Rental house dirty

Watski

Hi, looking for some advice please.


I’ve recently moved into a rented house – however it is becoming very apparent that the last tenant made no attempt to clean it before she left (and probably long before that), and the landlord only literally brushed the surface when it was back in his possession. When I went to view the house the previous tenant had a dog, she said that the landlord hadn’t given permission for it but that he lived on the same street and had seen her walking it and had never mentioned it in the 3 years that she was there. The house was good though, quiet and in a perfect area for my 2 year old son.

The more I have cleaned it the more I have noticed isn’t clean, the first weekend was spent just normally cleaning kitchen and bathroom, etc, until I noticed a lingering smell of dog and on further inspection that the carpets from the stairs into all the bedrooms were layered with dog hair. Over the last weekend I hired a rug doctor and have cleaned all of the carpets (carpets are stairs and upwards) at least twice with it now – the dirt and clumps of dog hair coming off the carpets blocked the outside drain. Even though I don’t have a pet I have also purchased a specific pet hair removing hoover to try and get some of the hair up as my existing hoover couldn’t cope, and when I emptied it I thought the actual dog was in it as there was more dog hair in it than is on the average dog.

I think I’ve just about managed to resurrect the majority of the carpets to some sort of standard of habitation now, although I will be hiring the rug doctor to go over it again. However one of the bedroom carpets has been cleaned three times, air freshened, hoovered countless times and it still cant get rid of the smell of dog. This must have been the room where the previous tenants dog spent most of its time as there is an inground circle in the carpet that is the shape of a dog basket where the smell seems to be coming from. This is the room I had earmarked for my son to sleep.He stayed in that room before I realised that the house hadn’t been cleaned from the previous tenant, and we had to move him in the middle of the night because the smell was so strong when we went in to him. I have asked the landlord to replace it and am waiting for an answer.

The fortunate thing is that we still have our old rented property for a few more weeks, or we’d have to be living in it, but we’re spending the weekends cleaning rather than moving. I didn’t get to see the house again before I signed contracts as the exchange was done in the lettings agents offices, but I have complained to the lettings agent and they couldn’t be less interested.I’m no clean freak by any stretch of any imagination but the quandary I have is that it’ll soon be the cleanest house in all of Britain, and I actually like it but it’s now getting to the point where I either take the issue further, or get over it.And if I take it further then it increases the likelihood of being given notice at first contractual opportunity.Does anyone have any advice on what my options are?

Comms69

Your options are to clean it, pay someone to clean it, or not clean it.

Pixie5740

My advice is to get over it and to make sure that the check-in inventory accurately reflects the state of the place when you got the keys.

G_M

You could (politely) ask the landlord if he'd be willing to get cleaners sent in. He might agree, he might not.

If he doesn't, then your only options are to clean it yourself or get someone in yourself.

For your long-term protection (ie when you leave) make sure there is a record of the state of the property when you moved in. That way you cannot be blamed for any dirt when you leave.

* take dated photos
* ensure thhe inventory notes details of the lack of cleanliness, and/or
* write a (again polite) letter to the LL at the adresss provided thanking him for renting the property to you, but also just 'mentioning' the state of the property. Keep a copy

IAmWales

Bicarb is one of the best ways to neutralise dog smell.

Dog smell is not going to harm your child. Pet dander is not great if they have an allergy, but you'd already be aware of it if that was the case.

franklee

Unfortunately there is no standard the property had to be in so it's pretty much a case of covering your back by recording what damage and dirt was present at the start of the tenancy and is therefore not your fault. This will also set the standard you need to achieve when you leave.

To do this you need to make sure the inventory reflects the cleanliness at the start of the tenancy. If it does not then type up a clear description and send it to the address for serving of notices. That way you cannot be charged for cleaning when you move out so long as the property is at least as clean as it was. Also take loads of photos as proof.

For a further attempt at removing the carpet smell try Bicarbonate of Soda but sweep the bulk up first and then hoover with an old hoover in case that amount of power causes damage. You can google how to use and can buy in bulk online.

If the carpet is beyond redemption and if the landlord will do nothing it may be you have to pay for the replacement so long as you get permission first.

Some cleaning links:
http://firstchoicecarpetcleaners.com/how-to-remove-carpet-odor/
www.howtocleanstuff.net/how-to-remove-odors-from-carpet/
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5258099

gingercordial

Unless your son is allergic to dogs this will not harm him. Plenty of people live with dogs and the attendant smells and are fine. Lots of people even allow their dogs onto their beds (I wouldn't personally, but my parents and brother did/do) so are sleeping right in with the hair and smell. When you say you had to move him because of the smell when you went in to check on him, was he actually distressed or was he perfectly fine and this is you worrying? The smell of dogs doesn't hurt people - though I do agree it isn't nice.

aneary

If it's as bad as you say it is I can't understand why you didn't notice when you viewed the house.

CurlySue2017

aneary wrote: »

If it's as bad as you say it is I can't understand why you didn't notice when you viewed the house.

This +1.

If it is really as bad as you say, there is no way that you would not have noticed that whilst viewing.

The smell of dog (particulary if it is this bad) is immediately obvious to anyone that doesn't have one - almost like a non-smoker smelling cigarettes in the house of a smoker.

[Deleted User]

To get rid of dog smells (including urine) I use a cup of white vinegar, half a cup of bicarb, a generous squirt of biological washing liquid (I use ariel) and at least a couple of litres of water. Put all this in a bucket (it will fizz so needs to be a big bucket - the black 99p sort). Stir til its well dissolved then splosh it on carpet and brush in. Use a wet vac or shampooer to suck it up. Works just as well if you use towels.

This will generally clear any odour. But this can be more difficult if there is carpet lining.

Put dog hairs in a bag, not down the drain. Usually you can scoop them out if the dog was a bad shedder. By the time you have shampooed the carpet they will be clean but use gloves if you wish.

I am afraid carpet shampooing is never a quick job. I have spent a full day cleaning one carpet to get the water almost clear, and the carpet didn't really look dirty beforehand.

I am the sort of person who also like a floor to actually look clean, whether its carpet or hard floor. I'm afraid a lot of people don't have good hoovers or think if they have given it a quick going over its clean even if it doesn't look much better. I don't think you will achieve a lot by complaining. Have you taken any before and after photos?

Mela322

aneary wrote: »

If it's as bad as you say it is I can't understand why you didn't notice when you viewed the house.

Can easily overlooked when the house is full of furniture. We viewed a house and went on to rent the house. It was filthy when we moved in and the carpets have no underlay or strips so have small gaps around the edge of the walls. We didn't notice any of it for 2 main reasons: 1. The house was full of furniture and moving boxes and 2. We felt we had to keep moving on as the current tenant was still living there. This was just our feelings and not put on us).

We did notice how awful and messy the garden was but it wasn't hidden with furniture and boxes. A smell in the house wouldn't go un-noticed no matter how much furniture but other things can easily be missed.

We are happy in the house but it wasn't fun scrubbing our last property from top to bottom, move house with 3 children and then have to clean top to bottom in the new house. Looking to freshen up the paint in the new year. I won't even describe the pain job cover up by the last tenant. I just think our landlord has had people in here that don't care. I could very easily leave the house as dirty as we found it but I wouldn't feel right doing that.