Hello everyone, I am hoping you can help with a deposit dispute I am going through with my previous estate agent.
Near the end of last year the owner of our rented property sold the flat we were renting to a new owner. We moved out as, although the estate agent said the new owners would like to keep us, we would have to move out and immediately move back in (apparently the property had to be empty for the owners to get the mortgage or something). This would have incurred all the move out costs, move in costs and a new deposit (over £2000 all in). Sounded like they were pulling our leg so decided to find somewhere new to live.
This was all fine until the checkout inventory check. There was a clause in the contract that said the flat has to be cleaned to a professional standard. We had on previous occasions told both the landlord and estate agent that the flat was not clean when we moved in i.e. grease all over the kitchen ustensils, dirty mattress and sheets, black mould ingrained into the kitchen worktops etc. It was noted on the checkin inventory that the flat was clean to a professional standard but as this was our first flat in London we had no idea what this really referred to. We had a cleaner come in for 3 hours to clean the flat, thinking that this would clean the flat to a far better standard then when we moved in.
The estate agent is now saying that the landlord will dispute £200 plus VAT to have the flat cleaned (£240) as we left it in a domestic cleaned standard only. I have offered to compromise and split the cost of a £120 all inclusive clean which is guaranteed to get you deposit back but the estate agent has come up with excuses not to use them (they have no public liability - false, they are not approved, the landlord won't agree etc.).
My questions are:
i) The OFT states that the "professional clean" clause in a contract is an unfair clause, am I likely to win the dispute as I have paid a professional to clean and there was no specification for what was required?
OFT guide (can't post url as this is my first post) "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)
ii) The previous landlord who we had a contract with and who I assume the estate agent is liaising with is a friend of a friend, it is unlikely that he would not agree to the cheaper compromise and insist on the £240 deduction. Could the estate agent be acting on behalf of the new landlord with who we did not have a contract (and therefore they cannot raise a cleaning dispute)? And should I ask who the "landlord" all the correspondence refers to is?
Thanks in advance for any help. If any more details are needed the please let me know.