Challenging a cleaning fee request after vacating a flat

martindow

I would say that the flat was left in as good or better condition than at check in, apart from wear and tear. The LL appears to have no evidence of the condition of the cleanliness or otherwise of the extractor fan.

It does seem that a deposit scheme tends to adjudicate fairly for tenants. Put in your response and leave it to them.

Myci85

Make sure you mention in your response to the deposit scheme provider that the sealant you believe to be fair wear and tear after 8 year tenancy, there were no manuals providing guidance around accessing the inside of the oven door for cleaning, so expecting this to be accessed is unreasonable, and that the landlord has not provided any evidence to prove the condition of the extractor fan at the start of the tenancy.

Definitely sounds like a greedy landlord after 8 years in situ if these are the only issues!

dinosaur66

your son was a very good tenant and should appeal you will win / after 8 years even with very good tenants it normally will require a couple of weeks DIY and for me to get a property as new as when they moved in / i do supply new cookers with every fresh tenants and if it breaks down out of warranty they buy a new one and my mate will fit it and can take it with them when they leave .

so to leave a property in as good a state as he did should make the landlord / letting agents in this case happy and not ultra picky

Jonx999

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82179091#Comment_82179091

The agent has gone ahead and had a "professional clean" done, and submitted the £194 invoice to the deposit scheme to support their claim. Amusingly, the cleaner's invoice states "We dont remove mould from silicon sealant and grouting"!

m0bov

Was the fan dust free from the check in report?

Bigphil1474

If it's their policy to do a professional clean for a new tenant then they should speak to the new tenant. If there only argument is that the leaving tenant didn't do a good enough job, then they should be able to demonstrate that, which they obviously can't. I would contest.

Vectis

As an ex LL, and an ex tenant at times too, after 8 years I would certainly be looking to redecorate etc, so there would be no cleaning costs.

As this has gone to the DPS, it's very likely they'll side with you based on what you've said here, so personally I wouldn't worry about it overly.

It's worth noting that in most cases it's not the actual LL who comes up with these charges but the Agent, and they'll be taking a cut out of it too. The LL doesn't normally see any of these charges, it's all the agent and maintenance people who make money from this.

Jonx999

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82191924#Comment_82191924

The check-in report at the start of tenancy summarised the flat as "generally clean to a good domestic standard with a few issues", so I think we're in a good position. (The kind of issue raised back then was residue in the washing machine's detergent drawer). It doesn't sound as if a professional clean was done back then.

Jonx999

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82191954#Comment_82191954

I hope you're right. It was disappointing to be hit with the claim after 8 trouble-free years as a model tenant. I wonder if the landlord even bothered to look at the condition of the flat before opting for a professional clean (perhaps encouraged by the agent telling them to use our deposit to pay for it!).