Aaahhh! Landord wants to deduct £420 from deposit!

allthingsmustpass

I wouldn't do too much for it, certainly not get any expensive 'professional' cleaning done. Your only obligation is to have it in the same state it was in when you moved in, except for fair wear and tear. Any clause that says you should iron the curtains or whatever other nonsense can be ignored.

Have you ever moved into a property that had been properly cleaned? I never have, if you give them any money they just keep it.

The fact is, if they are going to try and rip you off they have decided to do so before they enter the door. Don't give them an easy excuse to use but at the same time don't go bending over backwards for these a.holes, your reward will be an attempt to steal your deposit in most cases anyway.

That sounds rather cynical I know but I speak from experience. The agent will not be thorough at all, ultimately their aim is to remain on the clock whilst doing some errands in the town so their primary objective will be getting out the door. You can use that to your advantage and book the checkout on a friday afternoon if you don't want them snooping around too much.

The decision of whether to attempt to steal from you will come later in the office and bear no relation to the state you left the place in…. unless you give them an obvious reason to use.

When they attempt to hold back some of your deposit dispute it with the deposit protection scheme and they will back down. They hope you will roll over, and some do, which is why they will try it on.

crystal1330

This is unfortunately very common, which is exactly why I refused to pay my last 6 weeks rent, which was equal to my deposit and told them they could keep the deposit! They wasn't happy but they didn't have a choice!

Keep on disputing it and in future, I would advise that on your last Day you get it in writing that they have checked the property and they are satisfied and will return your deposit. You can then use that in the case of any dispute, I even done this even though I wasn't asking for it back because any dispute amount would then have been owed by me. My agent picked up on a few cleaning issues, so I delayed giving keys back for two hours and sorted them out, got it in writing and it was sorted. They can be absolute poo holes when they want to be!

I hope you get your money back soon!

goonarmy

Guest101 wrote: »

U cannot be forced to use a company, if they try to enforce the clause they will need to prove a 'loss' which won't be applicable if u return the property to the state at the start of the tenancy less wear and tear.

If the property was professionally cleaned prior to moving in will it not have to be to the same standard? Im not sure thats always going to be achievable by the lay person without industrial equipment? And is the loss not them saying it needs professional cleaning so cost of cleaners plus their markup? Therefore cheaper to arrange it your self.

lindsaygalaxy

It was a private rental, they have only gone through an agent for the first time since they have owned the house this time. Even though it wasnt stated we had the curtains dry cleaned, windows profesionally cleaned (which they also moaned about so I told them to take it up with the window cleaner). They didnt do a 'proper' check as they put it to nearly a week after we moved out just before the new people moved in and only when the new agent said that certain things needed professional cleaning - they left a message on my phone stating it. It has taken nearly a month and a half now for them to respond online - every time I contacted them they just said they were looking into it!

goonarmy

lindsaygalaxy wrote: »

It was a private rental, they have only gone through an agent for the first time since they have owned the house this time. Even though it wasnt stated we had the curtains dry cleaned, windows profesionally cleaned (which they also moaned about so I told them to take it up with the window cleaner). They didnt do a 'proper' check as they put it to nearly a week after we moved out just before the new people moved in and only when the new agent said that certain things needed professional cleaning - they left a message on my phone stating it. It has taken nearly a month and a half now for them to respond online - every time I contacted them they just said they were looking into it!

Sounds like you will have a good case agaisnt them. Keep all the recepits

Guest101

goonarmy wrote: »

If the property was professionally cleaned prior to moving in will it not have to be to the same standard? Im not sure thats always going to be achievable by the lay person without industrial equipment? And is the loss not them saying it needs professional cleaning so cost of cleaners plus their markup? Therefore cheaper to arrange it your self.

If u cannot get it to the same standard, by all means hire a company 99.9% of the time it isn't the case.

And lol their loss is the mark up. Good luck to them in court.

whalster

If a machine is used then it de facto needs a machine to get it to the same standard if you read my post it mentions wear and tear which is usually benchmarked at five years maximum as is decorating in most
Eases .
Any deposit resolution will if it is in the contract to have them industrially cleaned with a carpet cleaning machine will rule for them to be done to the 'same standard'.

Also 101 if you had read more thoroughly you would have seen that I accept cleaning by the tenant so long as they hire an equivalent professional machine.

It makes no difference to me as a private landlord I make nothing from it .

It's like hiring a car you hire it full of fuel and are expected to take it back full of fuel or you are charged for any shortfall ,where as wear to the tyres comes as part of the hire..

Guest101

whalster wrote: »

If a machine is used then it de facto needs a machine to get it to the same standard if you read my post it mentions wear and tear which is usually benchmarked at five years maximum as is decorating in most
Eases .
Any deposit resolution will if it is in the contract to have them industrially cleaned with a carpet cleaning machine will rule for them to be done to the 'same standard'.

Also 101 if you had read more thoroughly you would have seen that I accept cleaning by the tenant so long as they hire an equivalent professional machine.

It makes no difference to me as a private landlord I make nothing from it .

It's like hiring a car you hire it full of fuel and are expected to take it back full of fuel or you are charged for any shortfall ,where as wear to the tyres comes as part of the hire..

Your almost correct - just because a machine is used does not mean they must use it too. Very correctly used words 'to the same standard'. Because arbitration never enforces a professional clean clause.

crystal1330

Did your landlords raise the dispute within 14 Days of you moving out as this is the legal requirement for them to either agree for it to be released or disputed.

Unfortunately, many landlords simply raise a dispute in order to (a) keep the funds longer if they are the holders, (b) just to try it or (c) because they genuinely believe you have not honoured the tenancy.

In mine it said we had to have it professionally cleaned, we didn't but agreed this in writing first. If your tenancy states it needs to be returned in the state you found it, which is a very messy term, it will ride on the inventory. You would have been required to sign the check out inventory and any disputes should have been raised then. They cannot sign off the check-out inventory and then raise disputes over cleanliness and if the issues mentioned are NOT in this basic inventory, then that is THEIR fault and not yours. They must have proof of before and after condition.

It is sometimes possible to only have proof of the after condition and still win. So lets say there was no inventory when you checked in and when you left the carpets where stained with red wine everywhere and the oven was fifthly, any reasonable tenant would complain about such condition when they move in, in writing to the landlord. The absence of any complaint of the condition of the property, coupled with the proof of terrible condition when you left, can mean they can claim for the damage.

In your case, it sounds like the inventory was signed, you handed keys back and now they just want to dispute it for the hell of it. TDS disputes have been known to last a year or even longer, you will get your money back, it will probably just take a while.

Meanwhile, any proof you have of the condition when you left, such as

-Inventory
-Statement from any third party that visited that is neutral, such as inventory personnel (even if the actual inventory didn't cover something, they may be able to vouch for the good condition it was left in)
- Statement of truth from you about the condition
- Any dated photos from around the time you vacated
- Any correspondence clarifying what is required of you and what you have done
- Your tenancy, highlighting your moving out conditions

Good luck!

Guest101

crystal1330 wrote: »

Did your landlords raise the dispute within 14 Days of you moving out as this is the legal requirement for them to either agree for it to be released or disputed.

Unfortunately, many landlords simply raise a dispute in order to (a) keep the funds longer if they are the holders, (b) just to try it or (c) because they genuinely believe you have not honoured the tenancy.

In mine it said we had to have it professionally cleaned, we didn't but agreed this in writing first. If your tenancy states it needs to be returned in the state you found it, which is a very messy term, it will ride on the inventory. You would have been required to sign the check out inventory and any disputes should have been raised then. They cannot sign off the check-out inventory and then raise disputes over cleanliness and if the issues mentioned are NOT in this basic inventory, then that is THEIR fault and not yours. They must have proof of before and after condition.

It is sometimes possible to only have proof of the after condition and still win. So lets say there was no inventory when you checked in and when you left the carpets where stained with red wine everywhere and the oven was fifthly, any reasonable tenant would complain about such condition when they move in, in writing to the landlord. The absence of any complaint of the condition of the property, coupled with the proof of terrible condition when you left, can mean they can claim for the damage.

In your case, it sounds like the inventory was signed, you handed keys back and now they just want to dispute it for the hell of it. TDS disputes have been known to last a year or even longer, you will get your money back, it will probably just take a while.

Meanwhile, any proof you have of the condition when you left, such as

-Inventory
-Statement from any third party that visited that is neutral, such as inventory personnel (even if the actual inventory didn't cover something, they may be able to vouch for the good condition it was left in)
- Statement of truth from you about the condition
- Any dated photos from around the time you vacated
- Any correspondence clarifying what is required of you and what you have done
- Your tenancy, highlighting your moving out conditions

Good luck!

Excellent post, just 1 point. Not complaining would not be proof. If u moved in with stained carpets and knew about it then it's unlikely to be mentioned again.

But ur sentiment is right. If they had receipts for new carpet and fitting for just before u moved in that could be evidence