Cleaning fees after moving out...

Jacqu

I recently moved out of a house and we were charged in total ~£600 in cleaning fees. I wasn't actually there for the final clean up, as I moved out a week earlier than my flatmates, but they assure me that the place was clean for the check out inspection. I trust that they did a good job as they kept the house clean during the year we lived together. We have a list of the fees that we have been charged, some of which seem ridiculous. For example, £65 just to have the oven cleaned?!

We are suspicious that the landlord didn't even hire a cleaner to carry out the work we have been billed for. Can I ask the letting agent to email me a copy of the bill from the cleaning company? Is there anything else you'd recommend or is this something I have to accept and deal with better next time (ie do the final clean up myself and take photos before leaving) ? Thanks!

*Robin*

£600 seems a bit steep unless your flatmates left the debris from their leaving party to be dealt with by the cleaners?

However, I recently had an oven and hob professionally cleaned; didn't think the cooker was in a particularly bad state but fat splatters do burn on.
Two hours and £110 later; the oven, shelves and hob looked almost brand new - decided it was worth it when I'd picked myself up off the floor - so £65 seems very reasonable in comparison (not what you wanted to hear; sorry!).

Oh yes, ask the LL/LA for the receipts to justify this claim.

caringa

Yes and Yes! Ask for receipts and next time, do the final cleaning yourself and take photos. However, some landlords request a professional clean of carpets and cooker in their agreements and will not accept tenants doing it themselves so something to watch out for in the future. BTW dont think £60 is really over the top for cleaning the oven - really depends what state it was in!

BitterAndTwisted

The landlord doesn't have to furnish you with any receipts to prove that the cleaning was done, just that it was required but they will need documentary evidence of their position.

What did the check-in inventory have to say about the state of cleanliness of the property when you signed it?

thelem

How big was the house and what else needed cleaning? Ovens are really hard to clean (everything is baked on), so £60 for that sounds reasonable.

Jacqu

Hi guys, thanks for all the advice so far. The latest development is that we've spoken to the letting agent and they had a different company conduct the check in versus check out. Also, none of the cleaning we've been billed for was actually carried out, according to the landlord. So yeah... seems a little suspicious. Not really sure what to do next but we are thinking about contacting the deposit protection service who hold our deposit.