Unreasonable cleaning cost at end of tenancy

Leedor

Hello,

We moved out of our 2 bedroom flat 1 month ago. We had it 'professionally' cleaned but admit that we had quite a cheap cleaner and it wasn't really up to scratch for some areas (mostly extra dusting and further vacuuming under appliances/sofas). Still it was in good condition just needed some additional cleaning.

We just received the landlord's communication regarding return of our deposit. It all seems reasonable except for the cost of cleaning: The lettings agency, AlexNeil hired a company called Shine and the invoice attached is £380. Does that seem a reasonable amount? It certainly didn't to us.

Now that it's been done and paid for by the lettings agency, is there any chance of disputing this?

Many thanks in advance for your input,

Lee

BitterAndTwisted

If the professional cleaner wasn't up to scratch why didn't you finish it yourself properly?

When did your tenancy start?

Was there a full inventory at the start of your tenancy?

Are you confident that you returned the property in the same state of cleanliness?

HappyMJ

No it's not reasonable. They have to ask you to resolve the issue at which point you go back to your cleaner and get them to do it again. You must have left it a right tip for a bill of £380 that's several days work. I can't believe you got in a cleaner and they felt they had to do it again. Did you give them the invoice of your cleaner?

celyn90

Wow - that's loads!

Did they do it as an hourly rate and/or itemise the jobs?

We checked out today (1-bed flat) and got charged for 3hrs cleaning (£45) - what the LA thought would be needed to bring it up to top condition plus an additional £80 for the carpets (we asked the letting agent to do this for us before check-out - we got no local cheaper quotes and they don't accept you doing it yourself). He did say to me that had the oven needed doing, for example, they would have added flat fees onto it.

I can see it adding up super fast though - say if you got charged for the windows, carpets, oven, upholstry, plus 6hrs work - that could be quite substantial. Good cleaning is expensive though. We had one pair of long curtains dry-cleaned before we handed the flat back for example and that alone was £49.

Ask them to break it down and see what the charges actually are for; then you will be in a better position to judge if it is unreasonable.

princeofpounds

They do not have to warn you or give you the opportunity to reclean. You have to dispute the deduction as disproportionate in the arbitration process or in small claims court (or at least threaten to) using comparative quotes and evidence of the actual state of the place to back it up.

380 sounds like a full house clean type of bill.

serious_saver

It sounds very high, especially for a 2 bed flat. Ask for a copy of the invoice with a breakdown of the work done. The agent really should have contacted you before they paid another company to do the work and provided you with a list of what they were intending to have cleaned and why. Find out exactly what needed cleaning and compare it to you original inventory. Also check your contract. Ours stipulates a price per room for carpet cleaning so they can't charge more than that.

If you are able to cope without the remaining balance of your deposit you should consider referring it to your deposit protection scheme. This happened to a friend of mine and they found in her favour because the agency could not provide a break down of what the cleaning was for.

BitterAndTwisted

Dispute the deduction with the agent IN WRITING and then get onto the deposit-protections scheme's website and claim the whole of your deposit. Dispute any deduction they attempt to make and compel them go through the scheme's arbitration process to justify it.

HappyMJ

princeofpounds wrote: »

They do not have to warn you or give you the opportunity to reclean. You have to dispute the deduction as disproportionate in the arbitration process or in small claims court (or at least threaten to) using comparative quotes and evidence of the actual state of the place to back it up.

380 sounds like a full house clean type of bill.

They may not have to but any cleaner I get has a guarantee on the work done. If it isn't up to scratch to whoever's standards then they do it again "free of charge". Every time I've rented I've been asked about every deduction. Can't find the garage key on the returned keys. Would I like to replace it. There's some mess in the backyard can you come out to clear it. Sure. It costs me nothing to do it and I'm not paying someone else to do something I could have done.

http://www.thecleaningservicesgroup.co.uk/3/our-services/3/end-of-tenancy-cleaning/

This link shows guideline prices of what it should cost. If they do insist on charging then claim the money back from the "professional" cleaner that you got in. They'll have insurance. If they claim it was done well then that will be part of your defence of the charges.

moromir

Leedor wrote:

..needed further vacuuming under appliances/sofas). Still it was in good condition just needed some additional cleaning.

One thing that leaps out at me is this - vacuuming under a sofa isn't just a two minute job, it needs at least two people to safely move the item, and potentially other surrounding items depending on the size of the flat to get it out of the way, I can see things like this quickly pushing the price up!

prudryden

Very large 2 bed flat in London charged in May 2011:
Carpets: Steam clean plus deodorise plus hoover = £95
Floors : Wash plus Hoover = £10
Kitchen: Oven, Hob, Extractor, Dish Washer,
Bench top Sink/Taps, Tiles, Cupboards,
Fridge/Freezer =£90
Bathroom: Bath/Shower, Toilet, Basin, Tiles = £25
Windows: Inside = £15
Woodwork: Painted Woodwork, Picture rails,
Skirtings, Lights, Switches,
Power Points, Mirrors = £40
Furniture: Wardrobes (No other furniture) = £10.50
Upholstery: None
Curtains: Steam Clean =£108
SUB TOTAL = £393.50
VAT = 78.70
TOTAL = £472.20

So, depending on the size of the flat, if in London, it would be in the ball park. The curtains were the killer because the windows are massive (nine of them with curtains) You also get a guarantee that the property will pass inspection. If not, they come back until it does.

cavework

We had a friend who leased a 1 bed property from a Letting Agent.
Our price direct was £75 plus VAT no discount .. that is our price to any customer .. agents price would have been over £250 if she did not use a legit cleaning company.
She provided us with their breakdown for the clean if provided by them
She refused to tell Agent who she was using until completion of clean...
She then informed them it was us .. the same Company they use
There were no come backs