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Getting a rented property professionally cleaned

Kanda said:
Well if it wasn't, and you have said it wasn't. You should have bought it up when you moved in really?? Rather than clean it yourself.

It's not always that easy to prove. Our agreement says it was professionally cleaned but the cleaner only turned up after we moved in and I'd already done it. Sometimes you haven't got time/resources/courage to address it.
 
What does it say about the general cleanliness of the house?

I still reckon that the LL/agency don't have a leg to stand on regarding making you pay for a cleaner if it was dirty when you moved in, regardless of what the contract says.
 
Kanda said:
Well if it wasn't, and you have said it wasn't. You should have bought it up when you moved in really?? Rather than clean it yourself.

well maybe. But it's not really something that crossed my mind at the time.
I don't mind cleaning the house myself. What i object to is being forced to spend an absolute fortune on professional cleaners. I mean, paying for it is going to eat up pretty much all of my deposit money.
 
The Doctor said:
Do you have a source for this?

How may experiences have you had with letting agents to come up with 'most'?


I have shit credit and never had trouble getting a place. The letting agent only gets paid if they let the place so they lie!

They will do a employer ref and ask for bank refs but experian reports and so on are rarely carried out.
 
Hellsbells said:
The inventory doesn't mention anything about the house having been professionally cleaned anyway. Is that kind of thing normally written on an inventory?

It should be...

This is really tricky and I would start bombarding them with paperwork supporting your position.
 
TopCat said:
I have shit credit and never had trouble getting a place. The letting agent only gets paid if they let the place so they lie!

They will do a employer ref and ask for bank refs but experian reports and so on are rarely carried out.

I've used 4 different letting agents in London and each time I've had to get a gaurantor due to my credit rating....

So um... ;)
 
You should shop around. I insisted that I wanted a tenant reference iE did the landlord pay back the deposit, carry out repairs promptly and so on before i would sign, several agents told me to piss off but others were fine. :)
 
TopCat said:
You should shop around. I insisted that I wanted a tenant reference iE did the landlord pay back the deposit, carry out repairs promptly and so on before i would sign, several agents told me to piss off but others were fine. :)

Not really. I like agents that actually do it by the book. You don't get half these problems ;)
 
TopCat said:
If it's been 7 years then fair wear and tear will account for any mess or stains.

This is true. Not that it will stop them if they want to steal from you. IME about 50% of landlords/letting agencies will take some or all of your deposit regardless of condition or what is in the tenancy agreement.
 
madzone said:
Moody bitch :)

Not at all, I just don't get how people a) sign contracts without reading them (seems to crop up a lot on Urban!) b) Would not pull the letting agent up or at least get a note put on file about it.

:)
 
Kanda said:
Not at all, I just don't get how people a) sign contracts without reading them (seems to crop up a lot on Urban!) b) Would not pull the letting agent up or at least get a note put on file about it.

:)

I meant me, I've just woken up :D
 
I'm not sure they do lie anymore - credit checking is an industry in itself , it only costs them about a tenner per person to do it. Hell I 've even started credit checking clients, after being ripped off, it's so easy to do and it's peace of mind.

You can't usually stop the rent before you move out anymore coz most places got smart to that and ask for more that one months deposit.

Anyway, I suggest the OP cleans it themselves, then makes up a fake reciept - phone number of a mate on it perhaps in case they check? For a house they charge about £400 (in London). If you do clean its yourself you need to spend about two days over it (for a house), be very thorough - so you need to clean walls, oven, carpets, windows, eveything, very thoroughly, perhaps after you've moved out.
 
The Doctor said:
Do you have a source for this?

How may experiences have you had with letting agents to come up with 'most'?

Nicholas Ashley (gipsy Hill, south London) didn't do much research on me.
I work in a pub, gave them the number and a contact name. They called, asked for the name, asked him to write a letter and I wrote the letteron non-headed paper.
I was legit, but think about it...it wasn't very foolproof ringing a pub and asking for the name you gave them.
 
pinkmonkey said:
If you do clean its yourself you need to spend about two days over it (for a house), be very thorough - so you need to clean walls, oven, carpets, windows, eveything, very thoroughly, perhaps after you've moved out.

I would second this.

We moved out 3 days before the end of the contract (2 bed terrace) and spent two of those days cleaning absolutely everything and washing the curtains etc. It was far cleaner than when we moved in (bastards!) and we got every penny of our deposit back.

If they use an inventory company to check you out, they are generally very thorough but fair.
 
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