Another Landlord/Agency Question!

gradyhawks

gradyhawks

gradyhawks

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Huzzar!

Next to eBay problems and massive life decisions, I think landlord stuff is rather common here in GD, so why not throw another into the fray.

So me and the misses found a place and we paid the abhorrent agency fee's, £420, to them and they have asked us for the deposit and 1st months rent, £1450. Okay fine, but before we send it I read over the tenancy agreement, all looks okay to me aside from this:

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Along side:

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So I'll have to pay for someone to come and clean the carpets and the flat, professionally, or I will be breaking the contract. I can understand money coming out of your deposit for said cleaners IF the place isn't up to scratch when we move out, but to have to do this as part of the tenancy agreement seems a bit nobish.

Anyone have any advice? Am I just buggered since they have already had £420 off us already as agency fee's ... that said the only thing that was mentioned before we handed that cash over was that there was brand new carpets in the flat.

Cheers,

Grady
 
Pretty standard, just provide them an receipt from cleaning company at end, some people even fake this after cleaning yourself, it's not hard ;)

As long as you have a document that proves you had it clean the TDS won't take it from your deposit
 
MrMoonX said:
Pretty standard, just provide them an receipt from cleaning company at end, some people even fake this after cleaning yourself, it's not hard ;)

As long as you have a document that proves you had it clean the TDS won't take it from your deposit
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Last 5 houses I have been in, we've been told the entire "if there is a mess we take it from the deposit" but never "You need to hire a professional cleaner".

I would clean it after I lived there, as I want my full deposit back, but I won't hire outside help unless I need it. This clause will mean that I will have no choice but to hire someone, that they approve of, to clean the place. Not me hiring a Mr. Vac and doing it myself.

lord filbuster said:
Are these clauses actually enforceable?

Could they prove it was professionally cleaned before you moved in? You shouldn't be expected to leave it in a better state than before.
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It is clean when we moved in and there have been new carpets, so it wouldn't have needed the carpets cleaning.

I see it as the landlord just wanting the new carpets to be kept in decent condition but to have it so we have to use an approved cleaner doesn't seem right to me.
 
Normal standard stuff. Every agreement at any reputable agency will say the same or similar. I've been renting for ten years and had 4 different properties with pets and never had a problem.
 
My only problem with it all is the fact that we have to use a professional that they APPROVE of. So I can't just get anyone or even get the equipment to do it myself, I have to have someone on their approval lists... who no doubt is rather expensive.
 
MrMoonX said:
Pretty standard, just provide them an receipt from cleaning company at end, some people even fake this after cleaning yourself, it's not hard ;)

As long as you have a document that proves you had it clean the TDS won't take it from your deposit
Click to expand...

This is not standard on any tenancy I've had. Looks like a licence to get screwed.
 
i've run a cleaning based in surrey for over 6 years now (though as of 01/07/15 we are no longer just a cleaning company). the main service we have provided over those 6 years is cleaning rental properties, cleaning everything, so full top to bottom cleaning of each room, carpet cleaning, ovens, etc.

having it in your contract that you use someone they approve comes up every now and again so it common enough. We get people who book us and then realise they have to use the agencies cleaners and then cancel. i obviously don't hear about the tenants that know this so it's more common than i hear. it's a pain, as the company they suggest will more often than not be way more expensive than the competition, but then you know the price you pay will ensure you get your deposit back assuming no major damage has been caused. the agencies do this as not only is it going to make them a bit of extra money from commission, but also they wont ever have to deal with the loss of money when a tenant decides to use a too cheap cleaning company that does a half arsed job. as there is usually only days between tenancy (some times hours!), if when the agency comes to inspect and find it still dirty, this can cause major problems as it's then another day or 2 for the cleaning to be done properly, with another inventory clerk inspection required, and then they have to fight the tenant who doesn't want to pay the second cleaning company charges as they feel they've already paid enough to the first company.

in theory, if you get the place cleaned by a company of your choice, and then the agency insists you use their recommended cleaners, when that company comes in to quote and finds it's spotless there should be no charge. but this can cause more issues, such as if they find one tiny oversight, you may find a bill of £100+ for them to spend the 2 minutes it takes to clean it.

how long has the tenancy been for? you mention the carpets were new so don't need cleaning, but surely you've lived in the house? say you've lived there 1 year, imagine if you'd never mopped the hard floor for the whole time, you'd say it's dirty. it's the same with the carpet. even if it's vacuumed it'll still need to be cleaned.

if you're concerned about being ripped off, perhaps get a quote or 2 from some companies, and then get the price from their recommended cleaners. you'll have to pay someone to clean at the very least the carpets so you're going to be paying one way or another. at least if you get some prices then you can see how much extra you're being charged. it may be £100 from random companies, or £150 from theirs. It sucks but you're only being shafted out of £50 if you look at it like that. ** No business promotion please **
 
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I don't see any reason for a professional clean unless you've made a right mess, leaving it in the same condition is understandable but you shouldn't have to pay for it.

Like someone mentioned you could make your own receipt and hope it goes smoothly :p
 
The women at my agency I know well, been with them years and they are lovely people.
They are saying if you have pets its standard. If not then its up to the agency but most now want a receipt for pro cleaning if you are moving into property with new carpets.
 
I have my old house let. The tenant asked if she could have a cat. I said fine, but I'm allergic to them so the house would need to be professionally cleaned when she left for me to be able to move back.
 
Quartz said:
I have my old house let. The tenant asked if she could have a cat. I said fine, but I'm allergic to them so the house would need to be professionally cleaned when she left for me to be able to move back.
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That's fair :) was good of you to let her have a cat under those circumstances.
 
stopper said:
Since they hold the deposit, yes.
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That would depend on the circumstances I would imagine.

If their approved company charges (e.g.) 20% more than everyone else, they could probably get away with it.

If their approved company charges 200% more than everyone else, I'd imagine you'd be able to appeal it under the unfair contract terms act
 
lord filbuster said:
Are these clauses actually enforceable?

Could they prove it was professionally cleaned before you moved in? You shouldn't be expected to leave it in a better state than before.
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We left a house in a better state than we moved in and they charged us £40 because there were a few weeds in the front garden (literally a few, I picked most of them out)
 
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Roar87 said:
We left a house in a better state than we moved in and they charged us £40 because there were a few weeds in the front garden (literally a few, I picked most of them out)
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Did you actually let them take £40? I would've contested that with the deposit scheme, doesn't cost £40 to clear a few weeds.

Had an issue on my old rented flat where we "lost" a shoe rack and the landlord wanted to charge us £50+ for a new one. Told the agency where to go and did my own homework and even phoned up the company who installed it, talked to a nice women who's son was going through the same issue and told me to send the pictures and they would confirm if the landlord was correct or not.

Turned out she was totally wrong and only cost £20. Stupid agency even asked if I was going to order it and drop it off to them..:rolleyes:
 
These cleaning clauses are to get over the different standards people have, even cleaning companies have. Your clean and another persons clean can be very different things so if you say it has to be done by an approved company you get it done to the same standard each time.
When I moved out of rented we cleaned it ourselves, hired a carpet cleaner and literally washed it from top to bottom of each room but it wasn't an easy job, it took hours and was a definite step on from what would be normal "clean". Some people think pushing a hoover around and wiping the windows is job done.

Get some quotes to compare when the time comes
 
This is why you take pictures before moving in.

One place we rented there was this orange gunk in the kitchen cupboards, the only thing that could get that off was break cleaner.

Cleaning carpets is standard really, particularly if you have pets.
 
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