Someone moving out of rented flat, has cleaned it; but landlord is looking to charge and take some of the original deposit money because they say it is not clean enough.
Friends say take photographs and go to the small claims court to retrieve money. But it might be difficult to show cleanliness with photographs unless you are a professional?
Any suggestions as to his best course of action. He still has a few days access to the flat.
The main issue here is was there a check-in inventory done when the person moved in, was it signed by the tenant and what did it say about the state of the cleaniness?
Also, is the deposit protected in one of the schemes (as it must be, unless this is a pretty old tenancy)? If it is, then the landlord can't simply unilaterally deduct money for cleaning; if not, then the landlord will be up the creek.
The "loophole" where a deposit didn't need protecting if tenancy started before the new regs were introduced, has been closed
tim
Most standard tenancy agreements have a clause to the effect that there will be a charge for cleaning at the end of the tenancy. Personally I only enforce it if the place has not been kept in a good state. But there again my properties are inspected every three months by an independent agency who report the state of things as the lease progresses. That way early action can be taken and there should be no surprises later on.
AWEM
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