End of Tenancy Cleaning Question
Discussion
We moved into our flat in December 2014 and have recently given our notice to leave. Our agent wrote to us last week to let us know that at the end of the tenancy all carpets in the property must be "professionally cleaned" and a receipt from the cleaner would be required as proof.
We have checked our tenancy agreement and this clause is included.
We're not sure if the carpets were actually cleaned before we moved in though, and the inventory we have states that the carpets are 'marked and worn'.
Is there any wiggle room on getting out of this? We're reluctant to spend £150+ on carpet cleaning when we don't believe they were clean when we moved in. They're also clearly old carpets with very thin and worn areas where there's been a lot of footfall.
Other options considered are to hire a carpet cleaning machine ourselves, but would this count as "professional" even if a receipt is provided? Or we could just fake a receipt (with or without doing any cleaning)?
Any thoughts?
We have checked our tenancy agreement and this clause is included.
We're not sure if the carpets were actually cleaned before we moved in though, and the inventory we have states that the carpets are 'marked and worn'.
Is there any wiggle room on getting out of this? We're reluctant to spend £150+ on carpet cleaning when we don't believe they were clean when we moved in. They're also clearly old carpets with very thin and worn areas where there's been a lot of footfall.
Other options considered are to hire a carpet cleaning machine ourselves, but would this count as "professional" even if a receipt is provided? Or we could just fake a receipt (with or without doing any cleaning)?
Any thoughts?
Generally no wiggle room and hiring a machine yourself will only result in a professional clean coming out of your deposit.
You could ask for proof that the carpets were prof. cleaned prior to you moving in, but the chances are the last outgoing tenant had them done when they left and they'll have documentation proving that.
Either way, if in your contract it states it must be professionally cleaned on the way out, you'll have to get it done regardless of your opinions on quality/state of carpet.
As the poster above says, I would expect the professional clean would cover the whole property in addition to the carpets.
You could ask for proof that the carpets were prof. cleaned prior to you moving in, but the chances are the last outgoing tenant had them done when they left and they'll have documentation proving that.
Either way, if in your contract it states it must be professionally cleaned on the way out, you'll have to get it done regardless of your opinions on quality/state of carpet.
As the poster above says, I would expect the professional clean would cover the whole property in addition to the carpets.
It doesn't HAVE to be professionally cleaned.
It just needs to be handed back in the same condition you received it in and allowing for reasonable wear and tear.
If you can clean it to the same standard you received it, there's no need to spend on a pro clean.
The inventory will need to detail specific marks/stains etc, and they'll need pictures as well, so ask the agent for the check in photos showing the condition of the carpet.
They need more details than just marked/worn. They need to be able to prove where you have marked or stained it etc.
That said, chances are you have messed it up a bit in the 3 years you've been there, and you might be surprised how cheap it is to get done, so might be worth doing just to save the hassle.
It just needs to be handed back in the same condition you received it in and allowing for reasonable wear and tear.
If you can clean it to the same standard you received it, there's no need to spend on a pro clean.
The inventory will need to detail specific marks/stains etc, and they'll need pictures as well, so ask the agent for the check in photos showing the condition of the carpet.
They need more details than just marked/worn. They need to be able to prove where you have marked or stained it etc.
That said, chances are you have messed it up a bit in the 3 years you've been there, and you might be surprised how cheap it is to get done, so might be worth doing just to save the hassle.
If the carpets are that tired and worn how about asking a cleaner to state in his professional opinion there is the possibility they may be damaged or degenerate further by cleaning. You landlord might still - quite within his rights, you signed the contract after all - insist on them being done but he'll be doing so with the thought in mind that he might be subsequently forced to fork out for new ones.
romeogolf said:
We moved into our flat in December 2014 and have recently given our notice to leave. Our agent wrote to us last week to let us know that at the end of the tenancy all carpets in the property must be "professionally cleaned" and a receipt from the cleaner would be required as proof.
We have checked our tenancy agreement and this clause is included.
We're not sure if the carpets were actually cleaned before we moved in though, and the inventory we have states that the carpets are 'marked and worn'.
Is there any wiggle room on getting out of this? We're reluctant to spend £150+ on carpet cleaning when we don't believe they were clean when we moved in. They're also clearly old carpets with very thin and worn areas where there's been a lot of footfall.
Other options considered are to hire a carpet cleaning machine ourselves, but would this count as "professional" even if a receipt is provided? Or we could just fake a receipt (with or without doing any cleaning)?
Any thoughts?
"Professional cleaned". That means this We have checked our tenancy agreement and this clause is included.
We're not sure if the carpets were actually cleaned before we moved in though, and the inventory we have states that the carpets are 'marked and worn'.
Is there any wiggle room on getting out of this? We're reluctant to spend £150+ on carpet cleaning when we don't believe they were clean when we moved in. They're also clearly old carpets with very thin and worn areas where there's been a lot of footfall.
Other options considered are to hire a carpet cleaning machine ourselves, but would this count as "professional" even if a receipt is provided? Or we could just fake a receipt (with or without doing any cleaning)?
Any thoughts?
You have paid for a person to provide a good service and clean your carpets.
Rent a machine, buy the required products from another place as the hire places really charge. A lot. Make out a receipt sign it . Job done. . It's about as genuine as the agency did reference checks etc on you :-] and charged you for them.
Rug doctor at Homebase machines are fine
romeogolf said:
We're not sure if the carpets were actually cleaned before we moved in though, and the inventory we have states that the carpets are 'marked and worn'.
Any thoughts?
As others have already said - professional cleaning is just that and does not involve hiring kit yourself. If you are unsure if they were professionally cleaned before hand - ask the letting agent for a copy of the receipt for proof. I have this clause in my BTL agreements so was responsible for the initial clean, but then each change of tenant pays for the clean for the next tenant.Any thoughts?
We had a similar dilemma at the end of our last tenancy. It was further complicated by the fact the carpets were heavily stained before we moved in and those stains had not come out with previous professional clean (largely hidden with furniture in daily use). The landlord was very pleasant, very wealthy and tended to do things to a high standard (property was originally staff quarters to their house). They asked for suggestions in advance of us leaving of things we thought should be done and carpets were high up the list as they detracted from an otherwise lovely house.
We asked in advance of us organising the clean if there was any point on carpet cleaning if they were to be replaced, they requested that they were cleaned. I learned subsequently that they had gone in the skip and been replaced, which was a lovely way for us to waste a not small sum of money.
The professional clean will almost certainly be considered essential and insisted upon. Some of these companies guarantee you will pass your inspection, which made me suspect it was a proper racket with the letting agent. I would not risk doing it yourself and then having to pay again.
We asked in advance of us organising the clean if there was any point on carpet cleaning if they were to be replaced, they requested that they were cleaned. I learned subsequently that they had gone in the skip and been replaced, which was a lovely way for us to waste a not small sum of money.
The professional clean will almost certainly be considered essential and insisted upon. Some of these companies guarantee you will pass your inspection, which made me suspect it was a proper racket with the letting agent. I would not risk doing it yourself and then having to pay again.
Evoquative said:
Some of these companies guarantee you will pass your inspection, which made me suspect it was a proper racket with the letting agent. I would not risk doing it yourself and then having to pay again.
Usually the guarantee means that they will come back around at no cost and re-clean should it not meet the required standard. The check in and check out company, in theory, is supposed to be completely independent of the agent and as such the agent won't have any leverage on whether it meets the required standard. romeogolf said:
We moved into our flat in December 2014 and have recently given our notice to leave. Our agent wrote to us last week to let us know that at the end of the tenancy all carpets in the property must be "professionally cleaned" and a receipt from the cleaner would be required as proof.
We have checked our tenancy agreement and this clause is included.
We're not sure if the carpets were actually cleaned before we moved in though, and the inventory we have states that the carpets are 'marked and worn'.
Is there any wiggle room on getting out of this? We're reluctant to spend £150+ on carpet cleaning when we don't believe they were clean when we moved in. They're also clearly old carpets with very thin and worn areas where there's been a lot of footfall.
Other options considered are to hire a carpet cleaning machine ourselves, but would this count as "professional" even if a receipt is provided? Or we could just fake a receipt (with or without doing any cleaning)?
Any thoughts?
You could maybe dispute the matter on the basis that it's an unfair contract term and that "cleaned to a professional standard" would have been more reasonable.We have checked our tenancy agreement and this clause is included.
We're not sure if the carpets were actually cleaned before we moved in though, and the inventory we have states that the carpets are 'marked and worn'.
Is there any wiggle room on getting out of this? We're reluctant to spend £150+ on carpet cleaning when we don't believe they were clean when we moved in. They're also clearly old carpets with very thin and worn areas where there's been a lot of footfall.
Other options considered are to hire a carpet cleaning machine ourselves, but would this count as "professional" even if a receipt is provided? Or we could just fake a receipt (with or without doing any cleaning)?
Any thoughts?
Or you could just man up and do what you said you'd do when you signed the tenancy agreement.
We have the same issue. We are moving out next month and there is confusion over this. The house we are renting is actually being sold (we are also being charged an extortionate £216 "checking out fee" so I really not see the point in us paying for a professional clean, when we are able to adequately clean the house ourselves.
Mr Pointy said:
On what grounds do you say this, given that there is a specific clause in their tenancy agreement that says it does have to be professionally cleaned?
There are clauses you can put in the contract, and many do, but they are not actually enforceable. Is it reasonable, for example, to say a house needs a pro carpet clean throughout that might cost, say, £500, when the tenant could achieve the same result doing it themselves hiring the equipment for £100?What difference does it make to the carpet if the pro does it for £500 or the tenants does it for £100? The net result is the same.
How do you tell if a carpet has been cleaned by a pro or by the tenant renting the same equipment? And how do you know it would be a better job? The only difference is having a receipt.
What if just spot cleaning the carpet with a spray shampoo and a hoovering etc gets it to the same standard it was when they moved in. There would be no need for it to be professionally cleaned.
It just needs to be handed back in the same condition as when they received it. That might not take a pro clean to do. And if the agents/landlord can't prove that, then they'll probably struggle to make a claim from the deposit.
If it's already in poor condition or stained and marked, those should be catalogued in the inventory. Description of the mark, where it is in the room etc. They can't use a blanket statement like - some marking and staining to the carpet. How can they prove who caused the damage?
If you mess something up in a rental house, then accept it and pay for it, but if you haven't, then it's not your problem. The deposit isn't for the landlord to improve the house with.
You can put whatever you like in a contract, but it doesn't make it enforceable.
I'm sure you were required to pay a deposit prior to moving in. If you're bothered about £150 (minus the cost of doing it yourself) you probably want your deposit back asap. If you do a poor job of cleaning yourself do not expect your landlord to authorise the release of your deposit until the cleaning is done to his/her satisfaction. You may find doing it yourself is a false economy.
I left my rental flat in February after a year and having never rented before was surprised when the agents said I needed to arrange for a professional end of tenancy clean.
I called them up and explained that I would be cleaning it as when I arrived I had to thoroughly clean the place myself and no such professional clean had obviously been done when I took out the tenancy agreement.
They were more than happy with the way I left, and on the end of tenancy check out report it states how there are areas that have been left cleaner than when the check in was done.
I got my full deposit back.
I went around with a magic eraser on the walls to remove any scuffs, paid particular attention to light switches and sockets, and ensures there was no limescale visible on anything.
I did pay £40 to have the oven cleaned professionally, as the oven cleaner you buy in the shops is never good enough and takes a lot of elbow grease to get half decent.
I called them up and explained that I would be cleaning it as when I arrived I had to thoroughly clean the place myself and no such professional clean had obviously been done when I took out the tenancy agreement.
They were more than happy with the way I left, and on the end of tenancy check out report it states how there are areas that have been left cleaner than when the check in was done.
I got my full deposit back.
I went around with a magic eraser on the walls to remove any scuffs, paid particular attention to light switches and sockets, and ensures there was no limescale visible on anything.
I did pay £40 to have the oven cleaned professionally, as the oven cleaner you buy in the shops is never good enough and takes a lot of elbow grease to get half decent.
All we can agree on, is these contracts and agencies are wrong.And landlords need to be far more controlled like in parts of Europe .I've rented in germany and it was amazing .
We had to pay for a ref check on a property .Once we where in .I asked for the money back as they did not carry out any checks . they just want the money .
We had to pay for a ref check on a property .Once we where in .I asked for the money back as they did not carry out any checks . they just want the money .
A word of caution here.
We did not have a professional cleaning clause.
However, we did receive a letter saying they expected it to be professionally cleaned when we gave notice.
We objected to this stating it wasn't in the contract, and despite the check out not stating dirty carpets, as we cleaned them ourselves, the landlord (no doubt egged on by the agent collecting more fees) pushed for payment on this. It went to the TDS and they sided with the landlord, stating professional cleaning was a 'reasonsble request'
Paid up and got on with our lives, but was absolutely livid.
May or may not have failed to turn up at several fake house viewings arranged with said agent in the next couple of months.
We did not have a professional cleaning clause.
However, we did receive a letter saying they expected it to be professionally cleaned when we gave notice.
We objected to this stating it wasn't in the contract, and despite the check out not stating dirty carpets, as we cleaned them ourselves, the landlord (no doubt egged on by the agent collecting more fees) pushed for payment on this. It went to the TDS and they sided with the landlord, stating professional cleaning was a 'reasonsble request'
Paid up and got on with our lives, but was absolutely livid.
May or may not have failed to turn up at several fake house viewings arranged with said agent in the next couple of months.
brianashley said:
All we can agree on, is these contracts and agencies are wrong.And landlords need to be far more controlled like in parts of Europe .I've rented in germany and it was amazing .
We had to pay for a ref check on a property .Once we where in .I asked for the money back as they did not carry out any checks . they just want the money .
We most certainly do not agree on that. Look after the property and return it in the same condition you found it in minus reasonable wear and tear. Beyond that do not expect all (any) of your deposit back.We had to pay for a ref check on a property .Once we where in .I asked for the money back as they did not carry out any checks . they just want the money .
Slagathore said:
There are clauses you can put in the contract, and many do, but they are not actually enforceable. Is it reasonable, for example, to say a house needs a pro carpet clean throughout that might cost, say, £500, when the tenant could achieve the same result doing it themselves hiring the equipment for £100?
What difference does it make to the carpet if the pro does it for £500 or the tenants does it for £100? The net result is the same.
How do you tell if a carpet has been cleaned by a pro or by the tenant renting the same equipment? And how do you know it would be a better job? The only difference is having a receipt.
What if just spot cleaning the carpet with a spray shampoo and a hoovering etc gets it to the same standard it was when they moved in. There would be no need for it to be professionally cleaned.
It just needs to be handed back in the same condition as when they received it. That might not take a pro clean to do. And if the agents/landlord can't prove that, then they'll probably struggle to make a claim from the deposit.
If it's already in poor condition or stained and marked, those should be catalogued in the inventory. Description of the mark, where it is in the room etc. They can't use a blanket statement like - some marking and staining to the carpet. How can they prove who caused the damage?
If you mess something up in a rental house, then accept it and pay for it, but if you haven't, then it's not your problem. The deposit isn't for the landlord to improve the house with.
You can put whatever you like in a contract, but it doesn't make it enforceable.
What you say about enforcement of clauses is certainly true.What difference does it make to the carpet if the pro does it for £500 or the tenants does it for £100? The net result is the same.
How do you tell if a carpet has been cleaned by a pro or by the tenant renting the same equipment? And how do you know it would be a better job? The only difference is having a receipt.
What if just spot cleaning the carpet with a spray shampoo and a hoovering etc gets it to the same standard it was when they moved in. There would be no need for it to be professionally cleaned.
It just needs to be handed back in the same condition as when they received it. That might not take a pro clean to do. And if the agents/landlord can't prove that, then they'll probably struggle to make a claim from the deposit.
If it's already in poor condition or stained and marked, those should be catalogued in the inventory. Description of the mark, where it is in the room etc. They can't use a blanket statement like - some marking and staining to the carpet. How can they prove who caused the damage?
If you mess something up in a rental house, then accept it and pay for it, but if you haven't, then it's not your problem. The deposit isn't for the landlord to improve the house with.
You can put whatever you like in a contract, but it doesn't make it enforceable.
But you clearly don't have much experience of carpet cleaning! I've tried Rug Dr and used professionals extensively in my home and BTLs - the difference is night and day! If you do something all day everyday you get pretty good you know, like erm professional even...
Tenants DIYing on rental property often ends in disaster and as such is totally not happening on my watch.
Oven cleaning is another case in point. There is no way a lay person can achieve the results a pro can and more often just end up scratching the internal surfaces/glass.
OP Just man up and pay your dues.
FWIW where I've had good long term tenants I have once or twice waived these costs if everything else is ship shape and done to a high standard.
Agree with Double six.
We have had tenants who try and fail and it ends up costing them for the oven dishwasher and carpets to be professionally cleaned, afterwards.
One tenant had their Mum come around and spend 2 days cleaning for them. 60 miles drive each way, time and materials etc.
Oven £40
Dishwasher £5
Carpets £60 (fully carpeted 2 bed)
Not expensive to have done.
We have had tenants who try and fail and it ends up costing them for the oven dishwasher and carpets to be professionally cleaned, afterwards.
One tenant had their Mum come around and spend 2 days cleaning for them. 60 miles drive each way, time and materials etc.
Oven £40
Dishwasher £5
Carpets £60 (fully carpeted 2 bed)
Not expensive to have done.
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