agency want to charge us £70 for alleged cleaning

Murphybear

youth_leader said:

I'm sorry to read your post.  I cleaned my rental to my best ability and still got a close up photo of 'animal hair/debris' from a bit I'd missed on the radiator.  When my daughter leaves her rental I've offered to pay for a professional clean, 

Sadly issues over cleaning are one of the most contentious.  According to the TDS (deposit scheme) half of the landlord claims are over cleaning.

Before you pay for a professional clean have a look at the inventory, if it has been done properly it should state how clean everything is.  You may find your daughter can clean to the same standard which is what is needed.  Professional cleaning can be quite expensive and you have no guarantee that won’t miss a tiny bit.  I’ve seen more than one professional clean that wasn’t very good.  

Have a look at homelet.co.uk under “how clean is clean?”.  It’s a brilliant article and has step by step instructions on how to achieve a “professional clean” yourself.  

lookstraightahead

Years ago we mistakenly didn't see a stain on the expensive silk curtains the landlord had when we were tenants.

at the end of the tenancy the agency deducted £400 as we had "ruined" them. We didn't dispute, it was before all the tenant protections. 30 years later the same curtains are still hanging. 

The landlord can do what they like - often charging for cleaning and then not, often it covers the agency fee. Appalling. Thank goodness for arbitration.

Ksw3

Just go through the disputes process. I think £70 is probably about right but it depends on how much limescale there was and the size of the bathroom. 

I am sympathetic partly because I have hard water and it's a right pain in the !!!!!! and also because I have never had my deposit returned in full. 

canaldumidi

The question is not whether the landlord actually paid to have cleaning done (he's quite at libery to choose to keep the property dirty and go down the pub), but

a) whether the property was dirtier when you left than when you arrived (less wear and tear), and

b) whether the deduction is a reasonable amount.

a) is a matter that can be disputed via the deposit scheme with each side presenting whatever evidence they have and b).. well, £70 for a cleaning company is not extortionate. Even for a single item (oven, cooker, loo) company overheads and travel time mean you won't get a commercialcompany round for much less.