Agent charging extortionate end of tenancy 'professional' cleaning & carpet steam fees

Jake_000

Hi Everyone,

We are currently in the process of moving out of our 4 bed two bath London terrace and the Agent and LL have slapped us with a £700 ‘professional cleaning and carpet steam’ bill.

Could anyone advise on how to go about this situation? i.e. whether they can do this or not?

 To provide some context:

· Contract and inventory states we are to professionally clean and carpet clean at the end of tenancy

• 10.2   It is further agreed that the Landlord will have the Property professionally cleaned, including carpets, at his expense prior to the commencement of the Tenancy and the Tenant will do the same at the end or sooner determination of the Tenancy at their own expense
• 10.3 The Tenants are responsible for ensuring that the Property is returned, including any items listed on the inventory, in the same condition and state to be cleaned to a professional standard, including carpet, as they were at the start of the Tenancy, aside from any fair wear and tear.  Fair wear and tear is considered to be a defect which occur naturally or as part of the tenant’s reasonable use of the premises.
• Inventory - Paying particular attention to bathrooms, wooden flooring, windows, blinds, linen, furnishings, white goods, appliances, drawers, skirtings, doors, cobwebs and switches and sockets etc. Carpets are to be steam cleaned if cleaned to same standard at Check In. If the cleaning is not of an acceptable standard and the property cannot be let, the Landlord/Agent will employ a professional cleaner and that cost charged to the tenant leaving.

 

· The LL had a professional clean at the start of tenancy, although inventory notes some omissions and general state of the property is poor, marks on carpets, walls, curtains etc.

 · I have read in the Tenancy Fees Act 2019 the below, which has led me to question this whole situation and the fees:

• Q. Can a landlord or agent ask me to pay for a professional clean at the end of a tenancy? No. A landlord or agent cannot require you to pay for a professional clean when you check-out. However, if your tenancy was entered into before 1 June 2019 and you agreed in your contract to pay fees for cleaning to be provided then a landlord or agent can continue to charge these fees up until 31 May 2020. From 1 June 2020, the term requiring that payment will no longer be binding on you. If you believe the level of fees being charged is unfair, you should discuss this with your landlord or agent. A landlord or agent may request that the property is cleaned to a professional standard. You are responsible for ensuring that the property is returned in the condition you found it, aside from any fair wear and tear. Fair wear and tear is considered to be defects which occur naturally or as part of the tenant's reasonable use of the premises. You cannot be required to use a particular company to clean the property. If the property is not left in a fit condition, landlords and agents can recover costs associated with returning the property to its original condition and/or carrying out necessary repairs by claiming against your tenancy deposit. You should ask your landlord or agent to justify their costs by providing suitable evidence (such as an independently produced inventory, receipts and invoices). If your tenancy deposit does not cover the costs of returning the property to its original condition, the landlord or agent may seek ‘damages’ from you and if you cannot reach agreement on the amount/nature of those costs, they could seek the payment from you by making an application to the courts. See the section on ‘damages’ for more information. Page 32 of 81 A landlord or agent is not able to claim deductions from your deposit for any change in the condition of the property which is due to fair wear and tear or if you return the property in the same condition as it was found.

 

· Furthermore, I actually decided to speak to the agent regarding this, asking that if the check-out condition is the same as check-in condition does it even matter that we have not had a professional clean, i.e. is it standard over actual act of contracting a cleaner. His stance is that categorically must, it’s in the contract and to do otherwise would be a breach of contract. After asking why the Tenancy Fees Act doesn’t apply here I wasn’t given a response other than “it doesn’t apply”. He has also said we can contract our own firm but if the standard has not been met deposit deductions will be made. Note most firms in the area charge c. £250 less.

I may be misinterpreting the above but to me everything suggests that what the contract states isn’t binding and although the agent can request us to get a professional clean he can’t penalise us if we just clean the place ourselves to the check-in standard – what are your thoughts on this?

This is a long read but thanks to anyone who takes the time to go through it and/or respond, it is much appreciated.

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Side-note:

We’ve had a lot of issues whilst being in this property with damp and rodents and it really isn’t a clean space regardless of how we’ve impacted it. It’s heavily worn.

LL and estate agent have also been difficult in other ways. Prior to signing they continually stated the terrace at the back of the property would be renovated and made usable and also advertised as a property with a terrace (very cool). However, once moving into the property the LL essentially said it would cost too much so it won’t be happening, “if you use the terrace you do so at your own risk” were her words.

Perhaps I’m viewing this current issue from a negative angle given the experience that we've had to date. Your thought’s are welcomed.

grumiofoundation

When you say they have ‘slapped you with a bill’ do you mean they are demanding payment or they are proposing to make deductions from the deposit? 

If the latter claim back your deposit from the deposit scheme it is protected in. In the event of a dispute over the amount they will arbitrate and decide how much, if any the landlord gets from the deposit. 

greatcrested

It's very simple:you must leave the property in the same (or better) condition at the end as it was at the beginning.

How you achieve this is up to you- pay a cleaner, clean it yourself, get your mum round.... provided it's as clean as at the start you cannot be (legitimately) charged.

So how do you prove you have achieved this, or how does the landlord prove you have not? Usually (but not exclusively) by comparing the check-in inventory and photos with the check out report and photos (though other evidence can be used too).

If you believe you achieved this (by whatever means) but the LL claims you have not, raise a dispute with the deposit protection scheme and present your evidence to compare against the LL's evidence.

The clause in the contract is irrelevant. As is the agent's 'advice' to you.

Post 3: Deposits: Payment, Protection and Return.

Jake_000

Thank you both for responding. 
@grumiofoundation  By slapped I mean the agent emailed us saying we have to pay the attached invoice by 31st of July for professional cleaning, we of course got back to him saying that was an awfully large amount and he responded that we can get our own but if it's not up to scratch the £700 will be deducted for his "preferred" professional leaning company. 

greatcrested these were my thoughts exactly, it should be assessed on the inventory not on the means to which it was achieved. One thing that the agent is very specific on is the need for the carpets to be steam cleaned. Now I have read all 80+ pages of the inventory and nowhere is there a mention that the carpets were previously steam cleaned, the only proof of this is an invoice for carpet clean prior to us moving in. In general though the carpets are all worn and marked, as the check-in inventory shows. 

grumiofoundation

When you move out take your own pictures so you can prove the condition if needed.

The agent seem to be trying to screw/bully you into paying the £700. We had a similar situation (albeit for less money!) with the letting agents pushing us to get it professionally cleaned because it was 'in our contract' but we just ignored them (in this case they didn't even try and deduct from deposit). 

Claim full deposit back (minus any deductions you actually agree to) from deposit scheme and they will arbitrate if landlord objects as posted above (also provided read link if you haven't already is helpful). 

macman

This is a common enough scam, depressingly. The carpet cleaning company quotes an inflated rate for cleaning and doubtless bungs the agent £100 or more commission. That's why the agent is so keen for you to use their 'favoured' supplier. £700 is highly inflated: even were it to be a full day's work for one operative. Get your own quote and see. 'Professional' cleaning simply means paying someone to do it rather than hiring and doing it yourself, but there is no way of knowing who has done it, and the agent cannot insist on seeing the invoice if you arrange it. The work simply has to be of an acceptable standard. I'd get your own quotes.

macman

Pedant's corner: it's not actually steam cleaning. It's a hot water extraction process.

dimbo61

Hire a rug doctor from local supermarket or get your own cleaners in.
No such thing as a professional cleaner !
Checked all the University websites and not one offers a degree or masters in cleaning.
If you leave the property filthy and all the walls stained with spilt drinks, grime then be prepared for deductions.
Cleaning can be hard work so watch YouTube videos on how to make it easy.
Ovenpride is great on ovens.
Bleach spray is great on walls and tiles, 
Steam cleaner is great on bathrooms, 
Vanish is good on carpets

greatcrested

Jake_000 said:

greatcrested these were my thoughts exactly, it should be assessed on the inventory not on the means to which it was achieved. One thing that the agent is very specific on is the need for the carpets to be steam cleaned. Now I have read all 80+ pages of the inventory and nowhere is there a mention that the carpets were previously steam cleaned, the only proof of this is an invoice for carpet clean prior to us moving in. In general though the carpets are all worn and marked, as the check-in inventory shows.

The inventory is only one (though the most common) way for a landlord to prove the property's condition at the start. A receipt is another (eg if he purchased a brand new fridge just before the tenancy started).

So an invoice for 'carpet clean' would be evidence that the carpet was cleaned before the tenancy. Clearly that means more than just vacuuming, so implicitly suggests steam cleaning.

diggingdude

dimbo61 said:

Hire a rug doctor from local supermarket or get your own cleaners in.
No such thing as a professional cleaner !
Checked all the University websites and not one offers a degree or masters in cleaning.
If you leave the property filthy and all the walls stained with spilt drinks, grime then be prepared for deductions.
Cleaning can be hard work so watch YouTube videos on how to make it easy.
Ovenpride is great on ovens.
Bleach spray is great on walls and tiles, 
Steam cleaner is great on bathrooms, 
Vanish is good on carpets

Be careful.  On the whole I agree but you also don't see many universities doing degrees in plumbing or electrics but I would call them professionals.  A degree does not a professional make

Jake_000

Thanks everyone for their responses! they have been really helpful. 

I have another question, should we decide to personally clean and then the agent/LL seeks deductions, will they need to present more reasonable quotes to the DPS? does anyone know how the process works from that angle. I'm trying to understand if the agent/LL will be forced to find a more reasonable quote, or whether the DPS will grant free reign for the Agent/LL to contract whomever they seem fit.