Deposit and redecorating/cleaning

Eejay

He said he could paper! The wallpaper in the hallway is not bad enough that it needs stripping, but that is what the LA is saying. It has a few more joins than it should have but it's not really any worse than it was. It just needs a quick paint. One coat in each room would be sufficient - it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

Anyway, my biggest issue is the cleaning, particularly the carpet cleaning. The person who moves in after the next tenant might hate cats or be allergic, so a fair contribution towards carpet cleaning would be fine, but I can't see the point in having them cleaned now and then again when this next tenant moves out. The carpets are not thick with cat fluff - they're quite flat carpets and fluff doesn't really get worked into them. And they're insisting we have them done because 'that's what we've agreed in the contract' - but that's not what it says.

I also don't see why we should pay £160+ for 6 hours of cleaning when I'm sure 4 (£110) would get it to the standard it was when we moved in. It was far from spotless - it was presentable but not immaculate.

I'm not being spiteful - we're not hoping to get 100% of the deposit back - but I just don't want the LA encouraging the LL to splash out at our expense.

Eejay

notanewuser wrote: »

And left an extremely shoddy job!

Did your LL ask your FIL to decorate?

'Extremely shoddy' is a bit dramatic - it's not perfect but it'd pass as acceptable with a coat of paint. The bit around the front door isn't great because there's a wonky join but if that section was taken out the paper in that one bit could be replaced and then it'd be pretty much fine.

searchlight123

God almighty!
if i had a tenant like you i would be livid. its not like you didn't know you were moving out. you had plenty of time to at least clean it properly. did you not want to live in a clean property - particularly as you had a young baby there also?
just ask yourself, would you want to live in a property in the condition you were happy to leave this one in? if you answer yes, then i think your landlord is well shot of you. you keep saying the next tenant owns a cat as well. so what? hopefully she treats the property with more respect than you did. i somehow think you have taken advantage of your LL's easy going nature.

notanewuser

Eejay wrote: »

'Extremely shoddy' is a bit dramatic - it's not perfect but it'd pass as acceptable with a coat of paint. The bit around the front door isn't great because there's a wonky join but if that section was taken out the paper in that one bit could be replaced and then it'd be pretty much fine.

You've damaged furniture and done a bodge job of papering after your cats wrecked it. You couldn't be bothered to find the "couple of hours" you say it would take to paint. It doesn't matter whether the next tenant has cats, giraffes or a Siberian tiger, if the contract you signed states the carpets need cleaning then they need cleaning! I'd be embarrassed to leave a rental property in the way you've described it. You think it's everyone else's fault!

[Deleted User]

I don't really get you. You admit you've left the place in a bit of a state.., bad decorating (that only needs paint to cover it up.., I think not), the carpet needs steaming or cleaning (steamer would have cost £30 but of course, that would have taken some effort on your part) but you don't want the LL 'splashing out at our expense'. I don't suppose you could possibly admit that the LL might need to spend to bring the place up to an acceptable standard.., not the state you've left it in?

I am a tenant.., not a LL, and your posts are irritating even to me lol.

theartfullodger

notanewuser wrote: »

...if the contract you signed states the carpets need cleaning then they need cleaning!....

No: See OFT356 page 48
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/unfair-terms-in-tenancy-agreements--2

• cleaning charges - a requirement to pay for cleaning at the end of the tenancy may be unfair if it is vague or unclear about the basis on which money will be demanded, or the extent of the cleaning involved. Such a term is more likely to be fair if the amount of the charge is expressly limited to reasonable compensation for a failure to take care of the property (see also our views below on excessive charges)

I had a tenant who was a bit OCD on the cleaning front, returned property in much better condition than they took it- in such circumstances enforcing a cleaning charge just because the tenancy says so would clearly be both unfair & stupid.

Cheers!

Guest101

Eejay wrote: »

He said he could paper! The wallpaper in the hallway is not bad enough that it needs stripping, but that is what the LA is saying. It has a few more joins than it should have but it's not really any worse than it was. It just needs a quick paint. One coat in each room would be sufficient - it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours.

Anyway, my biggest issue is the cleaning, particularly the carpet cleaning. The person who moves in after the next tenant might hate cats or be allergic, so a fair contribution towards carpet cleaning would be fine, but I can't see the point in having them cleaned now and then again when this next tenant moves out. The carpets are not thick with cat fluff - they're quite flat carpets and fluff doesn't really get worked into them. And they're insisting we have them done because 'that's what we've agreed in the contract' - but that's not what it says.

I also don't see why we should pay £160+ for 6 hours of cleaning when I'm sure 4 (£110) would get it to the standard it was when we moved in. It was far from spotless - it was presentable but not immaculate.

I'm not being spiteful - we're not hoping to get 100% of the deposit back - but I just don't want the LA encouraging the LL to splash out at our expense.

Your problem, take him to court if you feel he's done such a bad job.

Ok so I'd say reasonably LL can charge upto £25 per hour for the painting. 2-3 hours, since u underestimate a lot, so that's upto your £75 limit.

You didn't clean the carpets, you should've done. U say £110? Fine, that's £185 so far.

What about the damage to the light? - £30-40 seems fair if I've under stood it already. That's £225. - based on what you've said. So triple your estimate

clark24

Your cat needs a scratching post and to be trained to not wreck other peoples property!

If any of my pets or children trashed a house to the extent yours did, and I couldn't repair it to a matching or better standard I would in no way expect my deposit back, it is not your house so you can't think it is ok to shrug off your responsibility towards being a tenant.

You have a baby, who will soon be a toddler etc, they can be quite destructive too if left to their own devices for even a short length of time (like the cat obviously was) will you just act like the damage your child causes is not big deal and not your problem?

It is people like you who make it nearly impossible to rent a house when you have pets!!!!!

mrginge

Now if we're getting into the technicalities of who's actual 'fault' all this is, it seems fairly clear to me that the real liability lies with the cat.

Is there no way you can get said feline to do a bit of painting?
Granted, the lack of opposable thumb may cause issues.

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team)

Happy Christmas.

Eejay

It's not filthy, it's just a bit dusty from moving furniture etc. We were more than willing to pay to leave it in the condition that we got it in, but they are expecting it to be better than it was. We've paid up until tomorrow but check-out was this morning - if I'd had time today I'd have gone back to clean it myself.

Anyway, I'm not going to feel bad about this one. We could be horrible and claim the entire deposit back since there was no inventory, but we just want to leave it in the same condition we found it:

- Paint four rooms - but not remove wallpaper because that's ridiculous.
- Cleaned to the same standard it was when we left it.
- Not pay pointlessly for the carpet to be cleaned.

My husband is a landlord and each time a tenant moves out we have to touch up the paintwork where the sofa has been scuffing against the wall (a few scuff marks are understandable but at one point it was taken back to the plaster for about a metre along the wall) and clean where they've not bothered doing anything other than a quick wipe down. He doesn't expect a professional clean (the block doesn't allow pets but I'm sure he wouldn't insist on a professional clean even if they'd had cats) or for the tenants to sort any damage they've caused. We're generally more laid back about things though.