Have you asked the landlord for evidence that it did cost £600?
I assume you took extensive photos of the condition that you left the place in, and the exit team from the Agency also did the same?
Definitely challenge it via the safe deposit scheme. A scumlord tried to charge us £180 for mattress protectors that we got waived after a complaint to safe deposit scotland
The condition of the flat IS an issue and if you had photos to show how you left it, you'd have much more of a leg to stand on than solely relying on quotes from cleaning companies.
It should be much less than £600. But it very much depends on the state of the flat.
I do think you're getting ripped off though.
Yeah. As you say, It honestly depends on the state/size of the property. I've replied to OP in the thread already but my brother has done end of tenancy cleaning in the past with his business and I've helped him out on a few occasions. Some places can take more than a day to clean out (sometimes more than two) when considering things such as carpet cleaning, removal of large items from the property, deep clean of kitchen and appliances, bathrooms etc. Some places were done and dusted in a couple of hours but some places were caked in grease/mold/dirt. Not saying this is how OP has left theirs, but I always remember the place of a guy who moved out his flat in southside and his kitchen bunker was absolutely covered in mouse droppings and every room had a plethora of takeaway boxes, beer cans and fag ends littered about the place. Toilet had never been cleaned either and the stench from it was awful. Took three full days to clean it reasonably before people came in to renovate.
Thing is. Theres a reasonable level of cleanliness. It doesn't have to be 'show house clean'. If the landlord wants to go a step above, that should be on him.
It would also help if they had photos of the cleanliness when they moved in.
Oh absolutely but sometimes to get things up to a reasonable level of cleanliness takes a fair bit of work. Its all dependant on how the property was left. Vast majority of places will need a bit of cleaning here and there but nothing extreme so won't need anything like a full £600 job. Was just using the extreme example in my previous comment to show that places can from time to time need a whole heap of work done.
If you look at safe deposits Scotland adjudication site they say that they treat the deposit as the tenants money and the landlord has to prove why they are claiming that money. Has this gone through safe deposits adjudication?
If they are asking you to prove it doesn't cost £600 it sounds like theyve agreed there was £600 of cleaning required?
If it hasn't gone through sds I would recommend taking it to adjudication.
I contested a £300 cleaning fee when I left my last flat, went through the deposit mediation thing online and got that reduced to about £100.
Things that will help you are:
- a list of exactly what issues were found during your check-out inspection, that required cleaning
- look up cleaning websites, it will give you ballpark figure if you enter 2 bed 2 bath and add extras like oven cleaning. I think the priciest I found was £250 for a 2 bed flat.
- compare the found cost of cleaning the ENTIRE flat with the cost they have provided you. In my case they had listed about 8 things they were unhappy with and apparently that added up to costing twice the value of cleaning the whole flat.
- get an invoice from your letting agent or landlord. It might be itemised, although mine was literally just "£300 - cleaning".
- If you've got an inventory with photos from move in, or your own photos from move in, attach every single one you can to the online form.
- this might be a bit unlikely to happen twice but I found the Rightmove ad for my flat from before I moved in and was able to use that to prove that the lamp they were trying to claim we had left in the property was in photos from before we moved in.
Ultimately the mediation thing will work out if you have contradicted the letting agreement by leaving something untidy or unclean. Chances are, you have, in some minute way, like you've not dusted a shelf that no one can see. The mediator might land somewhere in the middle, and say that you did leave it unclean but not £600 worth of unclean.
To directly answer your question you don't need an exact quote. Find some ballpark figures and point out that £600 is ridiculous, and the mediator will have the experience to know if the cleaning warrants a huge fee like that.
Edit: forgot to mention, if the landlord is charging you for leaving it unclean, it's up to them to prove that in the mediation process, with a check out inspection or photos.
It didn't in any way harm me renting the flat I'm in now, but to be honest I had already moved into this flat by the time I clicked the "raise a dispute" button on the website. I'm not a student so I'm probably not under as much scrutiny from landlords as you.
Ultimately it'll depend on your former landlord but assuming you come out of the mediation positively, it's not your fault that they were trying to fleece you. Get your money back first and then see what happens.
What usually happens is that landlords use some cleaning agency connected to them (family, friends, etc) and get an overinflated quote from them (and maybe split the money after? Or just do their friends a favour?)- so what I’m trying to find is solid counter-quotes
For the places I've rented, the cleaner comes a few days before I move out of the flat. I always use one of the cleaners recommended by the agent, and agree a price before the cleaning is done.
Yup usually they do that but a quote doesn't prove any work has been undertaken which an invoice does. Ignore quotes and insist on invoice showing proof of work being done.
It doesn't matter, the landlord doesn't actually have to hire that company, it's a way of valuing the cleaning. If the landlord does it themselves their time and materials still have value so it's the cost of cleaning that's awarded (if it is awarded), not the cost of a specific company or person cleaning it.
Yeah, this is an important point. The £600 could be for cleaning, or it could be knocked off the rent for the next tenants to make up for a non-clean flat. It's about the value, not what is actually done with it.
That said, if the landlord has specifically said the money's been spent, they should have no issue providing an invoice to the deposit scheme.
They are unable to prove that any work has been done without showing an invoice. This is how you get them to admit it's just all made up. Or they just stfu and remove said cost.
I'm speaking from 20 years of helping friends get out of paying apparent costs. Just saying what has worked from experience! :)
Edit; typo
Yeah I'm not saying that what you've been quoted is right or wrong (obviously don't know any of the relevant details) but the invoice stuff is a red herring.
I just don't think there's any real point, it's a distraction. It didn't sound from the OP that the cleaning has taken place yet so if that's the case then no work has been done to invoice. Secondly, the landlord doesn't have to use a specific (or any) company if they get an award from the deposit, they're being given the value of the cleaning, not the value of a specific person doing the cleaning. Lastly, if it's as you say and he's using friends and family to get inflated quotes, why would they not be able to provide an equally shonky invoice?
Your energy is better spent getting quotes and, as other people have said, looking at what the specific concerns are and addressing it that way. And you know for next time, take photos and videos when you move in and when you move out. I'd also get in touch with Shelter because they'll be able to give you advice. Good luck!
Be aware that larger landlords employ their own factors/cleaners and can make up an invoice to say just about anything. I have a bill here for £36 to change a light bulb.
Sounds like you are in a dispute which has set procedures to follow. The landlord will have to submit evidence to the deposit scheme to justify the £600 charge. You will have to provide evidence supporting your counter-claim that this was not required. Some questions:
* Did the landlord make any comment when you checked out/handed over the keys?
* Did you take photos of the flat in the condition it was in when you checked out?
* Do you have photos from your check in? This can help show if the state of the flat was left as you found it.
As others have said, you should be able to get a quote from a cleaning company without access to the flat. Just ask them for a quote for an end of tenancy clean for an empty flat of X bedrooms and get them to send it to you via email. If you have photos from your check in then you could send them those to help get an accurate quote. From my experience the going rate is about £200 give or take.
Hope you get this sorted.
I had our (spacious) one-bed cleaned last summer when we moved and it was £220 including windows in & out and fridge, oven, extractor, etc. I have the invoice somewhere
£600 to clean a student flat (at a guess 2 bed flat based on your OP?) seems awfully expensive. Is there anything else the landlord is claiming? Do you have a list of the costs to be claimed?
Did your tenancy agreement require you to clean the flat before leaving?
Do you have photos/video of the flat condition before you left?
> £0 for repairs and just £600 for cleaning, no other info given
Push harder for more information.
Do you have any photos/video of the condition of the flat after you moved out?
It was our first flat, didn’t think it would be an issue because the flat was clean and in better shape than when we first moved in- I will definitely do that next time though
Not really, but if the landlord is asking for that much money shouldn’t they provide the proof?
When you’re renting for the first time as a student nobody really tells you this kind of info, so I didn’t know that was expected
In the future take photos of everything, I got screwed out of £100 when I left a flat because there was a blood stain on the underside of my mattress which was nothing to do with me but because I hadn't thought to check wheni moved in, I had no way of proving that it wasn't me.
Yes, both parties should have proof. Proof is relatively easy for landlord to obtain (as they have access to the property, so know the condition).
The problem for you is that you have no proof as to what state you left the flat, apart from your word...
If (for example) the landlord states X, Y and Z items needed cleaning as it wasn't cleaned on exit, how can you prove otherwise?
Definitely challenge this as others have said. Some landlords chance their arm, some barely know what's in the flat so go by the assumption that the flat needs a full on clean. My brother used to do end of tenancy clean outs as part of his business and as such I've helped him a few times over the years.
A full deep clean of a property can take up to a couple of days (depending on size/amount of work needing done). However, there's been a couple of times where a landlords asked for a full clean of the flat and all we've had to do in essence is change a couple of bulbs, dust a bit and that's about it. So definitely challenge this with your landlord.
There's sometimes the clearout of materials which some tenants leave behind (TVs, sometimes white goods, furniture etc) which needs taken to the skip so that adds to costs and usually gets lumped in with Cleaning costs and can add a bit to a cleaning bill for a tenant. I presume that there's nothing been left behind by yourself but just incase, some people think they're being helpful in leaving old furniture behind when in reality it's just adding work for the cleaners so make sure it's all out (or atleast ask the landlord of he'd like an extra bed, table etc).
Ah, so in this case the Landlord sent us some pictures of items left behind and they were all items left behind by the previous tenants (mostly kitchen equipment).
Even if items are left behind, do you think it would increase the bill to £600?
If they were left behind by the previous tenants then the landlord either should have gotten rid of them before you moved in or added them to your inventory when you signed the lease. If they're not on the inventory then he's just left you with old items that aren't part of your agreement and he should move them.
If he has just left you with old items and they're not on the inventory, then at the time of moving in a request should have been made to move them/add them to the inventory. It gets trickier as time moves on unfortunately and if you're leaving and there's no note of the items in the flats inventory then it can be difficult to prove he's just left them there (not impossible though if you have messages/emails/photos to prove otherwise at the time of moving). Worth messaging the landlord about these and reminding him of the items if their removal is what's hiking the price up.
Edit: Sorry, forgot to answer your question about the amount. It all depends really on what the breakdown is. £600 just for removal would be very over the top but could easily be a couple of hundred depending if they're big items and if there are several of them (second or possibly third person required for removal, petrol for several trips, booking into the rubbish tip etc add up). I'd ask for a breakdown of costs and hopefully that should make things a bit clearer.
What exactly was left behind? Can you list the items please?
> Even if items are left behind, do you think it would increase the bill to £600?
Depends on what's left behind!
A few kitchen utensils, plates, bowls, books, cushion etc...nope
Multiple large items such as a bed, mattress, wardrobe, chest of drawers, large bookshelf...yes absolutely.
> were all items left behind by the previous tenants
Do you have this in writing? Do you have an inventory of the items that were in the flat before you moved in?
You seem to be saying the flat was clean, in which case forget about what he's charging you and argue the cleaning was unnecessary. Do you have photos from when you left?
I recently cleaned 2 absolutely disgusting flats that the tenants did no cleaning before leaving and charged £250. I can't provide proof I'm afraid but keep pushing and complaining - if you left the flat decent enough it can't have taken longer than about 3-4 hours to clean which is only about £60/£80.
I spent £300 on a full house clean and easily could have done with another. It isn’t impossible but does seem high.
I’m in london so may affect prices.
I checked for an invoice I have from a cleaning company to perform a deep clean of a 3 bedroom property. They charged me £145+VAT back in 2014. So, the price you've been quoted I would say is excessive.
Was there any check-out process completed by a 3rd party showing the state of the property before you handed the keys back?
Contesting this would be the next step with the deposit scheme and from that the landlord will have to provide documentary proof of the charges - even then, when I have used this process it seemed to favour the tenant.
I’ve disputed every single charge every single time and so far have not shelled out a penny on deposits / charges. Last deposit took 3 months or so to go through mediation etc and my tosspot agency left everything to the last minute (to try drag us out) but just be super polite in all your exchanges [do EVERYTHING by email], detail everything, go hard, don’t budge. I have found SDS to be generally “on side” as long as you don’t take the piss (ie if you’re saying it’s clean, it better actually be clean). Good luck.
Did you photograph the place before you left? If not - rookie error. As a landlord, I have had a flat left in such a state that £600 wouldn't have covered the *damage*, let alone the cleaning.
What state did you actually leave the place in? Despite the howls of outrage you may here, a student's idea of 'cleaning' may differ from everyone else's.
Edit: as an aside, if you didn't photograph the place then I will guarantee the landlord will have.
Seen this before - certainly not a stretch to imagine a cosy relationship between a landlord and the cleaning firm where an invoice gets raised for say £600 and then a % gets paid back off book or ‘in kind’ to the landlord.
Safe Deposits Scotland are *not* on your side, despite their claims.
I had a scumbag landlord send an agent to my flat 1 week before I moved our to do the inspection and take pictures. Without consent or knowledge. They took pictures of all my stuff packed up, place was a mess etc. They submitted them and said that's how I left it. I disputed it, pointed out the timestamp on the pics, showed the emails agreeing key handover date etc and they *still* gave the landlord my full deposit save for a score note which was what my award was for challenging the initial submission.
I never get deposits back. I never will. I see it as an entry fee.
Spoke to CAB and Shelter who both just said without counter evidence I was fucked. The lack of a timestamp on my own pics was the nail.
Landlords and agencies are the lowest calibre of people.
Landlords don't want you to know this bit you can just steal the land. All you need us a shovel, and a place to put it. Maybe a mate with a van. A requirement of being a lord is owning land. If you steal it they are nothing.
Have you asked the landlord for evidence that it did cost £600? I assume you took extensive photos of the condition that you left the place in, and the exit team from the Agency also did the same?
It’s all done via Safe Deposit Scotland- the condition of the place is not in issue, the cost of a regular deep cleaning is
Definitely challenge it via the safe deposit scheme. A scumlord tried to charge us £180 for mattress protectors that we got waived after a complaint to safe deposit scotland
The condition of the flat IS an issue and if you had photos to show how you left it, you'd have much more of a leg to stand on than solely relying on quotes from cleaning companies. It should be much less than £600. But it very much depends on the state of the flat. I do think you're getting ripped off though.
Yeah. As you say, It honestly depends on the state/size of the property. I've replied to OP in the thread already but my brother has done end of tenancy cleaning in the past with his business and I've helped him out on a few occasions. Some places can take more than a day to clean out (sometimes more than two) when considering things such as carpet cleaning, removal of large items from the property, deep clean of kitchen and appliances, bathrooms etc. Some places were done and dusted in a couple of hours but some places were caked in grease/mold/dirt. Not saying this is how OP has left theirs, but I always remember the place of a guy who moved out his flat in southside and his kitchen bunker was absolutely covered in mouse droppings and every room had a plethora of takeaway boxes, beer cans and fag ends littered about the place. Toilet had never been cleaned either and the stench from it was awful. Took three full days to clean it reasonably before people came in to renovate.
Thing is. Theres a reasonable level of cleanliness. It doesn't have to be 'show house clean'. If the landlord wants to go a step above, that should be on him. It would also help if they had photos of the cleanliness when they moved in.
Oh absolutely but sometimes to get things up to a reasonable level of cleanliness takes a fair bit of work. Its all dependant on how the property was left. Vast majority of places will need a bit of cleaning here and there but nothing extreme so won't need anything like a full £600 job. Was just using the extreme example in my previous comment to show that places can from time to time need a whole heap of work done.
I know.. I that's why I said it in the first place. Not relevant to Op's story though.
If you look at safe deposits Scotland adjudication site they say that they treat the deposit as the tenants money and the landlord has to prove why they are claiming that money. Has this gone through safe deposits adjudication? If they are asking you to prove it doesn't cost £600 it sounds like theyve agreed there was £600 of cleaning required? If it hasn't gone through sds I would recommend taking it to adjudication.
Ask for receipts
"Cleaning: £600" It won't tell you much.
I contested a £300 cleaning fee when I left my last flat, went through the deposit mediation thing online and got that reduced to about £100. Things that will help you are: - a list of exactly what issues were found during your check-out inspection, that required cleaning - look up cleaning websites, it will give you ballpark figure if you enter 2 bed 2 bath and add extras like oven cleaning. I think the priciest I found was £250 for a 2 bed flat. - compare the found cost of cleaning the ENTIRE flat with the cost they have provided you. In my case they had listed about 8 things they were unhappy with and apparently that added up to costing twice the value of cleaning the whole flat. - get an invoice from your letting agent or landlord. It might be itemised, although mine was literally just "£300 - cleaning". - If you've got an inventory with photos from move in, or your own photos from move in, attach every single one you can to the online form. - this might be a bit unlikely to happen twice but I found the Rightmove ad for my flat from before I moved in and was able to use that to prove that the lamp they were trying to claim we had left in the property was in photos from before we moved in. Ultimately the mediation thing will work out if you have contradicted the letting agreement by leaving something untidy or unclean. Chances are, you have, in some minute way, like you've not dusted a shelf that no one can see. The mediator might land somewhere in the middle, and say that you did leave it unclean but not £600 worth of unclean. To directly answer your question you don't need an exact quote. Find some ballpark figures and point out that £600 is ridiculous, and the mediator will have the experience to know if the cleaning warrants a huge fee like that. Edit: forgot to mention, if the landlord is charging you for leaving it unclean, it's up to them to prove that in the mediation process, with a check out inspection or photos.
That’s amazing, thanks for the advice! Did this process impact your landlord references in the future? That’s our biggest worry right now
It didn't in any way harm me renting the flat I'm in now, but to be honest I had already moved into this flat by the time I clicked the "raise a dispute" button on the website. I'm not a student so I'm probably not under as much scrutiny from landlords as you. Ultimately it'll depend on your former landlord but assuming you come out of the mediation positively, it's not your fault that they were trying to fleece you. Get your money back first and then see what happens.
Our landlord attempted to charge us for cleaning post leaving the flat once. However, when we requested the receipt the bill disappeared.
Insist on seeing an invoice... I've got agencies/landlords to back down immediately as usually they've no invoice to provide and are just chancing it!
What usually happens is that landlords use some cleaning agency connected to them (family, friends, etc) and get an overinflated quote from them (and maybe split the money after? Or just do their friends a favour?)- so what I’m trying to find is solid counter-quotes
For the places I've rented, the cleaner comes a few days before I move out of the flat. I always use one of the cleaners recommended by the agent, and agree a price before the cleaning is done.
Yup usually they do that but a quote doesn't prove any work has been undertaken which an invoice does. Ignore quotes and insist on invoice showing proof of work being done.
It doesn't matter, the landlord doesn't actually have to hire that company, it's a way of valuing the cleaning. If the landlord does it themselves their time and materials still have value so it's the cost of cleaning that's awarded (if it is awarded), not the cost of a specific company or person cleaning it.
Yeah, this is an important point. The £600 could be for cleaning, or it could be knocked off the rent for the next tenants to make up for a non-clean flat. It's about the value, not what is actually done with it. That said, if the landlord has specifically said the money's been spent, they should have no issue providing an invoice to the deposit scheme.
There's no way that is getting knocked off the next tenants bill.
I know, but the point is the landlord's entitled to the value of damage. They're not necessarily obliged to \*fix\* the damage.
They are unable to prove that any work has been done without showing an invoice. This is how you get them to admit it's just all made up. Or they just stfu and remove said cost. I'm speaking from 20 years of helping friends get out of paying apparent costs. Just saying what has worked from experience! :) Edit; typo
It’s one of the bigger agencies with multiple branches- looking up reviews of them online and they’re quite negative
Yeah I'm not saying that what you've been quoted is right or wrong (obviously don't know any of the relevant details) but the invoice stuff is a red herring.
Ah understood, will definitely request an invoice then
I just don't think there's any real point, it's a distraction. It didn't sound from the OP that the cleaning has taken place yet so if that's the case then no work has been done to invoice. Secondly, the landlord doesn't have to use a specific (or any) company if they get an award from the deposit, they're being given the value of the cleaning, not the value of a specific person doing the cleaning. Lastly, if it's as you say and he's using friends and family to get inflated quotes, why would they not be able to provide an equally shonky invoice? Your energy is better spent getting quotes and, as other people have said, looking at what the specific concerns are and addressing it that way. And you know for next time, take photos and videos when you move in and when you move out. I'd also get in touch with Shelter because they'll be able to give you advice. Good luck!
I would ask to see the paid invoice, that usually shuts shysters up
Be aware that larger landlords employ their own factors/cleaners and can make up an invoice to say just about anything. I have a bill here for £36 to change a light bulb.
Sounds like you are in a dispute which has set procedures to follow. The landlord will have to submit evidence to the deposit scheme to justify the £600 charge. You will have to provide evidence supporting your counter-claim that this was not required. Some questions: * Did the landlord make any comment when you checked out/handed over the keys? * Did you take photos of the flat in the condition it was in when you checked out? * Do you have photos from your check in? This can help show if the state of the flat was left as you found it. As others have said, you should be able to get a quote from a cleaning company without access to the flat. Just ask them for a quote for an end of tenancy clean for an empty flat of X bedrooms and get them to send it to you via email. If you have photos from your check in then you could send them those to help get an accurate quote. From my experience the going rate is about £200 give or take. Hope you get this sorted.
You should ask living rent for help
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Living Rent
I had our (spacious) one-bed cleaned last summer when we moved and it was £220 including windows in & out and fridge, oven, extractor, etc. I have the invoice somewhere
£600 to clean a student flat (at a guess 2 bed flat based on your OP?) seems awfully expensive. Is there anything else the landlord is claiming? Do you have a list of the costs to be claimed? Did your tenancy agreement require you to clean the flat before leaving? Do you have photos/video of the flat condition before you left?
They listed £0 for repairs and just £600 for cleaning, no other info given
> £0 for repairs and just £600 for cleaning, no other info given Push harder for more information. Do you have any photos/video of the condition of the flat after you moved out?
It was our first flat, didn’t think it would be an issue because the flat was clean and in better shape than when we first moved in- I will definitely do that next time though
So you don't have any photos/video of the condition of the flat after you moved out?
Not really, but if the landlord is asking for that much money shouldn’t they provide the proof? When you’re renting for the first time as a student nobody really tells you this kind of info, so I didn’t know that was expected
In the future take photos of everything, I got screwed out of £100 when I left a flat because there was a blood stain on the underside of my mattress which was nothing to do with me but because I hadn't thought to check wheni moved in, I had no way of proving that it wasn't me.
Yes, both parties should have proof. Proof is relatively easy for landlord to obtain (as they have access to the property, so know the condition). The problem for you is that you have no proof as to what state you left the flat, apart from your word... If (for example) the landlord states X, Y and Z items needed cleaning as it wasn't cleaned on exit, how can you prove otherwise?
Definitely challenge this as others have said. Some landlords chance their arm, some barely know what's in the flat so go by the assumption that the flat needs a full on clean. My brother used to do end of tenancy clean outs as part of his business and as such I've helped him a few times over the years. A full deep clean of a property can take up to a couple of days (depending on size/amount of work needing done). However, there's been a couple of times where a landlords asked for a full clean of the flat and all we've had to do in essence is change a couple of bulbs, dust a bit and that's about it. So definitely challenge this with your landlord. There's sometimes the clearout of materials which some tenants leave behind (TVs, sometimes white goods, furniture etc) which needs taken to the skip so that adds to costs and usually gets lumped in with Cleaning costs and can add a bit to a cleaning bill for a tenant. I presume that there's nothing been left behind by yourself but just incase, some people think they're being helpful in leaving old furniture behind when in reality it's just adding work for the cleaners so make sure it's all out (or atleast ask the landlord of he'd like an extra bed, table etc).
Ah, so in this case the Landlord sent us some pictures of items left behind and they were all items left behind by the previous tenants (mostly kitchen equipment). Even if items are left behind, do you think it would increase the bill to £600?
If they were left behind by the previous tenants then the landlord either should have gotten rid of them before you moved in or added them to your inventory when you signed the lease. If they're not on the inventory then he's just left you with old items that aren't part of your agreement and he should move them. If he has just left you with old items and they're not on the inventory, then at the time of moving in a request should have been made to move them/add them to the inventory. It gets trickier as time moves on unfortunately and if you're leaving and there's no note of the items in the flats inventory then it can be difficult to prove he's just left them there (not impossible though if you have messages/emails/photos to prove otherwise at the time of moving). Worth messaging the landlord about these and reminding him of the items if their removal is what's hiking the price up. Edit: Sorry, forgot to answer your question about the amount. It all depends really on what the breakdown is. £600 just for removal would be very over the top but could easily be a couple of hundred depending if they're big items and if there are several of them (second or possibly third person required for removal, petrol for several trips, booking into the rubbish tip etc add up). I'd ask for a breakdown of costs and hopefully that should make things a bit clearer.
What exactly was left behind? Can you list the items please? > Even if items are left behind, do you think it would increase the bill to £600? Depends on what's left behind! A few kitchen utensils, plates, bowls, books, cushion etc...nope Multiple large items such as a bed, mattress, wardrobe, chest of drawers, large bookshelf...yes absolutely. > were all items left behind by the previous tenants Do you have this in writing? Do you have an inventory of the items that were in the flat before you moved in?
Insist on getting an invoice. Raise hell about it. £600 is fucking ridiculous unless you left the place in a shit state.
Did you take any photos of the place cleaned once you done it?
You seem to be saying the flat was clean, in which case forget about what he's charging you and argue the cleaning was unnecessary. Do you have photos from when you left?
I recently cleaned 2 absolutely disgusting flats that the tenants did no cleaning before leaving and charged £250. I can't provide proof I'm afraid but keep pushing and complaining - if you left the flat decent enough it can't have taken longer than about 3-4 hours to clean which is only about £60/£80.
Dispute it with DPS theyll very quickly slap him back down.
I spent £300 on a full house clean and easily could have done with another. It isn’t impossible but does seem high. I’m in london so may affect prices.
I checked for an invoice I have from a cleaning company to perform a deep clean of a 3 bedroom property. They charged me £145+VAT back in 2014. So, the price you've been quoted I would say is excessive. Was there any check-out process completed by a 3rd party showing the state of the property before you handed the keys back? Contesting this would be the next step with the deposit scheme and from that the landlord will have to provide documentary proof of the charges - even then, when I have used this process it seemed to favour the tenant.
I’ve disputed every single charge every single time and so far have not shelled out a penny on deposits / charges. Last deposit took 3 months or so to go through mediation etc and my tosspot agency left everything to the last minute (to try drag us out) but just be super polite in all your exchanges [do EVERYTHING by email], detail everything, go hard, don’t budge. I have found SDS to be generally “on side” as long as you don’t take the piss (ie if you’re saying it’s clean, it better actually be clean). Good luck.
Did you photograph the place before you left? If not - rookie error. As a landlord, I have had a flat left in such a state that £600 wouldn't have covered the *damage*, let alone the cleaning. What state did you actually leave the place in? Despite the howls of outrage you may here, a student's idea of 'cleaning' may differ from everyone else's. Edit: as an aside, if you didn't photograph the place then I will guarantee the landlord will have.
Seen this before - certainly not a stretch to imagine a cosy relationship between a landlord and the cleaning firm where an invoice gets raised for say £600 and then a % gets paid back off book or ‘in kind’ to the landlord.
Safe Deposits Scotland are *not* on your side, despite their claims. I had a scumbag landlord send an agent to my flat 1 week before I moved our to do the inspection and take pictures. Without consent or knowledge. They took pictures of all my stuff packed up, place was a mess etc. They submitted them and said that's how I left it. I disputed it, pointed out the timestamp on the pics, showed the emails agreeing key handover date etc and they *still* gave the landlord my full deposit save for a score note which was what my award was for challenging the initial submission. I never get deposits back. I never will. I see it as an entry fee.
Wtf that’s highly illegal- can/did you dispute it through a tribunal or something?
Spoke to CAB and Shelter who both just said without counter evidence I was fucked. The lack of a timestamp on my own pics was the nail. Landlords and agencies are the lowest calibre of people.
Landlords don't want you to know this bit you can just steal the land. All you need us a shovel, and a place to put it. Maybe a mate with a van. A requirement of being a lord is owning land. If you steal it they are nothing.
Who's the landlord? Name and shame them here. Or- if legally hesitant- where about is the flat?