First time renting - cleanliness of the apartment

sheroman01

Edit: This should be under Tenant Rights I'd imagine, apologies.


I signed a lease last week for a studio, with one month rent+deposit sent the next day. There was already a tenant in the studio until yesterday, so I got the keys today and moved in.

I believe that the landlord left it up to the tenant for the place to be cleaned. It's not in a mess any means, but certainly not spotless, e.g. receipt and bit of dust on the floor, the mat at the entrance is quite dirty, under the mattress some dust/dirt, bulb in the bedroom/living area not working, toilet seat broke and the vent in the bathroom is very dusty.

The toilet seat, vent and bulb was said verbally to me that it would be fixed but wasn't written down in the lease. As for the cleanliness of the place, I'm not sure if its even worth mentioning? On one hand, it would have been nice to arrive to a spotless place for peace of mind, but on the other, I don't want to be complaining on day 1 of my tenancy! Any advice on how I should approach this? Thanks

The_Conductor

Honestly- if there was a tenant in there right up until the day you moved in- the list of things you have- is minor and inconsequential.
I would make up a little list nonetheless- and offer the landlord an opportunity to rectify some of the more obvious ones (broken toilet seat, the air vent etc for example)- but as for the dust and the receipt- they're just regular cleaning that 85% of people probably wouldn't even notice.

I know its annoying to have to do a spring clean when you've just moved into the place- but honestly- the list you've given- is minor- and absolutely everyone- does a tidyup and a little cleaning whenever they move in somewhere.

Twenty Grand

Ask for a new mattress.

I always do when I move.

marieholmfan

Unless it is a short term serviced let just make a note of it and politely inform the landlord that you are going to replace the seat. Deduct the cost of the seat from the next month's rent. Spring clean the place.

I would mention that the place wasn't that clean when you moved in but politely and only to ensure that there is no professional cleaning charge when you move out.

If it is a serviced let get on straight away and be quite pushy.

sheroman01 wrote: »

Edit: This should be under Tenant Rights I'd imagine, apologies.


I signed a lease last week for a studio, with one month rent+deposit sent the next day. There was already a tenant in the studio until yesterday, so I got the keys today and moved in.

I believe that the landlord left it up to the tenant for the place to be cleaned. It's not in a mess any means, but certainly not spotless, e.g. receipt and bit of dust on the floor, the mat at the entrance is quite dirty, under the mattress some dust/dirt, bulb in the bedroom/living area not working, toilet seat broke and the vent in the bathroom is very dusty.

The toilet seat, vent and bulb was said verbally to me that it would be fixed but wasn't written down in the lease. As for the cleanliness of the place, I'm not sure if its even worth mentioning? On one hand, it would have been nice to arrive to a spotless place for peace of mind, but on the other, I don't want to be complaining on day 1 of my tenancy! Any advice on how I should approach this? Thanks

sheroman01

Thanks for the replies all. I guess that's the risk when paying a deposit and signing a lease when a tenant is still living there - lesson learned for the future! As you's have said, they're not major issues and cheap fixes, so I think I'll do them myself. I'll politely mention it to the landlord, but won't ask for money back, as it's day one. Hopefully it will stand to me in good stead for the future if something is ever needed.

runawaybishop

marieholmfan wrote: »

Unless it is a short term serviced let just make a note of it and politely inform the landlord that you are going to replace the seat. Deduct the cost of the seat from the next month's rent.

You can't withhold rent for that.

the_syco

Photograph the place with timestamps on the photo, and do a spring clean. Advise the LL of such. Just in case when you move out, the LL finds somewhere that you didn't clean somewhere that was dirty when you moved in, and tries to take it out of your deposit, you can show said photos and remark that the place wasn't clean when you moved in.

sheroman01

the_syco wrote: »

Photograph the place with timestamps on the photo, and do a spring clean. Advise the LL of such. Just in case when you move out, the LL finds somewhere that you didn't clean somewhere that was dirty when you moved in, and tries to take it out of your deposit, you can show said photos and remark that the place wasn't clean when you moved in.

Have done exactly that, photos taken and will let the LL know. Not a huge cleaning to do, but better to be safe than sorry. Thanks for the replies.

Doop

Unfortunately the cleanliness item is the norm in Ireland. I have never moved into a place and not needed to do a significant clean, its not fair in my book, I said it to my current landlord and the response was... 'ah the last tenant assured me he would leave it spotless'. Given the amount your paying I dont think its extreme to expect a place to be professional cleaned between tenants.

The_Conductor

Honestly- I think all units should be professionally cleaned between lettings- its inexcusable in todays age that this basic courtesy is not extended across the board. Its not even particularly expensive- and from a landlords perspective 1) its tax deductible and 2) its an excellent way to get a checklist of any damage done to the unit.

It is poor form- however, and unfortunately- its also par du course.

marieholmfan

Doop wrote: »

Unfortunately the cleanliness item is the norm in Ireland. I have never moved into a place and not needed to do a significant clean, its not fair in my book, I said it to my current landlord and the response was... 'ah the last tenant assured me he would leave it spotless'. Given the amount your paying I dont think its extreme to expect a place to be professional cleaned between tenants.

The core difficulty there is that most ' Small Professional ' landlords would deduct the cost of cleaning from the deposit.

Just on the toilet seat I would always allow deduction of things like toilet seats, blinds, shower heads etc. from the rent. Is this not the norm? (obviously with receipt).

The_Conductor

marieholmfan wrote: »

The core difficulty there is that most ' Small Professional ' landlords would deduct the cost of cleaning from the deposit.

Just on the toilet seat I would always allow deduction of things like toilet seats, blinds, shower heads etc. from the rent. Is this not the norm? (obviously with receipt).

Its fine to deduct the cost of cleaning from the deposit- providing it is a term of the rental at the outset that the unit is going to be professionally cleaned at the end of the lease at the tenant's expense. Its the norm with executive lettings. It is not, unfortunately the norm with regular lettings. Also- it cannot be imposed on a tenant- it has to be agreed between both parties in advance. For executive lettings- there would almost be something wrong for it not to expressly stated as such at the outset.

The fact of the matter is- all units should be professionally cleaned between lettings- period. Ideally all units should also be let unfurnished- however, we're aways from getting there in Ireland the UK.

We have become exceptionally lax as both tenants and landlords in Ireland- and the standards we expect (on the part of both) quite simply are not being delivered.