Renting a house, its a mess, where do we stand?

rylomclovin

My girlfriend and I are moving into our first rental property together (she has previously rented) next Saturday (19th May) obviously we are very excited but after visiting the property again yesterday we are now in a bit of a damp squid!

Having previously viewed the house furnished with the previous tenant still in there we were very happy with the property and it appeared to be in good condition.

However yesterday we met with the Letting Agents, signed the tenancy agreement and handed over the deposit as a cheque. We then went with the agents to have a look at the property again (this time empty so we could take measurements and plan what furniture we needed to take) and we were left very disappointed!

The house was incredibly dirty, there was muck all over the walls, the carpets were stained and still had dog hairs from the previous tenancy. There were holes in doors, paint spilled on the floor, over glass and on doors. And in the lounge there were several holes on the wall where the previous tenant had attached his TV!

The agent who was with us agreed that the property needed a clean and needed some work. However she never actually said that they would complete the work for us!

Having read through the tenancy agreement it would appear that the previous tenant has broken the agreement in several places. But the letting agent appears to be fine with this even after informing us that the property was in immaculate condition when the previous tenant had moved in, so are we right in thinking that the repairs should come from the previous tenets deposit??

So now we are a bit confused, we do really like the house and the area and we cant wait to move in. But we don't want to move into a house that is dirty and needs work!

We are going to speak to the letting agent again today, is there any advice that you could give?

00ec25

yes the cleaning costs shpould come from the previous tenant's deposit BUT you have no guarantee or abilty to force the LL to spend that money on the cleaning work before you move in. It is the LL's money to do with as they please (remember the LA works for the LL, and will not take instructions from you)

if the LL does not spend on cleaning, then make sure your moving in inventory records the exact state of the property so that you yourself cannot be charged for returing it in a dirty state when you eventually move out

squeeks

Take photos of the place empty and make sure everything your not happy with is down on the inventory.

You are not going to get the LL/LA to do anything, now you've paid your money and signed a contact. Just make sure when you leave they can't say it was immaculate when you moved in and take a wedge out of your deposit.

pmlindyloo

When you visit the LA ask if the property is going to be professionally cleaned and the damage going to be repaired before you move in.

As you correctly point out this should be done and the money taken from the previous tenants' deposit.

If they say no then suggest that you will have it professionally cleaned and the damage repaired and send the bills to them.

If they still say no then say you would like them to accompany you to the house to do an inventory and take a good camera with you and take detailed pictures of everything (need to be dated)This should be enough to make them realise that you mean business.

If they are still adamant that they will not pay for anything then keep visiting and in very loud voices let everyone around know that making you start a tenancy with the house in this condition is totally unacceptable. Their reputation should mean everything to them so also add htat you will everyone you know what terrible agents they are.

Telephone the LL yourself and make sure he understands the situation.

Then you have a week. If still no luck then ask if you can go in before the 19th to clean up/repair. Obviously don't do this until you have exhausted all the other possibilities.