End of Tenancy Clean - Got a company in to do it who have done a poor job. What actions do I have?

Sam_Brown

I was asked to repost on here so hopefully this isn't breaking any rules for making the same post on two forums.

Moving out from rented flat to our first house. We had a lot of things on our plate so to help with the stress we paid a cleaning company to perform End of Tenancy Clean. This included carpets and oven being professionally cleaned and also a general End of Tenancy Clean.

We have had our "final inspection" from the landlord who is finding fault with a lot of things I missed and I really can't argue against the majority of the claims. There is also an awful smell in the flat which seems to be from the "carpet cleaning".

Cleaning company is refusing a refund however they have stated they will be happy to come out and "make good" the issues although I don't hold out much hope of them cleaning to the required standard based on current experience. It also appears the oven has been "cleaned" but not what the landlord would call a "professional clean".

Landlord says he'd rather we sort it out and doesn't want the hassle of getting someone else in but we only have the weekend to make good.

I have requested a refund which they have outright denied saying "they can't take the hit" but as far as I'm concerned they've not completed what they said they would.

If the cleaning company don't get their act together and make good what recourse do I have? Ideally I'd like a refund but I'm also concerned with the smell they may have screwed up the carpet and if that needs replacing I don't want to take the hit on that due to their mess up and ideally would need to potentially claim damages.

What do?

anselld

Carpets do smell for a bit after cleaning until they dry out fully.  This will not be a lasting issue so long as the Company have used a professional carpet cleaning machine which does a decent job of sucking out the moisture.

Likewise, it is easy to pick the odd fault in a full house clean. 

You cannot expect a full refund when 90% of the work is done.  Take them up on the offer to make good the specific items which are not adequate.

After that, what evidence does the Landlord have that the standard is less than it was at checkin?  You have had a "professional clean" with receipts to prove it so the onus is on the Landlord to prove it is not as per checkin with documentary evidence.  You should not agree with him at this point that your cleaning contractor has done an inadequate job as you may wish to challenge deductions via the Deposit scheme in future.