It is incredible how a routine end of tenancy cleaning job can go all belly up with all parties including tenant, landlord, estate agent and cleaning company all having the hugest disagreements about end of tenancy cleaning and wear and tear in a property that has just been vacated.

How An Inventory Clerk Makes Or Breaks An End Of Tenancy Cleaning Job

This subject has so got under my skin that you must read this completely to appreciate how serious things have become when you end your tenancy and employ an end of tenancy cleaning company to do the professional cleaning of your property.

After nearly 9 years of doing end of tenancy cleaning it is clear that I still have a lot to learn about making sure that all parties involved in an end of tenancy transaction communicate with each other before , during and after an end of tenancy period. Sure, everything is cushy at the beginning of your tenancy but bad experiences start more than often at the end of a tenancy

             Your Check-out Report Relays If You Have Been         A Good Or A Bad Tenant In Looking After The Property And Invested In End Of Tenancy Cleaning

….or does it??? What do I mean? Let me explain with the following key points you should consider:

1. An inventory clerk performs an inventory make and pre-inspection report which you as a new tenant must witness and sign prior to taking possession of the keys to your rental property.
2. In this check-in report everything is recorded in black and white regarding any maintenance, decorative or previous end of tenancy cleaning issues and a copy of this report is sent to you the tenant, estate agent and the landlord of the property.
3. No more thought is given to the check-in report and you go on with your tenancy for whatever period of time.
4. You then decide that you want to move and scramble to find your new property, movers, book an end of tenancy cleaning company and….rummage around in drawers for that elusive check-in report so that you can check what is required to get back as much of your rental deposit  as possible.

Your Inventory Check-out Report Is a Legally Binding Document In Reference To Your Property Including Fair Wear And Tear, Damages And End Of Tenancy Cleaning Issues

So you might say I am stating the obvious and you may be right. Then why are there so many disputes happening at the end of a tenancy when all seems so clear cut?

Here are some questions put simply, yet clearly for you to ponder over:

1. What happens if an inventory clerk misses something important and does not get noted on the check-in report? e.g. end of tenancy cleaning has not been done to the right standard and you only notice it a few weeks later. Sure you report it but by that time it is too late for any amendments to be made to the report.
2. What happens if the check-out is done by a different inventory clerk who notices that more things are wrong with the property than the inventory clerk in the beginning of the tenancy? He/she will put that on the report and you will have a problem convincing your landlord or estate agent that the problem was there before. Why…because your estate agent and landlord refer to the previous check-in report as a legally binding document and therefore gospel.
3. What does that new inventory clerk have to refer to, to get an idea of what the property looked like at the beginning of the tenancy? You guessed it….the original inventory and check-in report done by a different inventory clerk.
4. What happens if for example you moved in and all the appliances in the kitchen were new? Your tenancy may be 5 years in length and you may have cleaned very little. We do our end of tenancy cleaning and despite trying our best to clean that once new oven, we cannot remove all the burnt on grease. This will be noted on the check-out report and inevitably result in your deposit return being delayed while end of tenancy cleaning issues are resolved. Cleaners normally have good results based on how well a property has been maintained during the tenancy. Is it our fault that that damn oven was cleaned for 4 hours and still looked dirty. We are after all not magicians.

You probably know by now that we live in a world where suing even your best friend has become common practice. A tenant I know even lost £1400 of his deposit. Seriously, 2 years ago inventory clerks were not taking photos and videos of a property or the end of tenancy cleaning quality to add weight to making that check-out report as "meaty" as possible.

The moral of this story can be summed up by saying that no-one is perfect whether it be a tenant, landlord, estate agent or end of tenancy cleaning company. The cold hard fact is you have to understand how important that check-out report is when used as a reference point.

It is used and scrutinized in the following ways:

1. By an estate agent to assess if you have taken care of the property. If there is negative comments on the check-out report your deposit will be delayed until all things are rectified.
2. By a landlord to assess whether the estate agent has indeed managed their property in the right way with their best interests in mind.
3. By you the outgoing tenant that has just moved out to assess whether what has been deducted from your deposit in way of fixing certain damages is fair. If not then the matter may go to a dispute tribunal.
4. By a tribunal hearing committee to assess whether all parties involved have acted correctly to resolve the dispute. Their decision is made off the back of what is written on the check-out report prepared by the inventory clerk.

An Eye Opening Exercise That Shows How Much Weight is placed on a Check-out report. From now on, keep your eyes open and report anything and everything you think is wrong with the property when you move in. DON'T WAIT UNTIL CHECK-OUT DAY AS THAT IS TOO LATE….GAME OVER!

Please also make sure you use the right end of tenancy cleaning service.

I would love to hear your end of tenancy cleaning nightmare stories of how your check-out has gone wrong and how you got it resolved…or not. Please add your comments in the comments box below this article.

Until Next Time……Keep It Clean!

Mark

DustBusters Professional End Of Tenancy Cleaning

Tags: End Of Tenancy Cleaning Issues, end of tenancy cleaning job, Inventory Clerk Makes Or Breaks An End Of Tenancy Cleaning Job

This entry was posted on August 13, 2010 at 19:50. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in DustBusters Professional End Of Tenancy Cleaning End Of Tenancy Cleaning End Of Tenancy Cleaning Service Post Tenancy Cleaning Tenants Deposit Uncategorized by Mark 1 Comment