DPS verdict on profession cleaning.

Back_2_Black

Quote from the DPS verdict:

"The Tenant is obliged to return the property in the same state of cleanliness as at the start of the tenancy, after allowing for fair wear and tear. The Landlord can only require a full professional clean at the end of the tenancy where it can be evidenced that the property was fully professionally cleaned prior to the Tenant moving in. I note that the inventory states that the property was “professionally cleaned for tenancy”. On this basis I consider that the obligation placed on the Tenant to have the property professionally cleaned at the end of the tenancy is fair."

The Landlord was successful in his claim for professional cleaning costs.

wanting_an_easy_life

Hi B2B. That makes sense doesn't it?

I mean, my LLs had the oven and carpets cleaned professionally when we moved in. I expect to do the same before we leave?

However, I have always questioned the integrity of the word "Professional".

I hate relying on Wikipedia, but it does seem to cover off what classes as a "Professional"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional

In particular,

Due to the personal and confidential nature of many professional services, and thus the necessity to place a great deal of trust in them, most professionals are subject to strict codes of conduct enshrining rigorous ethical and moral obligations.

So define professionally cleaned.

My friend's wife is a manages a number of cleaning contracts on behalf of a local authority and some private companies. She is not only good at her job, but also is qualified to do so. She is possibly the nearest in the cleaning business to what I would regard as a professional.

On the other hand, Mavis who cleans a few people's houses to top up her pension is not what I would regard as a professional.

On a contract basis, the former would probably charge up to £50 an hour. The latter £5 an hour.

agrinnall

I think that's a very poor verdict. Was it made by DPS or by a court? I suspect if you could be bothered with the hassle of taking it to court they would find in your favour.

Back_2_Black

The verdict was by the DPS.
I had nearly £700 deducted for professional cleaning of all carpets, curtains and a professional clean for the rest of the house.

ValHaller

Back_2_Black wrote: »

The verdict was by the DPS.
I had nearly £700 deducted for professional cleaning of all carpets, curtains and a professional clean for the rest of the house.

It is not a remarkable decision if the property was not in the same state of cleanliness as that when the tenancy commenced.

00ec25

Back_2_Black wrote: »

The verdict was by the DPS.
I had nearly £700 deducted for professional cleaning of all carpets, curtains and a professional clean for the rest of the house.

so what is your beef?

if you don't like it then your only remaining option is to dispute it in court
if you do so then the guidance from the OFT has (not to my knowledge) not yet been put through a test case so you would actually be doing everyone a favour if you set the legal precedent

the OFT guidance on unfair contract terms regards the requirement to have a professional clean as being a statement on the quality of the cleaning NOT on who did it, ie you can DIY to "professional" standards and that is the same end result as having a "professional" company do it at your cost

see http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/reports/unfair_contract_terms/oft356.pdf
- excessive cleaning charges page 50
- professional cleaning page 84

as i said though the OFT guidance is not law and so until a legal precedent is set either you accept the DPS ruling or you risk further money on legal action. To be blunt: "put up or shut up!" as you must have left it dirty in the first place otherwise you would not have had to pay for the cleaning in the first place

Back_2_Black

Thank you 00ec25 for been so blunt.
I did not leave the house dirty. I cleaned it to a high standard, but I did not use profession cleaners, so I had no receipts.
The Landlord challenged this with the DPS and won.

ValHaller

Back_2_Black wrote: »

Thank you 00ec25 for been so blunt.
I did not leave the house dirty. I cleaned it to a high standard, but I did not use profession cleaners, so I had no receipts.
The Landlord challenged this with the DPS and won.

Then it is a perverse decision if the LL was not alleging the place was dirty.

Hump

Maybe you should set yourself up as a professional cleaning company and tout for business at local lettings agents - there would appear to be a fair bit of potential profit in it.

But seriously - the arbitration scheme is still loads better than the previous situation where some landlords would regularly withhold deposits in their entirety - completely fair? no. Fairer? yep - and you will see lots of posts on here from disgruntled landlords who also think that arbitration has it's faults!

G_M

It is a perverse decision.

Wantinganeasylife discussed the definition of 'professional' in the context of cleaning companies and clearly there is huge scope for legal argument about whether Mrs Mop, who runs a part-time business from home, is 'professional' or not.

But as 00ec25, it is really about whether the job is done to a 'professional' standard or not.

If a tenant brings in a VAT-registered, Ltd company to clean the property, and they do a cr*p job (eg skip the oven and don't clean behand the doors), then the LL should be able to make a claim (assuming these areas were clean at the outset.)

Whereas if Mrs Mop (or the tenant's mother for that matter) cleans meticulously, then the LL should NOT be able to make a deposit deduction. It's common sense really.

<sebb>

I'd be interested to hear a bit more about this. What did the check out report say about the condition of the property?

I recall pre deposit scheme days having a similar argument with a landlord. They wanted hundreds for a professional clean/carpets cleaned/curtains dry cleaned but the check out report only said that the skirting boards needed a light dusting and the curtains a light vacuuming. We had quite a battle with them in the end to try and get our money back. We were quite naive at the time. The contract said we couldn't take them to court to dispute the deposit until we'd first used the agencies mediation service at a cost to us of £95 per hour which we believed!!. So in the end we gave up and lost about £600 after 6 months of going back and forth. They did back down on £50 for the windows because the check out report said they were cleaner than when we arrived.