My landlord is charging me £160 for a deep clean of the old property what to do?

brinkytwiddleee

My landlord is charging me £160 for a deep clean of the old property taken off my deposit after living there for 7 years. should I contest it?

I was a model tenant all that time and scrubbed the whole place down thoroughly before moving out.

Yes there was wear and grime on the walls to a degree but I'd been living there 7 years! why should I have to foot the bill for that. At least not all of it.

Also he wasnt the model landlord. The wooden flooring had warped and come up in the kitchen due to a leak and he didnt fix that for 6 months or more because he gave the excuse he was waiting for the insurance claim to come in to fix it. Then magically when I am moving out it suddenly got fixed. So it seems unfair I think to make me pay for the deep clean when he did that.

Thoughts? Is it like agency fees where you just have to eat it or do you have more rights in this case in terms of contesting it and actually having an effect? From my cursory reading I am thinking the latter.

Also to note, In 2014 I got a letter from the deposit scheme saying that my deposit is unprotected. I ignored it at the time and meant to check what it meant but never got round to it.

Does that change matters?

FBaby

Cleaning and Tear and Wear are two different things. You should have to pay a penny for anything deemed T&W, however, grime is accumulated dirt, so if that's what they had to remove, hiring a cleaner, they might have a case for the cost of professional cleaning.

aneary

As for a receipt.

Did you take pictures when you moved in and then when you moved out compare.

AnotherJoe

brinkytwiddleee wrote: »

I was a model tenant all that time and scrubbed the whole place down thoroughly before moving out.

Yes there was wear and grime on the walls to a degree but I'd been living there 7 years! why should I have to foot the bill for that. At least not all of it.

Somewhat of a contradiction?

brinkytwiddleee wrote: »

Also to note, In 2014 I got a letter from the deposit scheme saying that my deposit is unprotected. I ignored it at the time and meant to check what it meant but never got round to it.

Does that change matters?

Yes and no. I believe you can sue for 3x. Nothing to do with the cleaning though,

Pixie5740

Assuming this is England or Wales, read G_M's Deposits: payment, protection & return.

G_M

Comments in red:

brinkytwiddleee wrote: »

My landlord is charging me £160 for a deep clean of the old property taken off my deposit after living there for 7 years. should I contest it?
Not on the basis of that paragraph. The 7 years is irrelevant. During your occupancy you should have been cleaning.

I was a model tenant all that time and scrubbed the whole place down thoroughly before moving out.
To the same level of cleanliness as it was when you moved in? There is no allowance for 'wear and tear', or time, so far as cleaning is concerned.

Yes there was wear and grime on the walls to a degree but I'd been living there 7 years! why should I have to foot the bill for that. At least not all of it.
'Wear'? You are not responsible for this and if it is reflective of 7 years (as opposed to damage), then a deduction is not justified.

'grime'? You are responsible for this and so a deduction is justified.

Which was it? Or both?

Also he wasnt the model landlord. The wooden flooring had warped and come up in the kitchen due to a leak and he didnt fix that for 6 months or more because he gave the excuse he was waiting for the insurance claim to come in to fix it.
Seperate issue and irrelevant. You should have enforced repairs correctly at the time.

Then magically when I am moving out it suddenly got fixed. So it seems unfair I think to make me pay for the deep clean when he did that.
No connection at all.

......

Also to note, In 2014 I got a letter from the deposit scheme saying that my deposit is unprotected.

It does not change the rights/wrongs of the deductions. It is a separate matter, but you may be able to use it as a bargaining tool.

Read:

* Deposits: payment, protection and return

SuboJvR

Our tenancy agreement states that the place was professionally cleaned before we moved in and so we would get it professionally cleaned before we moved out. Anything like that in yours?

martindow

SuboJvR wrote: »

Our tenancy agreement states that the place was professionally cleaned before we moved in and so we would get it professionally cleaned before we moved out. Anything like that in yours?

Even if there is a clause like this, it is not considered enforceable. The place needs to be cleaned to the same standard at the end as it was at the beginning. Whether someone is paid to do it or you clean it yourself is irrelevant.

ellectrastar

Nothing unusual to be charged if the property isn't clean. One of my tenants left recently and was charged for cleaning the oven as it was in a mess. Why should the landlord foot the bill when you're the one living there? You have the opportunity to a) keep the property clean whilst you're in it, and b) give it a damn good clean before you leave. Even if you're not the owner a rented property is still your home, and you should treat it as such.

Reue

SuboJvR wrote: »

Our tenancy agreement states that the place was professionally cleaned before we moved in and so we would get it professionally cleaned before we moved out. Anything like that in yours?

How does one become a professional cleaner? What is the qualification or registration required?

charlesworth82

Reue wrote: »

How does one become a professional cleaner? What is the qualification or registration required?

I think profession comes with payment. Clean it yourself and pay yourself