Refusal for professional end of tenancy clean by tenant

I have some sympathy for the tenant, because like the vast majority of tenants in my experience, he will probably bitterly resent being expected to pay what can amount to a large amount of money for a so-called "professional" clean, which gives no visible improvement in his view to a "normal" domestic clean. Perhaps he didn't ask for you to do a professional clean when he moved in, so he now feels this is another unasked-for cost imposed on him arbitrarily by the landlord, irrespective of how good a tenant he's been and how tidy he's kept the house, minimising wear and tear, etc. This cost is on top of all the other costs he faces as a renter, such as removal fees and letting agent fees, which can be forced on a tenant as frequently as every six months, just on a landlord's whim. I know the requirement for a professional clean is designed to remove the scope for arguments and provide an objective common standard, but people are not always rational as regards their attitudes to "home", and it all adds to many tenants' sense of powerlessness and being at the mercy of landlords' imposed standards.

It is all very well saying "it's stated in the contract", but unless you can demonstrate that the property on the move-out date is materially and obviously in a poorer condition that when your tenant moved in - and you have to allow him "fair wear and tear" in this, so the property is allowed to be worse in a number of ill-defined ways - you may come unstuck if this went to a tribunal. Given the tenant's resistance, I think you may find it more productive to try and negotiate: for example by saying you will allow a domestic clean, but ask that you walk around the house with the tenant and cleaner afterwards and point out areas that you feel need improvement and should be done before formal handover, though you reserve the right to call in another firm if you are still not happy at the end. If the property is then left in an unacceptable state when he moves out, you can show you did negotiate and allow him the chance to clean the house properly to an agreed standard, but he then failed to fulfil his side of the deal.

I've been in this situation myself, but as a tenant: I paid fees to an agent, and went through all the hassle and cost of moving, for what was meant to be a year-long contract (and potentially much longer, the landlord told us), only for the landlord to invoke the break clause after four months, give my family two months notice, and demand we do a full "professional" clean as required in the contract, all for just six months of occupation. We asked why we were being kicked out, and were told this was his business and he didn't need to explain why; privately the sympathetic letting agent said it was because the landlord had got bored with being a landlord and had decided to sell up. We then questioned what is meant by a professional clean, because arguably a domestic cleaner is a "professional", so we proposed to clean the place ourselves, including using a hired carpet vacuum cleaner, and pay a cleaner to give a final polish. The landlord, true to form, said he required us to use a particular firm, who quoted £400 unseen to clean a two-bedroom flat. This wasn't stated in the contract, so we said no, and at this point the letting agent stepped in and suggested the approach I have outlined above, with the agent acting for the landlord. The agent was perfectly happy with the cleanliness, and said in his view this insistence of landlords on so-called professional cleaners was just a sledgehammer to crack the occasional nut of tenants who didn't clean properly, and unfortunately it was souring relations with all tenants; the worst were landladies who somehow thought fair wear and tear didn't apply to them and expected the house to be "perfect" every time a tenant moved out.

David,

My comments are made as a landlord but also as a recent tenant. I take detailed - high resolution photos of my property and give copies to the tenant of those photos (as part of the inventory) on a CD attached to the inventory. I do so after a detailed discussion of the OFT guide with my solicitor. I disagree with your comments re the OFT guide, they are not vague:

4.4 cleaning charges - a requirement to pay for cleaning at the end of the tenancy may be unfair if it is vague or unclear about the basis on which money will be demanded, or the extent of the cleaning involved. Such a term is more likely to be fair if the amount of the charge is expressly limited to reasonable compensation for a failure to take care of the property (see also our views below on excessive charges)

4.8 excessive cleaning charges - as a matter of normal practice in short lets, reflecting the common law, tenants are expected to return the property in as good and clean a condition as it was when they received it, with fair wear and tear excepted. We therefore commonly object to terms that could be used to make the tenant pay for the property to be cleaned to a higher standard than it was in at the start of the tenancy, or that require cleaning regardless of whether or not this is necessary for the tenant to comply with their normal obligations with regard to the state of the property

Who is to say whether the tenant is or has previously been a cleaner? Do you not clean your own house yourself 'to a professional standard?

And finally I attended a 'My Deposits Scotland' deposit seminar where the adjudicator stated that 'to a processional standard' was an unfair term unless clearly defined, and the definition of 'having to employ a cleaning company' was totally unacceptable for the reasons I gave above.

In short I would have to prove that the STANDARD of cleanliness before the tenancy was materially higher that the condition the tenant left the property in. That could only be done by having detailed date stamped photos.

I used the OFT guide to point out to my recent landlord that his lease (requiring a professional clean) violated OFT guidelines and if he persisted in his claim to employ cleaners, I would dispute the matter AND report him to the OFT.

Good luck!

Reply to the comment left by "Tony Atkins" at "12/08/2015 - 13:52":

Tony I sgree with everything you have said apart from the comment about 'landladies' made by your agent which seems like a sexist generalisation to me.

Again many thanks to those who have answered.

Tony A. - I'm sorry you had such a traumatic time with your landlord but we are not in that league. We try very hard throughout the tenancy to ensure that all and any issues are resolved very quickly, and we do not force the tenant to use our cleaners or anyone we recommend. We have just informed him that at the end of tenancy he has a responsibility to leave the place in the same condition as he found it. If he is already suggesting he has no responsibility for windows or carpets, I'm sure he is just trying to cut down on his costs. ((and we are not kicking him out he is leaving at the normal end date - and we even agreed he could stay an extra month if it helped him, so there is no ongoing dispute or underlying bad feeling )

Mike W. I think you misread my note - I confirmed that the OFT had stated it must not vague - I did not suggest the OFT was vague.

All we are trying to ensure is that he leaves it in the same state as he found it. We also have a very detailed inventory with photographs, it does not, however, cover dust behind the furniture, crumbs and bits left under cushions or in drawers, dust and dirt on top of cupboards, extractors being cleaned, sink plug holes being cleaned, taps etc being descaled. . It is these small things that matter very much to a new tenant moving in and which domestic cleaners often do not do without spending quite some time. All these things are specified in an appendix to the lease that he signed. I do not think these things are unreasonable, nor is it unreasonable to expect him to fulfil these. He obviously does.
We have asked the letting agent to discuss with him directly and hopefully this will stop it becoming a personal battleground. I sent in the query to see what others thought. Thanks again for those who have commented.

David
I'm a self managing Landlord with student houses. End of tenancy cleaning is a nightmare! What is clean and what is not is disputable and even high resolution photos don't show much. In all the 35 years I have been a Landlord I have only once had one property left really clean.

I have consulted agents and they said if I get professional cleaners at the start of the tenancy then their receipt can be the best proof to how it should be left. However they went on to tell me they hire professional cleaners in the properties they manage. They inspect the property and cancel the cleaners if the property is to a good (presumably professional) standard.

If you still have your cleaners receipts then surly this is evidence enough? although if you take agents as a benchmark then you should give an opportunity to your tenants to carry out this work but at the same time line up your own professional cleaners which can be cancelled. It is after all a leave as you find principal in renting. I can't understand if you have a letting agents why they are not ensuring you have the property returned as it was at the beginning of the tenancy?

I now have professional cleaners, specialist oven cleaners and window cleaners. Armed with these I have good evidence. However as they are students, really nice and always pay the rent in good time, I do a deal with them and pay for a lot of it myself for the sake of good will. It works well. Rents are after all very high. Hope things work out ok for you.

As long as they return the property clean,I believe they’re free to choose the means for sanitation.

Demanding a “professional cleaning” when the property is already clean, or before the tenant has been given a chance to perform their own cleaning before the keys are returned is unfair.

However, if they do not return the property in a comparable quality, then I believe the landlord is within their rights to hire a cleaning company and charge the tenant for the costs. https://www.varietycleaning.co.uk/end-of-tenancy-cleaning/