Real life MMD: Should she charge for cleaning?

chog24

"if they get their deposits back it's thanks to her".

Um... no?! If they get their deposits back, it's because nothing was broken during their tenancy and they had paid all their rent.

It's a rule of thumb that one should leave a place as one would expect to find it, however, it's not a condition of the contract (usually!) and so if she decided to clean the place, that's a nice thing to do, but it's her choice.

(frankly, if she's the kind of person that would think to charge her former flatmates for her cleaning services when she's taken it on herself to do the work, then that might be a hint to why they chose to move out in the first place)

pebbly_sue

It depends on what state the place was in when the couple left, unless they all moved out at the same time. If they moved first, you would presume they did their part in cleaning beforehand. If they moved at the same time, they should have pitched in, but I don't think they should be charged for it.

It should be mentioned to them, and a snide joke about cleaning expenses thrown in for good measure - if they were all amicable enough to live together, then they should be able to discuss it amongst themselves like adults...

scoobydoobydoo

Well they should have helped and I would be very annoyed if I were her but as they have no obligation to pay her (in law, morally is another matter!) then she shouldnt waste her time trying.

Marco12452

No, it was her personal choice, not a request.

leathersofa

Excuse me while I fall about laughing. From long and bitter experience of this very thing with 2 ex-student offspring who changed flats every year, if you see a quarter of your deposit back you'll be lucky, however much you've cleaned it. My daughter bust a gut twice cleaning flats when she was the last one to leave. Each time the landlord turned up to get the keys etc with contract cleaners in tow, ie didn't inspect first to see if it was going to be necessary, just got them anyway and took the cost out of the deposits. Easiest job they ever had but we still lost the money. The very first thing to do in this situation is to find out whether the landlord does this as a matter of course and if they do, don't waste your time and energy. Leave it reasonable but no more.

Augustus_the_Strong

Why is everyone assuming that she was living as a guest of the couple? She was paying rent, so were they, and all of them agreed to clean the flat but the couple didn't turn up so she had to do all the work. Yes, she deserves to get some money off the couple for her efforts, as she has enabled them to all get their deposits back, but this may be difficult to achieve. She can console herself with having done the right thing.

lobbyludd

she can try, but she's unlikely to have much luck. I'd notch it up to experience and just be glad I wasn't living with people who took me for granted like this anymore.

pollypenny

Do we charge friends for helping them?

It'd be a sad day if we ever do.

Bill_Lumbergh

MSE_Penelope wrote: »

Should she charge for cleaning?

Yes!

All the rental agreements Ive signed required the place to be clean when vacated. If it isnt the landlord will employ a professional cleaning company to come in and do it, and then deduct the cost from the deposit. the last deduction I saw was ~£200.

She should get a quick quote from a cleaning company to spring clean the flat, then bill the couple 2/3 of it.

Talent

Come on, they knew what they were on with, phones switched off, not contactable, they knew she'd do it 'cos she's like that and she fell for it. Like someone else has said, any landlord with any sense is going to send contract cleaners in after students have lived there anyway.... didn't you watch 'The Young Ones' ??