Deposit withheld for cleaning

gailforecast

Hi guys, what are the specific laws about witholding part of a deposit for cleaning? We recently moved out of an apartment and the estate agent carried out an inspection and they said that the apartment was very “dusty and dirty” and would need to be professionally cleaned, which would be deducted from our deposit. I wouldn’t mind, but we spent over a week cleaning the place, giving it a lick of paint and basically making sure everything was cleaned, beyond what is generally required. We’ve always paid our rent on time, and been polite and courteous dealing with both landlord and agent.

They also said we left our property there, which consisted of 3 lighters and a bird bomb on the balcony.

Asking friends, one who used to work in an estate agents, basically said that most agents will just get a cleaner in anyway, and some attempt to bill the tenant for this under any loose grounds.

Anyone have an experience similar to this? What constitutes “dusty and dirty”, to the point where we should be billed? Are they just chancing their arm?

3 lighter's and a bomb, mild stuff but technically correct. Cleaning is what? 100? Maybe 200 Max?

Did you have more than one inspection? There's usually an inspection that points out issues and you are then given time to correct them before the final inspection. Any issues should have been raised and pointed out prior to moving ideally.

gailforecast

Niner leprauchan wrote: »

3 lighter's and a bomb, mild stuff but technically correct. Cleaning is what? 100? Maybe 200 Max?

Did you have more than one inspection? There's usually an inspection that points out issues and you are then given time to correct them before the final inspection. Any issues should have been raised and pointed out prior to moving ideally.

Nope, the inspection was carried out without us present. We weren’t told we could rectify it, just that the cost would be deducted from our deposit. 100-200 quid for removing lighters is a bit steep. Worth noting that this was only brought up when I phoned them about it, because the previous tenant had left a bunch of stuff behind Which we had to remove (including enemas, sex toys and a balaclava, but that’s a different story)

Claw Hammer

No deduction can be made for standard cleaning. At the inspection you should have been offered the opportunity to deal with the matter before a deduction was considered.
RTB claim indicated.

gailforecast

Claw Hammer wrote: »

No deduction can be made for standard cleaning. At the inspection you should have been offered the opportunity to deal with the matter before a deduction was considered.
RTB claim indicated.

That’s what I had read online. I had also taken pictures before we left, so I think we’ve a good case.

virgo69

Ask them for a copy of the invoice.

Claw Hammer

virgo69 wrote: »

Ask them for a copy of the invoice.

What good is a copy of the invoice?

virgo69

Receipt then, lets not be pedantic.....proof that the money was actually paid and a breakdown of what it covered.

Claw Hammer

virgo69 wrote: »

Receipt then, lets not be pedantic.....proof that the money was actually paid and a breakdown of what it covered.

No point. The argument is that there should never have been a charge not what the charge was or whether it was genuinely paid. Straight to the RTB for wrongful withholding of deposit. the argument will be over whether there was wear and tear or cleaning in excess of normal. the landlord has 2 chances.

gailforecast

virgo69 wrote: »

Receipt then, lets not be pedantic.....proof that the money was actually paid and a breakdown of what it covered.

This doesn’t answer the question that was asked. We shouldn’t have been billed in the first place.

Assetbacked

Does an agent's fee for flipping the tenants typically cover cleaning? So this attempt to bill the tenant for normal cleaning is coming from the agent?

gailforecast

Assetbacked wrote: »

Does an agent's fee for flipping the tenants typically cover cleaning? So this attempt to bill the tenant for normal cleaning is coming from the agent?

Yes, it’s coming directly from the agent. Like I said, the place was clean when we left.

gailforecast

gailforecast wrote: »

Nope, the inspection was carried out without us present. We weren’t told we could rectify it, just that the cost would be deducted from our deposit. 100-200 quid for removing lighters is a bit steep. Worth noting that this was only brought up when I phoned them about it, because the previous tenant had left a bunch of stuff behind Which we had to remove (including enemas, sex toys and a balaclava, but that’s a different story)

Unless there was an issue somewhere along the lines preventing normal procedure, it's as claw said.

ning sudnaen

gailforecast wrote: »

Hi guys, what are the specific laws about witholding part of a deposit for cleaning? We recently moved out of an apartment and the estate agent carried out an inspection and they said that the apartment was very “dusty and dirty” and would need to be professionally cleaned, which would be deducted from our deposit. I wouldn’t mind, but we spent over a week cleaning the place, giving it a lick of paint and basically making sure everything was cleaned, beyond what is generally required. We’ve always paid our rent on time, and been polite and courteous dealing with both landlord and agent.

They also said we left our property there, which consisted of 3 lighters and a bird bomb on the balcony.

Asking friends, one who used to work in an estate agents, basically said that most agents will just get a cleaner in anyway, and some attempt to bill the tenant for this under any loose grounds.

Anyone have an experience similar to this? What constitutes “dusty and dirty”, to the point where we should be billed? Are they just chancing their arm?

The apartment should be clean when you move in and when you move out. If it was dirty when you moved in or the report was dishonest then it should have been sorted out. If when you moved out lets say the oven was dirty and on the initial report it stated everything clean then the person moving out should pay for the oven to be cleaned or clean it themselves

Claw Hammer

Assetbacked wrote: »

Does an agent's fee for flipping the tenants typically cover cleaning? So this attempt to bill the tenant for normal cleaning is coming from the agent?

The agents fee is for letting an management. The agent charges the owner, not the tenant. An agent, by law, is only allowed charge one party to a property transaction.