House Share End of Tenancy Clean - Help!!

aelhsa95

Hi there.

In September 2022 I moved into a student house share in Oxford. I signed the contract along with 3 other students - 2 of whom already lived in the house and had done so for the previous two years. Both myself and another student were replacing the previous two tenants for the year.

Upon moving in, I emailed to ask if there would be a professional clean as we had signed a new contract, so to speak. The letting agent emailed back to say no, there would not be. 

We are all due to move out in a few months and so the tenancy is coming to an end. We've just received a "moving out document" from the agent stating:

1. As per your tenancy agreement you are required to have the carpets professionally cleaned. 

The letting agent is also quoting upwards of £300 for this - their own recommended company, of course.

The contract does state that 

All carpets have been professionally cleaned before the start of the Tenancy and the Tenant is required to pay for the professional cleaning of all carpets at the end of the Tenancy. Also pay for the professional cleaning (including ironing or pressing) of all curtains which have been soiled during the Tenancy (the reasonable use thereof nevertheless to be allowed for) at the end of the Tenancy or earlier if requested by the Landlord. A receipt must be provided by the Tenants. 

I've emailed to say that I'm aware of the Tenant Fees Act, but no reply.

My question is: surely they cannot enforce a professional deep clean regardless of the Act, as two of us did not move into the house while it was professionally cleaned anyway?!

Any help would be really appreciated.

CSI_Yorkshire

Is your tenancy for 'a room' or is it a joint tenancy for the house?

If the latter, it sounds like you 'inherited' the tenancy from the previous 2 students, with all of the rights and benefits therein.

Assuming the carpets were professionally cleaned at the start of that tenancy, i.e. the last time the house was empty, then it matches.  I would only expect that to happen if all 4 of you are leaving - is this true?

PRAISETHESUN

It sounds like you are jointly liable with everyone else named on the lease to return the property to the same condition as it was at the start of the tenancy, less fair wear and tear. If the tenancy has been going on for a few years then I would expect a fair bit of wear and tear will have resulted.

There's no obligation to have a professional clean, provided you can get the carpets to a similar standard yourself - unless you've trashed the place, you'll do a fair good job with some carpet shampoo and a vacuum. And if you do end up deciding to get it done "professionally", there's also no requirement to use the company that the agent has recommended of course.

If the tenancy isn't ending however (eg. not everyone else is moving out) then there is no obligation for you to do anything - the new/remaining tenants will ultimately have that responsibility.

tacpot12

You are misrepresenting the fact that they want you to deep clean the entire property. The contract only requires a professional cleaning of the carpets and curtains.

If this were to go to the tenancy deposit protection scheme, I think they would allow the landlord to deduct the cost of the professional clean of the carpets and curtains from your deposits. You have been there a year, and you took on the tenancy with this condition in place. (You might not have known about it, but you could have found out had you asked.).

You can arrange a professional clean, and I expect you will save money doing to, but o you want to spend your time finding cleaners and arranging to be in when they can come? 

   

macman

The only definition of a 'professional clean' is one that is paid for. You can hire a carpet cleaning machine, pay Fred Bloggs a tenner to use it, and it's still a 'professional clean'.
This is just  a classic case of the LA taking a bung for 'recommending' their mate down the road who runs a carpet cleaning business. 

propertyrental

Can you be more specific please?

aelhsa95 said:

Hi there.

In September 2022 I moved into a student house share in Oxford. I signed the contract along with 3 other students - 2 of whom already lived in the house and had done so for the previous two years. Both myself and another student were replacing the previous two tenants for the year.

When you moved in:
1) did the existing tenancy agreement continue, with you being  'assigned' the rights and obligations of the departing tenants? Was a 'Deed of assignment ' signed? Did you pay a deposit to the departing tenants? If yes, then when the tenancy ends, the condition of the property should be compared with the condition when the original tenancy started i 2 years previously, since you 'took over' the ongoing tenancy. You inherited the departing tenants' rights and obligations.

or

2) was the original tenancy ended and a new one started in the joint names of the remaining tenants and yourselves? If yes, then the end condition should be compared with the condition when you moved in and the new tenancy started. To achieve this, the landlord would need to produce an inventory describing the condition at the date of this new tenancy ie when you moved in.

And given that no 'professional clean' (whatever that means) was undertaken when this new tenancy started, you cannot be required to do a PC when the tenancy ends.

chanz4

ask them to show the qualification of a profeshional clean not enforcable 

Murphybear

This the advice from the ARLA website

DEEP CLEAN

Cleaning is the number one reason for tenancy deposit disputes so don't leave yourself too much to do when you move out. Remember that in light of the Tenant Fees Act, your landlord (or letting agent) cannot demand you use a professional cleaning company.

If you’re feeling brave, whip out the marigolds and get stuck in. If you don’t fancy getting your hands dirty, you can always arrange for a professional to do it for you prior to your check-out appointment.

If you do a hire a professional company to clean the property, then make sure you keep any receipts from them as proof of the clean and to use as evidence should a deposit dispute arise. Note that all rubbish and personal belongings must be removed, if the outdoor bin is full you will need to remove excess bin bags from the property.  

Mrmitko_77

The rates cleaning companies have for end of tenancy is beyond ludacris. Always better to grab a group of friends and just do it yourself...

[Deleted User]

Find a decently priced carpet cleaning company  I personally wouldn't advise a DIY job as not all carpets are the same and you might find it comes up looking worse than when you started and you would be required to rectify. As far as general cleaning goes, you leave a house as you would expect to find it in my opinion, out of self respect not just because the contract says you must. 

RAS

Do you have a full inventory from when you moved in? Or does one of the pre-existing tenants have one from when they first moved in?

And key is whether you rent a room in a shared house or share the rental of the whole property?