Leting Agency claiming in Invetory document that there is no bad smell in the flat

aManHe

I would appreciate your advice how to deal with this. 

We are starting a new lease through an agency, they have sent us a pdf with in-going inventory (Property Inventory / Schedule of Condition) in which they claim that there is: "No odour present upon entry" across all rooms. This is absolute lie. Most of the report reflects actual state of the flat, except ommiting small nails and small holes for handing pictures and also, there is no water meter reading, claiming - no key/access to the meter room, but the claim that there is no odour is completely false.

There was hindi family living in the flat before us, whom we met them when we were viewing the property, and the smell of curry is present across the whole flat.

We have washed all carpets and curtains and cleaned the 'cooker hood' from greasy residue - all we could do in short time, yet the smell is still there. We left some baking soda and consider washing all walls to get rid of the odour, yet the agency claim there is no odour!

Please can you advise how to go about this to not let the agents claim that there is no bad smell at the begining of our tenancy?

Shall we ask them to provide a physical copy at the office and make notes on the report before signing it, scan it and send it back to them with our findings? We took tens of pictures showing all things that there should not be - grease on the top of a cabinet, cobwebs, nails, holes, cut carpet - but these will not show how bad the smell is. 

Perhaps it would be better to request another check with us present?

Bonniepurple

I would associate bad smells with cigarette smoke, drains, blocked toilets - not curry.  Would you have less of a concern if it was a different faith cooking curry, or the smell from numerous fry ups?

You have a few options.  You can open windows/spray air fresheners or you can live with it. Trust me, you won’t notice it after a while (living rurally we sometimes have muck spreading going on. You very quickly stop noticing it.

LoopyLoops

Maybe the letting agent didn’t notice the smell.  Some notices some smells more than others.  I wouldn’t be bothered by the smell of curry. 

What we did with our letting agent about things we felt were missing from the check in report (marks, damage, etc.) was email them, listing all the things we felt needed noting.  Then we used any parts that were relevant at the end with the deposit dispute. 

aManHe

Bonniepurple said:

I would associate bad smells with cigarette smoke, drains, blocked toilets - not curry.  Would you have less of a concern if it was a different faith cooking curry, or the smell from numerous fry ups?

You have a few options.  You can open windows/spray air fresheners or you can live with it. Trust me, you won’t notice it after a while (living rurally we sometimes have muck spreading going on. You very quickly stop noticing it.

Thanks for taking time to reply, however, I must admit I don't understand the bit about 'different faith curry'. 

The issue is not with the smell, which we are trying to clean, but with the agents false claim, that there is no odour in the flat - and what can we do about this. So, is 6 months time, if we decide to move, we are not being held responsible, when they suddenly find that there is a curry smell in the apartment, and there was none when we moved in, becasue so say the inventory.

BTW - curry smell cannot be simply aired out, I listed the process we have gone through and it is still there.

aManHe

LoopyLoops said:

Maybe the letting agent didn’t notice the smell.  Some notices some smells more than others.  I wouldn’t be bothered by the smell of curry. 

What we did with our letting agent about things we felt were missing from the check in report (marks, damage, etc.) was email them, listing all the things we felt needed noting.  Then we used any parts that were relevant at the end with the deposit dispute. 

Thank you for your reply.

Initially we did not think the smell was a issue, we noticed it when we viewed the property, so did the agent who was showing the property to us. Now living in the flat we notice it, it is not as unpleasant as other odours, but it is noticeable, and soon all our clothes will be smelling of curry as well. But leaving this aside, we want to deal with the letting agency falsely claminig that there is no odours in the flat - becasue, if we decide to move out and the smell is still there, they will blame us. 

We have taken loads of pictures to document all issues they have ommited in their inventory report but the smell cannot be photographed and sent back to prove our point.

LoopyLoops

aManHe said:

LoopyLoops said:

Maybe the letting agent didn’t notice the smell.  Some notices some smells more than others.  I wouldn’t be bothered by the smell of curry. 

What we did with our letting agent about things we felt were missing from the check in report (marks, damage, etc.) was email them, listing all the things we felt needed noting.  Then we used any parts that were relevant at the end with the deposit dispute. 

Thank you for your reply.

Initially we did not think the smell was a issue, we noticed it when we viewed the property, so did the agent who was showing the property to us. Now living in the flat we notice it, it is not as unpleasant as other odours, but it is noticeable, and soon all our clothes will be smelling of curry as well. But leaving this aside, we want to deal with the letting agency falsely claminig that there is no odours in the flat - becasue, if we decide to move out and the smell is still there, they will blame us. 

We have taken loads of pictures to document all issues they have ommited in their inventory report but the smell cannot be photographed and sent back to prove our point.

No, but you can write about it in an email.  That will suffice for the deposit scheme should it come to it.  You just need evidence you raised the issue.  Can’t see there’s much else you can do once you have signed the tenancy agreement.  How long is your contract? 

aManHe

LoopyLoops said:

aManHe said:

LoopyLoops said:

Maybe the letting agent didn’t notice the smell.  Some notices some smells more than others.  I wouldn’t be bothered by the smell of curry. 

What we did with our letting agent about things we felt were missing from the check in report (marks, damage, etc.) was email them, listing all the things we felt needed noting.  Then we used any parts that were relevant at the end with the deposit dispute. 

Thank you for your reply.

Initially we did not think the smell was a issue, we noticed it when we viewed the property, so did the agent who was showing the property to us. Now living in the flat we notice it, it is not as unpleasant as other odours, but it is noticeable, and soon all our clothes will be smelling of curry as well. But leaving this aside, we want to deal with the letting agency falsely claminig that there is no odours in the flat - becasue, if we decide to move out and the smell is still there, they will blame us. 

We have taken loads of pictures to document all issues they have ommited in their inventory report but the smell cannot be photographed and sent back to prove our point.

No, but you can write about it in an email.  That will suffice for the deposit scheme should it come to it.  You just need evidence you raised the issue.  Can’t see there’s much else you can do once you have signed the tenancy agreement.  How long is your contract? 

Thank you, we are going to do what you advised.

Our contract was supposed to be 12 months, however, they have sent us AST for 6 months only, I suppose it is due to Renters Reform coming in place and all contracts moving to a rolling 1 month basis? Is this something we should concern ourselves with? They can't increase the rent for 12 months, they could however ask us to leave after 6 months and get a new tenant if they want higher rent.

WIAWSNB

Are you 'happy' to cope with the smell? Ie, the 'only' issue you have is that you are concerned you'll be held liable for it, 6+ months down the line?
If so, the smell will almost certainly diminish quite rapidly as you live there, as it won't be being replenished - except on occasion. 
I have to say, "no odour" is a strange thing to state on an inventory - kind of speaks for itself!
As much as I - and I'm sure you - love curries, I don't think you are being unreasonable at all; you are entitled to begin a rental free from unwanted and obtrusive smells. 
The agent is probably concerned at being landed a major deep-cleaning job, hence their get-out. Not sure what to do, other than putting it in writing to them. And perhaps a few brief 'statements of truth' from visiting friends, neighbours, and relatives, to keep and use later if needed.
Hopefully, tho', it'll soon be back to normal. You'll likely be ventilating it thoroughly in this hot weather for starters

aManHe

Thank you, much appreciate your reply. We are considering cleaning the walls ourselves as a last resort, not sure what more we can do. 

Ventilating does help but it is temporary, the smell comes back, it is in greasy residue on every surface in the flat, vacuuming and washing the carpets, washing the curtains and cleaning the hub hood filters made most difference so far, we have also left some baking soda in one room and some coffee in another room to see if it helps.

We love the curry dish, but we don't want to smell of it when we leave the flat and we have the legal right enjoy our living space. Hence the red lights when the agents mentioned no odours on the inventory report, you are spot on.

Will probably ask few friends to come around and have a sniff and email us later on, this is great idea, thank you.

Apologies for ranting, this is just too much.

Thinking how it should be, letting agent should have arranged professional cleaning due to strong odour, they must have collected the money from the previous tennants deposit for this. 

But all they did was lay some new silicone around the shower basin - I am 100% sure of it after I emptied my vacuum cleaner filter and cleaned dirty water tank after washing the carpets. Now they try to shift the blame on new tenants - it should not be like this. They are allowed to regulate themselves and this is the outcome, with many many problems like this piled up on tenants to suffer.

I would love for a national database to be created where I, as a tenant, could put my comments about landlords, letting agents and builders. Some time ago we got section 21 notice serverd for not agreeing to have our bathroom renovated while living and working from the property, also, we did not accept the generous offer of being able to take showers in a nearby gym for few weeks - due to the bathroom being updated. All of this was initiated by calling in the builder to fix a bathub leak (which occured becasue the overflow pipe was not connected in the first place, by the said builder). The builder told the landlord that he could 'refresh' the bathroom be commiting 1 - 2 hours in the evenings for about 2 weeks. He did not fix the overflow pipe, he go himself an extra gig out of it! Who cares that tenants had their life uprooted. Obviously, the next tenants covered the bathroom job expense in their rent and if we agreed to these conditions and stayed in the property, it would be us paying for that job - as if he wasn't increasing the rent every single year anywy!

To those who wuld like to ask - but when should landlords paint, renovate, update, refresh, their properties? The answer is, between tenants! You don't get a tenant in, and inform then that you are sending in a 'designer' to see what can be done - just after the tenant finished unpacking - why don't you do it when you know you have people leaving the property and looking for new tanants?

RAS

Surely you just email the EA with a correction, that despite you cleaning the soft furnishings and cooker hood, there is still a strong smell of curry spices? 

So, you remail liable of doggy smells but not for the whiff of curry?