This is a question that many, if not all new tenants might wonder. When living in a rented property or rental property, there are many different things you have to consider before you sign or agree to any new tenancy agreement/ tenancy contract. You should always read through any fine print and documentation very thoroughly. It is best to read through at least twice to fully understand precisely what is expected of you and anyone living on the property with you. A tenancy agreement/tenancy contract will have all the landlord/letting agency requirements.
This will include some of the following pointers:
- Tenant’s responsibility
- Tenancy agreement
- Tenancy deposit and deposit scheme
- Tenant fees act
- Fair wear on the property
- Moving in date
- Check-in inventory
- Assured shorthold tenancy
All of these factors are important to understand.
Many things will be considered as the tenant’s responsibility.
These can include:
- any damages that may occur while you are living in the property such as nail holes in the walls from hanging pictures;
- permanent damage to items such as appliances that were already in the property at the time of moving in;
- staining to any carpeted area or furniture that belongs to the landlord, damage caused by any pets that may have been in the property such as scratching of carpets, upholstery, wallpaper;
- broken light switches where the damage was caused intentionally.
There are many scenarios where the damage can be the tenant’s responsibility. This means that you would have to get these things fixed or replaced before you leave the property or you may risk facing a deposit reduction or even losing your entire deposit.
Landlords have full rights to deduct money from your previously paid deposit if they have damages that they now have to fix before they can begin to look for a new tenant. They have to ensure that the property is in fully functioning order and is entirely safe for any new tenants that they may have to look at the property.
The rented property also has to be clean if the landlord wants new tenants to want the property in the future. The tenancy deposit scheme is in place for all new tenants and is always included in new tenancies. It gives the landlord peace of mind that if anything gets damaged the price of fixing it is already covered. It also helps a tenant if accidental damages do occur that they have already paid in advance for it to be fixed so out of the blue charges (unless the damages are severe).
There is of course a fair wear clause. This means that fair wear is to be expected in some areas and you would not be liable to fix this. This can include more minor things such as the wear of numbers from a dial on an oven or thermostat or wearing down fibers in a carpet from being walked on. These types of things cannot be helped and the landlord would be liable to fix this if they believe it would risk them not being able to get a new tenant.
When a tenant first looks at a property they will be shown the property how they would be expected to give it back. They should be sure to point out any damages they might see when viewing and make the landlord aware of this so that they won’t be held responsible for these damages later on. Some even take their own photos to prove that certain damages were already present when signing the tenancy agreement at the end of the tenancy.
Once they have viewed the new property they will be asked to sign a tenancy agreement. Many tenancy agreements will include a check-in inventory or an inventory check.
There will be a list of factors for the new tenant to be shown and checked before signing. This will be what they need to read thoroughly to ensure they are 100 percent happy with how the property is being leased out—confirming that they accept any problems that might be there at the time of taking the property.
Remember once you sign a tenancy agreement you are bound into a contract and that is in writing that you agreed to accept that property how it was presented to you. Suppose that once you move in and find yourself unhappy with certain things, the landlord might not be willing to help with the issue as you’ve already agreed that you are happy with the rented property.
In that case, this will exclude significant workings of the property such as plumbing issues or electrical issues as these should be in perfect working order before you move in. If for any reason they are not the landlord is responsible for making you aware of anything problematic regarding building structure, electrical or plumbing.
Do you have to clean a rental property before moving in?
You as the new tenant will not be liable to clean the new property before moving in. This will be the landlord/letting agent’s job to ensure that the property is presented at a professional standard of cleanliness and is safe to be lived in. They will need to provide a clean and hygienic property for any new tenant/tenants.
The landlord/letting agency will be liable to complete a final property inspection when the previous tenant/tenants leave. Any works or cleaning required to be completed should be completed before the new tenant/tenant’s move-in date.
Do you have to clean at the end of your tenancy professionally?
A professional clean is not mandatory at the end of a tenancy agreement. However it is advised by many landlords/ letting agents. This is because they want to minimize the risk of deducting money from your deposit or not giving the full deposit back in some more severe situations if the property is not cleaned to a professional standard.
You as the tenant are liable to cover cleaning costs of the property if for any reason the cleaning is not up to standard after you have left. This shouldn’t be an issue if the tenant/tenants can complete their cleaning to a professional standard, but the availability of professional cleaning equipment and products is expressly limited.
Producing a professional standard of cleaning using shop-bought cleaning products can sometimes be extremely hard to achieve. Paying for a professional cleaning company/professional cleaner to come into the property and achieve that professional cleaning service will eliminate any worries the property wasn’t cleaned to a high enough standard.
Professional cleaning companies are there to provide you with a professional cleaning service. This will eliminate any dirt and grime that may have built up over the years.
They will clean everywhere in the property including showerheads, all cupboards inside and out, skirting, doors, all kitchen appliances inside and out, shower screens, all types of flooring (depending on what services you book). Steam carpet cleaning may come at an extra cost depending on the cleaning company. Here at premium clean we offer our steam cleaning at an additional cost per room.
All details for this service can be found on our website. You have to remember that every surface in a property will gather dust and surfaces will gather grime and germs if not cleaned regularly. This can be very hard to remove if you do not have to correct cleaning products.
We use all-natural cleaning products for all of our professional cleaning services. You leave the property free from grimy surfaces, dust, limescale, smears and stains.
Can a landlord make you pay for cleaning?
The short answer is yes. The tenant would have agreed to this in their tenancy agreement. They will have paid a tenancy deposit before the tenancy starts. This is in place so that if the cleaning that the tenant has provided isn’t to a professional standard the landlord/letting agent can deduct from the deposit to have the professional cleaning performed again if needed. This is why the tenancy deposit scheme is in place to avoid arguments at the end of a tenancy about who is liable for cleaning the property.
When can the landlord charge a tenant/tenants for cleaning?
They can deduct a balance from the tenant’s deposit or use the whole deposit to ensure that the property is thoroughly cleaned and left in a professionally clean state. In some more severe cases the deposit may not be enough to cover any damages caused by the tenant so they may bill the tenant further for these damages.
Some more severe damages can include stains that haven’t been entirely removed, holes in the plasterboards/walls, intentional fire damage, burn marks in furniture or carpets, damage to skirting boards/ceilings, broken windows, and mistreatment appliances and furniture.
How much can a landlord charge for end-of-tenancy cleaning in the UK?
This solely depends on the condition that the property was left in by the tenant/tenants. If the previous tenants haven’t looked after the property and regular cleaning hasn’t been performed, any dirt and residue will be more challenging to remove.
For example, if a kitchen oven hasn’t been regularly cleaned, the dirt inside may require special products to help to remove this. This will take longer and need more work to get clean. Limescale build-up in bathrooms can be tough to remove if left uncleaned for many years. This again would require specialist cleaning products that are a little stronger than regular products.
Stains to the carpets will require them to be professionally steam cleaned. This can be pretty expensive depending on the material of the carpets and just how severe the staining is. There can be no set or definite price on how much a landlord/letting agent can charge an old tenant/tenants. It all depends on how the mistreatment of the property has caused much damage.
Landlords are usually very fair and offer reasonable compensation where light wear is to be considered. However, they have also to be covered if a tenant/tenants do not look after their properties correctly.
We will always advise all tenants that a professional cleaning company with professional cleaners is booked for end-of-tenancy cleaning services. This is simply because they can provide a deeper cleaning for the entire property. We clean every surface and area thoroughly to ensure tenants receive their deposit back in full.
Here at PremiumClean we use all the latest and up-to-date machinery and cleaning products. They are all-natural eco cleaning products and are entirely safe to be used around pets and children.
We have the best steam cleaning carpet machines to ensure that all dirt and dust is removed from all the individual fibers of the carpet. Leaving your carpets and upholstery fresh and clean leaving a hygienic property ready for any new tenant/tenants.
We also offer a free re-clean for areas that the tenant/tenants believe could be improved further. This however has to be reported within 24 hours of the property receiving the inventory check.
The inventory check has to be completed at the end of the clean or at least the same day as dust can settle if left for longer than 24 hours. We would then not be liable to come and clean again.
We can offer everyone our fantastic cleaning services and always aim for 100 percent customer satisfaction. We are fully insured and covered for any accidental damages that we may cause. This gives the landlord/letting agents and tenants peace of mind when booking us for all their whole property clean/professional cleaning needs.
For a better idea of precisely what we can offer as a cleaning company here is what we include in our end of tenancy cleaning service:
So what does Premium clean’s end of Tenancy cleaning service include exactly?
End of tenancy cleaning service includes Cleaning of all rooms inside of the property, this includes all:
- Light switches
- Plug sockets
- Light fittings
- Skirting boards
- Doors
- Any furniture that is in the property at the time of cleaning (inside and out)
- Steam cleaning of all carpets (if booked separately)
- Steam cleaning of any upholstery present (if booked separately)
- Toilet cleaning (inside and out)
- Shower screen cleaning and shower head descaling
- Tile cleaning (walls and floors)
- Bath (inside and out)
- Hard flooring (of all types) – specialist hard floor cleaning may come at an additional price
- Oven cleaning (inside and out)
- Extractor fan cleaning
- All kitchen appliances (inside and out) this includes Washing machines
- Dusting and sanitizing of all surfaces
- Rug steam cleaning (if booked separately)
- Removal of all cobwebs
Everything will be dusted and cleaned with the best germ eliminating cleaning products, the only thing we will not be able to clean is the ceilings and walls, these we will simply dust because we wouldn’t want to cause any damages to the paintwork or wallpapers.
Our products are all mainly from the professional pro chem range. These products are all-natural and are safe to use in all households even around those that may have asthma. They are pet and child safe so if you have to be present for any reason during the clean we can assure you that you and your family are safe while we clean.
We sometimes use more traditional cleaning methods such as baking soda, especially for carpet steam cleaning or toilet cleaning. Baking soda is a great product to help us remove some of the toughest stains. Teamed with our powerful steam cleaning machine, we can remove even the most stubborn stains from your upholstery and carpets, whether coffee, food, oil, make-up, mud, or pet soiling.
All of our cleaners are fully trained and professional at all times. They all have the required training to know exactly which products they can use on certain surfaces.
We will send the Steam cleaning technician separately to the cleaning team. He will arrive a little later once the cleaners have nearly finished inside the property. This is so that he isn’t in their way and vice versa.
The cleaners will arrive promptly and preventively at the date you have previously discussed with our fully trained and friendly office team. They will be ready to clean as soon as they arrive.
If you cannot give us access on the day we can arrange with you a place to collect the keys, this is free if the address is close to the property being cleaned. However there may be an additional charge if it is further away.
We can collect from a neighbor, a safe place where the key can be left or a registered office address for the letting agency if needed. Once the cleaners are finished with the cleaning they will call and see if you are available to go and inspect the property to ensure that it is cleaned to a standard you are happy with.
In some rare cases some areas may have been missed and require some further light cleaning. We like you to be available at the end of the clean if possible. However, we understand that life can be hectic, so if you can’t be present, we offer the free re-clean guarantee.
If you go to check the property within 24 hours of the clean being complete and there are areas you would like re-cleaned, just give our office team a call and we can access and send a cleaner back to fix any problem areas for you. This has to be reported within 24 hours and the property must have remained unlived in after the clean was complete. If any tenants have lived in the property after the clean has been completed this would void the free re-clean guarantee.
We strive for 100 percent customer satisfaction every time we offer our cleaning services so please if you have any issues let us try and rectify them as soon as possible.
Contacting PremiumClean has never been easier. We can offer contact via telephone, email, WhatsApp and even Facebook messenger. We have a highly trained office team to help you with any questions you may have, whether to book in one of our many cleaning services or just to ask a few questions or tips about how to clean effectively.
We can offer advice about staining and how to prevent stains from growing and how to prevent stains from returning. Sometimes we will ask for pictures of any staining that you might have. This allows us to assess and ensure to send the correct cleaning technician. It will also allow us to have all the needed equipment and products for your specific type of carpets or upholstery.
Sometimes specific flooring requires a specialist product. For example real wood flooring will require a more delicate product to ensure the wood is not damaged during the cleaning process. We can offer aftercare also to ensure your surfaces remain clean and free from further damages. We really can offer everything that you may need.
It’s always important to research cleaning companies before deciding whether they are right for your cleaning needs and to ensure that they are professional and insured. Some cleaning companies may not have insurance, which means that if they cause any damages, you may not be able to get them to fix these damages, which would lead to you having to pay to fix this yourself.
This is why we as a company are fully insured. We don’t want to pay for any damages that cleaners might cause. We have our insurance in place if this happens. Make sure that you are fully aware that you will not be left with breakages to fix yourself.
Our cleaners will take pictures of anything broken before they start cleaning to ensure no confusion is present at the end of the clean. If there are many breakages we may call you before we start to clean to make sure you are aware of these breakages. The cleaners will also take some before and after pictures if needed. We sometimes use these for our website with your permission.