Deducting deposit for cleaning/rearraning furniture to original state

robert32

Hi there,


I've recently had a flat I've been renting out vacated. One of the tenants hasn't left his room in the cleanest of conditions and not returned the furniture to its original state. He has accepted this and offered to lose some of the deposit.


I don't want to take advantage and want to be fair. I intend to sort the issues myself, so what is fair deduct? Minimum wage * the time taken? The cost of bringing in a cleaner?


Any views welcome.






Cheers,


R.

Red-Squirrel_2

Rearranging furniture? You mean moving it around the room? How much will that cost you?

G_M

robert32 wrote: »

.... hasn't left his room in the cleanest of conditions and

not returned the furniture to its original state.
.

What matters is how it compares with the condition when he moved in. Comment please? and what exactly does the check-in inventory say? Did he sign it?

'Original state' or 'original position'?

If he's damaged it, then get quotes for repair/replacement.

If he's moved it, move it back!

robert32

Red-Squirrel wrote: »

Rearranging furniture? You mean moving it around the room? How much will that cost you?

Well, actually it takes quite a bit of time (hence the reason why it hasn't been done). Due to the shape of the room, it means dismantling beds, removing mattresses, reassembling beds, putting mattress back.., plus no doubt some cleaning .


So yes, I'm loosing at least an hour of my time to do this. What value can I place on that?

bertiewhite

Is there a reason why the furniture needs to be put back to its original location? Why not leave it where it is and let a future tenant move it if they want to?

DoaM

£10 per hour plus cleaning materials. Let's say £30-£40 deducted from the deposit. Is it worth the hassle?

G_M

robert32 wrote: »

Well, actually it takes quite a bit of time (hence the reason why it hasn't been done). Due to the shape of the room, it means dismantling beds, removing mattresses, reassembling beds, putting mattress back.., plus no doubt some cleaning .


So yes, I'm loosing at least an hour of my time to do this. What value can I place on that?

Good grief! This is simply one of the costs associated with your business. When a tenant leaves, I go in and I know there will be jobs to do to get ready for the next tenancy.

Yes, if there is damage, I'll charge. If the place is dirty (and I made sure it was clean before that tenant moved in) I'll charge for cleaning. But there's always a bit of a wipe-round/hoover needed come what may.

Suck it up. Spend an hour getting the property straight, and be gratefull the place isn't trashed, or filthy, or abandoned with rent arrears.

(when I go shopping with women [apologies for the sexism] I'm amazed how they take clothes off the shelves, leave them lying around, leave them in the fitting room etc etc - the shop staff don't charge to put everything back; it's their job!)

parkrunner

robert32 wrote: »

Well, actually it takes quite a bit of time (hence the reason why it hasn't been done). Due to the shape of the room, it means dismantling beds, removing mattresses, reassembling beds, putting mattress back.., plus no doubt some cleaning .


So yes, I'm loosing at least an hour of my time to do this. What value can I place on that?

This has to be a wind up.

itchyfeet123

robert32 wrote: »

Well, actually it takes quite a bit of time (hence the reason why it hasn't been done). Due to the shape of the room, it means dismantling beds, removing mattresses, reassembling beds, putting mattress back.., plus no doubt some cleaning .


So yes, I'm loosing at least an hour of my time to do this. What value can I place on that?

If the tenant went to what seems like a reasonable amount of trouble to move it in the first place, I would wonder if it might be better the way s/he had it. Especially since you describe the room as being odd shaped, there's quite possibly something functional that is improved by the new layout, even if it's less aesthetically pleasing to someone who doesn't actually live in the room. Your next tenant might be pleased not to have to reverse your hard work.

PasturesNew

Clean and charge.

Leave the furniture ..... tell the new tenant they're welcome to move it around and point out how to dismantle the bed if it's not obvious.

The new tenant might prefer it how it is.

Marvel1

robert32 wrote: »

So yes, I'm loosing at least an hour of my time to do this. What value can I place on that?

Minimum wage.

But in seriousness, any reason why needs to put back and not just left?