[craignozza]

We did an end of tenancy clean on Sunday afternoon. Went and quoted originally for other rooms but tenants said their private landlord was supposedly getting rid of bedroom carpet and then doing decorating so didnt need / want hsl doing so we just did lounge. Carpet wasnt really dirty, few unknown marks, general wear around doorway and infront of where sofa was. Also had faded by window where furniture was / wasnt. Also stunk of cats as did most of house but I didnt see any signs of urine staining.

Anyway had phone call this afternoon from tenants stating that landlord was with holding their deposit as he didnt believe carpet had been cleaned  We have already been paid, tenants were happy with clean. We got rid of marks around fireplace and rest of everyday soiling - they knew we're not magicians and cant stop signs of wear. I have done them a receipt and outlined what we did and the problem areas that remained ie wear to satisfy their landlord in a bid to get their deposit back. What confuses me is that they have arranged for another cleaner to look at carpet to prove it has been cleaned  Stupidly I didnt take photos on Sunday so lesson learnt on that front but just wondered if we should expect a come back from this?  The tenants repeated on the phone that they were happy with what we had done and thankful for me writing out a statement on the receipt - I take it they are only getting a 2nd opinion to prove their point to the landlord... (Tenants have claimed that they got it cleaned once a year in accordance with their landlords wishes but I dont believe thats the case)

To be honest it sounds like its just a dodgy landlord trying it on as he is going to be moving back in there himself and I just wonder if he wanted to keep the deposit 

Craigs Mrs - Vickie

[Mark Lawrence]

Yep, same thing happened to me, and I think its a growing trend that some unscrupulous landlords have cottoned on to.

In our case the tenant was happy and paid, the landlord then said it hasnt been cleaned properly and was witholding the deposit. I get a phone call from the tenenat saying that she is now 'unhappy' with the clean and demanded a refund.

I explained that I would visit to see what the problem was, and will even re-clean if rquired. She said no, and that the landlord was going to 'get his own cleaning company that he uses' in to do it properly. I said well what I'll do then is come and see 'this other company' and if they can get it cleaner then I would refund their money.

She said no, and if she didnt get a refund she would report me to trading standards. Well that was the end of that conversation, and left her to it. I think I was being more than fair.

So, yes this is something for CC's to look out for with these types of landlords about - I even doubt whether this landlord even had a cleaning company that he uses.

Mark

[craignozza]

Cheers Mark,

Their deposit wasnt being held in the gov scheme its supposed to be, landlord had just kept cash and isnt willing to give it back. Just peed me off that its happened early on in us starting up. Doing an eot for students on thursday and that is in a much worse state so lesson learnt and lots of photos will be taken. I know we did a good job so hopefully other cc'er will just confirm its been done and we wont hear anything more. Sort of comforting to know we're not alone though 

Vickie

[Adam P]

yeah you get so many problems with letting agent cleans.

he could have wanted to keep the deposit to replace the carpets if they're worn. could be the letting agent have said to the landlord doesn't look clean and now he's reported it's supposedly not clean before he's seen it and the letting agent wants their company in which gives them 10% commission. we did a clean a couple weeks ago which needed to be dry within couple hours as someone moving in same day so we used rotary at the end. the inventory clerk then did the checks once we'd left and said it hadn't been cleaned because they didn't recognise the marks and were expecting the diamonds. to save hassle we said we'd go back and clean again, but we simply ran a broom over it to make diamond shapes and then they were funnily enough happy it was clean.

as good as rental cleans can be more often then not they're such a pain and almost always low pay whilst being the dirtiest places, with more hassle then after you've finished.

another one is being blamed for damage that you didn't cause. it's impossible to do a full check of everything before you start and many times we've been accused of damage to things like tarnished taps, scratched surfaces marks on caprets they didn't notice before etc.

[Linds Russell]

I learned from a letting agent that we work closely with that carpets have no write off value after 7 years, so if the carpet is older than 7 years (possibly difficult to prove) then the landlord may be changing it anyway. If they are going to claim you, I would try to establish any remaining write off value but I am sure your insurers would cover that base anyway.

Linds

[Doug Holloway]

Hi Guys

Must admit that I tend to steer clear of EOT unless they will pay me to do it properly.

It's a minefield about what needed doing and what didn't so best just to do it all.

EOT can be good well paid work but has a lot more potential problems that a standard domestic because their are more parties involved.

I must admit I did a stain removal a few weeks ago when the Landlord said the carpet cleaners had not removed  a stain. When I inspected they had done a pretty good job but probably just didn't have the power or knowledge to remove what I thought was hair removal wax.

Cheers

Doug

[Paul Redden Countryfresh]

"they didn't recognise the marks and were expecting the diamonds. to save hassle we said we'd go back and clean again, but we simply ran a broom over it to make diamond shapes and then they were funnily enough happy it was clean."

    Classic!

[Gary Humphreys]

Tell them to report the landlord for not putting deposit in a scheme. Landlords can end up seriously out of pocket and wont want to be reported.

[Steve Rothwell]

not any more they can't..................

they can put it in a scheme the day before a court hearing and the hearing will be cancelled.

a few stray judges sorted that out, and there is also no way whatsoever to get them fined the 3x deposit amount any more either.

I know I tried with my last landlord