Introduction
So, it’s coming to the end of your tenancy. You’ve taken care not to damage your property throughout the year and want to be certain that on move-out day you’ll receive your entire deposit back from your landlord, without any hassle.
Every day, there is one final hurdle that thousands of outgoing tenants trip up on and pay heavily for. Property cleanliness, or lack thereof, is far and away the no. 1 reason for deposit disputes between landlords and tenants.
Here, we’ll provide you with you with everything you need to know to understand the End of Tenancy Cleaning process, so you can receive your deposit back without the stress.
Understanding your Responsibility
As a tenant, you have a responsibility to leave the property in the same condition it was found when first moving in, less fair wear and tear.
Fair Wear and Tear is the landlord’s responsibility, not the tenants. It refers to natural damage caused by normal day-to-day living and natural forces.
Examples of fair wear and tear include:
Aside from Fair Wear and Tear, it is the tenant’s responsibility to ensure that the levels of cleanliness are the same as when they moved into the property.
In order to objectively compare the condition of the property pre and post tenancy, agencies rely on an inventory report
What’s an inventory report?
An inventory report is completed by an independent company on behalf of the estate agency or landlord. It is a detail assessment of the properties condition at a given time
The cleanliness and condition detailed at check-in will be compared against the cleanliness and condition on check-out.
All differences will be noted in the report and sent to the Estate Agent or Landlord. If it is deemed that these differences fall outside the wear and tear category, and that the tenant is responsible for this deterioration in cleanliness, the amount required to reverse this deterioration is taken from the tenant’s deposit.
Note: If the landlord deems that the property needs to be re-cleaned it is likely they will pay a premium so that this is performed immediately, the cost of which is taken from the deposit of the outgoing tenant.
How to avoid failing your inventory check-out
When it comes to End of Tenancy Cleaning, it is best to leave it to the professionals. Although there can be no obligation placed upon the tenant to pay for the service, rather than doing it themselves, it is very likely that if they opt for the later, they will fail the inventory report.
Items such as the oven, dishwasher, radiators, extractor fans and many others inside a property can be tricky to clean if you don’t possess the proper equipment and expertise.
As mentioned above, if the report is failed it is also inevitable that the amount taken from the deposit will be significantly more than the cost of booking a high-quality End of Tenancy clean in the first place.
How to select your End of Tenancy Cleaners
There are many providers that offer End of Tenancy cleaning services. However, WATCH OUT, it is believed that over 30% of ‘professional’ end of tenancy cleans actually FAIL the report. Hence, it is crucial to select the right cleaning provider.
The 3 most important factors to look out for:
- Make sure that your provider has a) a sufficient number of reviews with a b) high average rating. As a rule of thumb, anything above 4.6/5 should be considered high and a sufficient number of reviews is achieved at 40 reviews. It is also CRUCIAL only to rely on legitimate review pages. Google Reviews and Trustpilot are two of the best. If you rely on other sources, especially lead generation websites such as Bark, it may very well be the case that the positive reviews are fake and the and the negative reviews removed.
- Does the cleaning provider provide a guarantee? Here, the guarantee refers to the cleaning provider returning to the property to clean anything that was missed in the initial clean. It is industry standard to provide at least a 48hr guarantee. However, providers that are confident in there service have no reason not to offer a 72hr+ guarantee.
- Although nobody wants to overpay for a service, it is a bad idea to use the cheapest provider. Cleaning is a low margin industry and, generally, the only way a provider can offer a price that is significantly below industry standard is if they are cutting corners. They might occasionally get away with it but more often than not, won’t pass the inventory check and your deposit will be at risk. Once this happens, they’ll be under no obligation to return any of the amount paid. In London, you can expect to pay the most. End of Tenancy Cleaning in Manchester, and other cities, will be slightly cheaper.
How can I ensure my End of Tenancy clean is successful?
As well as selecting the correct provider, there are various things you can do to ensure your End of Tenancy clean is a successful one.
The first is to make sure your property is prepared as per the cleaning providers requirements. This usually involves removing personal belongings from the property, ensuring that they have access into the property at the agreed time and that electricity and hot water is on. If the cleaning provider does not mention anything it’s worth asking what needs to be done
Secondly, you should make sure the property is in reasonable condition for the clean. It’s very important to know, YOU CANNOT NEGLECT CLEANING A PROPERTY FOR AN ENTIRE TENANCY AND THEN EXPECT ALL TO LOOK BRAND NEW WITH ONE END OF TENANCY CLEAN. It’s important to stay on top of it, and if you have let cleanliness standard slide it’s crucial to let the cleaning provider know ahead of the clean so they allocate sufficient resources to the job. The last thing you want is for them to be rushing to finish.
Another good idea is to send your cleaning provider the inventory check-in report ahead of the clean. This will allow them to identify any problem areas and ensure they come fully prepared for the clean.
What if I do everything and still have an issue raised?
If you follow our guide on preparing your property and selecting the right provider, you shouldn’t have a problem. If you do, then you need to make a judgement about whether the cleaning provider or the landlord are in the wrong. Occasionally, landlords and estate agents will attempt to get tenants to cover expenses for general wear and tear. Remember, this is not the tenant’s responsibility!
One example of this is mould in the bathroom. Often, when mould starts growing in damp areas, rather than having it removed properly and ensuring there is sufficient ventilation, a landlord will slap on some paint to cover it. When the next unsuspecting tenant experiences rapid mould growth during the stay, the landlord will argue this is the tenant or the cleaning providers responsibility. IT IS NOT! Although surface level mould might be easily removable, generally it requires special treatment and the landlord should pay this. If they refuse, take it to small claims court and 9/10 times they will pay the deposit back.
If the inventory check-out report fails, the best approach is to compare it to the check-in report and figure out whether it’s reasonable to judge you as the culprit.
Conclusion
Overall, the process of moving property can be a stressful one. The last thing tenants want to worry about is having their deposit withheld, especially when they’ve taken care not to damage the property throughout the year. By following the guidelines in this this post, you’ll avoid the slip ups and can begin preparing for the next chapter in your journey!
If you have any further questions about your own End of Tenancy cleaning give us a call on 020 8146 8571, or get a Quick Quote.