Tenant leaving - hasnt left the house clean

Fuzzyness

I'm canvassing views if you would be so kind. my tenant of nearly 6 years has just moved out. he was on a AST and his deposit was protected by the DPS. prior to him moving out I asked him to ensure the garden was tidy and that he cleaned the house. having moved out it transpired that he didn't get round to do either. I'm less bothered about the garden but more so about the state of the house as I want to relet it quickly. I've had a quote for a deep clean and was wondering how others have dealt with deductions from deposit via the DPS. having been a tenant in the past I'm well aware of how annoying deductions from the deposit can be but in this case he hasn't left the house in the same state as it was when he moved in. my head says I should dig my heels in and deduct it.

Guest101

ALL of that is irrelevant unless you have an inventory signed by the tenant that says the house was clean when they moved in.


Was it clean?

Fuzzyness

good point. i'll dig out what we got when he moved in.

G_M

What condition was the property in when the tenant moved in?

what evidence do you have as to the state at that time?

How much of the problem is genuine dirt and how much is wear and tear after 6 years?

To be honest after 6 years you probobly need to redecorate anyway so the cleaning becomes moot.

Same questions apply to the garden.

red_devil

its your house just clean it up.

Fuzzyness

red_devil wrote: »

its your house just clean it up.

if I was living in it I would have done it before I moved out or paid someone to do it for me.

Fuzzyness

G_M wrote: »

What condition was the property in when the tenant moved in?

what evidence do you have as to the state at that time?

How much of the problem is genuine dirt and how much is wear and tear after 6 years?

To be honest after 6 years you probobly need to redecorate anyway so the cleaning becomes moot.

Same questions apply to the garden.

I agree that after 6 years there will be a degree of ware and tear and I'm happy to decorate and put right things that have worn out over time. I've no intention to try and recoup any of these costs as these are part and parcel of letting a house and the money spent on these is for the benefit of the new tenant.


in terms of what it was like when he moved in, it had been cleaned professionally by the former tenant as they were an MOD tenant and that was a stipulation of their occupation of the property. so in my eyes it was very clean and tidy.


I'll dig out what we got when the previous tenant moved out.


thanks for the advice.

Guest101

Fuzzyness wrote: »

I agree that after 6 years there will be a degree of ware and tear and I'm happy to decorate and put right things that have worn out over time. I've no intention to try and recoup any of these costs as these are part and parcel of letting a house and the money spent on these is for the benefit of the new tenant.


in terms of what it was like when he moved in, it had been cleaned professionally by the former tenant as they were an MOD tenant and that was a stipulation of their occupation of the property. so in my eyes it was very clean and tidy.


I'll dig out what we got when the previous tenant moved out.


thanks for the advice.

No.


What it was like when the tenant moved out was irrelevant. As was any stipulation you had that they would clean it.


The ONLY thing relevant is evidence of the property when the new tenant moved in.

PasturesNew

After 6 years it's probably irrelevant - in your business it's time for a full clean/tidy/redecorate and refurbish.

So, you should take this time to now give it all a fresh makeover and no charge to the tenant as it's about time it was done.

You'll get a better rent when you relet it too, which will more than cover your costs.

agrinnall

You've had 6 years of rent paid with no voids and you're worried about spending a couple of hundred quid (tax deductible) on cleaning? Are you David Cameron?

LEJC

If there is no signed inventory at the time of the tenant moving in,it is very difficult to prove whether the property was or was not clean when they moved in....

One persons view of clean can sometimes differ from the next...as it would appear you may have already mentioned regarding the professional who occupied the property previously!...sadly how they left the property has no bearing on how it was when the next tenant moved in if no inventory was produced and signed by the incoming tenant.

OP ....is it general dirt and a level of normal dirt or is there something significant that you are wishing to highlight in terms of potentially withholding the deposit?

If it is just a case of the previous tenant didnt get round to cleaning as you suggest in your opening post then the hiring of a domestic deep clean company for a mornings work should mean that you are still able to relet your property on a turnaround as you also made mention of in your opening post....what was the amount of the quote for the deep clean that you have obtained?....

going forward I would suggest the use of a clear inventory to prevent any confusion on how clean something is when the next tenant moves out.