Rental deposit refund for shared house - cleaning cost

slig

Hello,


My flatmate and I have moved out of our shared flat. The landlord is charging us to have the oven cleaned. I had a cleaner clean the kitchen before I moved out (just a few hours work, not a full move-out clean), and whilst he cleaned inside the oven he did not do the glass at the front, and there is also some ingrained discolouration to the base of the oven.


My flatmate (S) has lived there for five years, I have lived there for three. Before I moved in, a friend of my flatmate (K) lived there for two years.


When S and K moved in the oven had been professionally cleaned. When I moved in, two years later, it had not. I personally cleaned the oven and the rest of the flat when I first moved in to get it to a level of cleanliness I was happy with.


I therefore feel I should not be charged a cleaning fee, as the oven is cleaner now than it was when I moved in.


HOWEVER, my question is, if I dispute the fee and win, will my flatmate then be charged the full oven cleaning cost himself? If so, it is not worth disputing it and S and I can just work it out between ourselves (eg a 75:25 split).


Also, my landlord says that 'Unfortunately you signed the inventory and did not state the oven was dirty, which means a clean oven.' Is he correct? I didn't realise that I was supposed to be commenting on the cleanliness of items on the inventory. S and I did the inventory ourselves when I moved in, as the landlord lives in Australia and we rent directly through him rather than through an agent.


Whilst this particular thing is not a huge amount, he is not a good landlord and I don't want him to get away with anything.

Guest101

Is the deposit protected?


Do you have 2 separate tenancies?

slig

Yes the deposit is protected. I believe we are on the same tenancy agreement.

pmlindyloo

slig wrote: »

Hello,


My flatmate and I have moved out of our shared flat. The landlord is charging us to have the oven cleaned. I had a cleaner clean the kitchen before I moved out (just a few hours work, not a full move-out clean), and whilst he cleaned inside the oven he did not do the glass at the front, and there is also some ingrained discolouration to the base of the oven.


My flatmate (S) has lived there for five years, I have lived there for three. Before I moved in, a friend of my flatmate (K) lived there for two years.


When S and K moved in the oven had been professionally cleaned. When I moved in, two years later, it had not. I personally cleaned the oven and the rest of the flat when I first moved in to get it to a level of cleanliness I was happy with.


I therefore feel I should not be charged a cleaning fee, as the oven is cleaner now than it was when I moved in.


HOWEVER, my question is, if I dispute the fee and win, will my flatmate then be charged the full oven cleaning cost himself? If so, it is not worth disputing it and S and I can just work it out between ourselves (eg a 75:25 split).


Also, my landlord says that 'Unfortunately you signed the inventory and did not state the oven was dirty, which means a clean oven.' Is he correct? I didn't realise that I was supposed to be commenting on the cleanliness of items on the inventory. S and I did the inventory ourselves when I moved in, as the landlord lives in Australia and we rent directly through him rather than through an agent.


Whilst this particular thing is not a huge amount, he is not a good landlord and I don't want him to get away with anything.

When you moved in and completed the inventory you should have commented on the state of the oven. Unfortunately you didn't do so. Any dispute would take into account the inventory and unless there were photographs showing the cleanliness of the oven when you moved in then it is likely to be based on the original inventory.

So your options are:

Dispute it with the DPS
Pay up and split the cost
Agree with your flatmate the percentage costs

If this is the only thing that is being deducted then personally I think it isn't worth the hassle.

Perhaps a more salient point is whether your deposit is protected and how your deposit was dealt with.

Did you pay the deposit to the LL and was it protected?
Did you pay the deposit to the out going tenant and the deposit is still in the lead tenant's name?
Who is the lead tenant?
Did you have a joint tennacy or two single tenancies?

slig

Thanks for your replies. As background info, the landlord is saying he will deduct for other things including:


- a broken glass covering on an undercounter light in the kitchen (we plan to accept this deduction, however it broke by itself (maybe through heat?) rather than us smashing it, so I do wonder if it's technically wear and tear)
- extra keys for balcony and window (my flatmate is going to return these to the new agent so this should be ok)
- 'handling charges' for arranging key cutting and organising contractors. I do not plan to pay this.




In answer to your Qs, yes the deposit is DPS protected, it was paid to the landlord. My flatmate is the lead tenant, and we have a joint tenancy. We re-signed a contract when I moved in three years ago.


So sounds like I should swallow the cost (perhaps at a 75:25 split - my flatmate has actually said he is happy to pay 100% but that doesn't seem fair), and take it as a life lesson on how to do an inventory.