtains. Is your flat furnished? If so they yes, you need to clean the curtains/ soft coverings on sofa etc. It may be cheaper if you could just take those items to a laundrette and have them cleaned there (ask for a receipt) and hire a carpet cleaner and do it yourself (again, make sure you get a receipt) as I imagine a cleaning firm will be more expensive.

Thanks, No, the property is unfurnished. Literally just the walls, laminate flooring and a TINY square of carpet in the hallway.

Thanks for the reply.

Pupnik

sc85 wrote: »

Thanks, No, the property is unfurnished. Literally just the walls, laminate flooring and a TINY square of carpet in the hallway.

Thanks for the reply.

Hmm, if it is mostly laminate and only a tiny bit of carpet it hardly seems worth the cost of hiring a carpet cleaner. Sounds more like a job for some shake 'n' vac although I'm not sure if the landlord would agree to that.

sc85

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

She can try but she will need proper records not just some Mickey-Mouse clause in her contract to persuade the arbitrators.

However you should still clean the place from top to bottom just like you would if there was a dual-signed inventory. I'd suggest you look into hiring a Rug-Doctor or similar for the carpeting.

Just as I thought. My uncle has a cleaning company and can clean the carpets for us etc and can have it all cleaned if needs be - ~I just begrudge paying out for what I dont have to!

dancingfairy

If you do consider hiring someone for any part of the cleaning then shop around and look for a recommendation - try the check a trade directory or something similar - you may find it's cheaper to hire someone than the time/effort/time off work if you decide to do things yourself. We have had someone clean our sofas and carpets before we left somewhere before and in that case it was certainly well worth paying out for and relatively cheap- if you end up getting charged for cleaning they may well have a standard call out charge so even if 1 surface is left dusty or something you could end up paying a 1 hour cleaning fee and you won't have the option to shop around if the landlord is arranging it.
90% of the cleaning I would do myself but I would get carpets and other soft furnishings done for me -but that's my personal choice
df