For Current Students Leaving Canterbury

Will my deposit be returned before on or after I leave etc

If you were one of the few houses required to pay a deposit - then this will normally be returned within 10 days of the tenancy termination date or the last to leave which ever is the earlier.  The earliest departures can often receive deposits very quickly as there are fewer time consuming inspections than at formal departure dates

I want to leave before the others I will clean my mess and the rest is up to them

A group of student tenants are jointly responsible for all cleaning.

Can you come and inspect my room today, unlike the other house mates, I am leaving before the end of this month but the others are all leaving on different dates during this month.

I was not required to pay a deposit for my house, does this mean I do not have to clean?

No, it simply means we cannot recover damages from a deposit.  Instead we would ask you to leave the house clean or pay the cleaning charge and failing this we could approach your guarantor or the courts for payment.

Can you assure me that having cleaned the house today I will not be charged for the mess left by the others, they are not leaving for another two weeks, at the end of the tenancy."I promised Mr Leydon at the start I would ensure the house would be left clean as we found it". I am anxious because the other tenants have done little or no cleaning. 

This is always an emotive subject.  You have a joint tenancy and it is too complicated for us as landlord to police how you live during your tenancy.  You need to discuss this with your fellow housemates try to encourage them to clean up in time for the final inspection.  You might want to take pictures to show your fellow housemates as evidence that any mess created was clearly not yours.  We also retain photographs prior to arrival for evidential purposes for comparison upon departure. We recommend tenants do likewise to settle any disputes.

Would you like the fridge/freezer to be switched off when we leave?
We will place something under the fridge to catch any excess leaking water.

Yes the freezer must be switched off ideally the day before you leave.  Please do be very careful about defrosting any freezer, do not just walk away and leave it to defrost as the water could ruin any laminate floor.  This needs you’re supervision.  If it is just the fridge there should not be much liquid so a defrost tray under neat (sold in supermarkets cheaply) should catch any water.  Do not leave this until just before you go as you need to be sure there is no liquid to damage the floor.  The night before is ideal as you are present to mop it up AS IT DEFROSTS.  Do not allow defrosting to occur as you sleep.  By the morning your floor may be ruined.

Please advise the sort of things you will be looking for in preparation for the final inspection.

See Cleaning.  The main consideration is to ensure all sanitary ware is clean and free of brown staining or scale. The shower cubicles should likewise be clean and any orange mould build up removed.  Do not worry if mastic has turned black -we will replace this free of charge as wear and tear.  The oven chrome work should be without any brown or black carbon and should shine.  Occasionally the inside of oven door cavity windows become stained.  If you are competent remove the screws with a small screwdriver and carefully clean the glass inside without breaking it then replace with screws.  The fridge and freezer doors after defrosting and cleaning should be left ajar to prevent mould build up.  The fridge inside should be wiped clean with a sterile solution to kill any bacteria to prevent mould growth.  Ensure all and any door handles throughout the house and the surrounding areas are wiped clean of finger marks.  Carpets should be free of gum, tea or coffee stains and cigarette burns (do not permit friends to smoke).  Walls free of blue / white tack or posters.

If the front door locks without a key just pull it closed and allow it to lock behind you and leave your keys in your bedroom door locks on the inside of each room.  We will pop round and collect later.

Just to let you know that I will be moving the last of my stuff out  tomorrow, i won't be present because I have moved back home and I am in full employment and couldn't get the day off.  My Mum will be there to collect the remainder of my things and give a once over of the house, i just wanted to know how we go about returning the keys?

Just leave the keys on the inside of each door and we will collect later.

Do remember during the "once over" to clean the oven thoroughly – all chrome should shine with no trace of black or brown carbon (oven cleaner).  No scale or scum or scale on bathroom sanitary ware and taps - tiles bath shower cubicle tray toilet especially inside (descalant solution)  Be careful if using descalant solutions to clean from the bottom upwards not top down - runs can leave permanent marks - do not leave overnight or for long to prevent cleaner damage.  Defrost fridge freezer.  Where there are any free standing ' white goods ' check underneath for grease and old chips.  Do not soak the laminate floor to clean  - just wipe it clean with a moist but not dripping wet mop. Carpets remove spots with de-spotting solution (supermarket).  Leave vacuum cleaner and bins empty of rubbish.  Clear recycle sacks only can be left outside on the grass by the boundary.  Black bags not in a purple sack are charged to remove even if left inside the black bin. Open bin lids permit any flies access to lay eggs inside resulting in maggots.  Canterbury does not yet have a recycle collection for glass bottles and must be recycled by taking to bottle bank or less environmentally  friendly placing in the black wheelie bin prior to last collection date.

A firm of cleaners will go in at our expense to prepare a report.  We will try and give you an opportunity to rectify any items on the report - unless there is a back to back booking and there is no time.  Only items not done by yourselves will be charged by cleaners if and where required. See Cleaning

What do I do with the keys?

Just leave the keys on the inside of each door and we will collect later.
If the front door locks without a key just pull it closed and allow it to lock behind you and leave your keys in your bedroom door locks on the inside of each room.  We will pop round and collect later. If the front door does not lock use the key to lock it and pop the keys through your letterbox of the rented house.

Hi Bob,

Knowing how important this was I arranged today for my boyfriend to take all the rubbish outside to the tip. However he has now informed me that, as one of the housemates has not even left yet, more rubbish it still being added. Also another two left without taking theirs away either and, as you can appreciate, it is not fair that my boyfriend should have to spend his time taking away the rubbish which has resulted in a mess in the car and also costs for fuel. He has taken away a whole car load but the rest has been left because of this reason.

Additional, xxxxxxx and I were forced to clean the entire house as the other housemates either conveniently left early without pulling their weight or, in the case of one, apparently turned up about an hour ago after we finished cleaning.

I just thought it was important to make you aware that we did attempt to carry this request out the best we could.

 Thank you for your efforts. 
I did pop round in the afternoon and the gentleman in room one (large ground floor room with wet room) was still dealing with the rubbish outside. 
I did a quick preliminary inspection of the common areas and noted the fridge was very frosted and that a freezer drawer door was missing in one of the freezer compartments. 
The oven still needed cleaning with evidence of recent food remains still inside and lots of brown and black carbon deposits on the chrome work which must be thoroughly removed. Likewise the fridge freezer was dirty.
There was too much stuff in the kitchen to be able to determine what was going or staying, or the condition of the area. 
During my visit I refitted the ground floor shower hose and washer and de-scaled the hose-head by disturbing the scale on the rubber nozzles with my thumb - it now works perfectly. 
I pointed out to the person present that the sanitary ware in bathrooms still needed further cleaning to remove orange mould, scale and scum.
In order to avoid damage caused by over scrubbing and scraping,  Leydon Lettings now provide a cleaning pack for new tenants 2008-9 at the outset.  I left this cleaning pack at my own expense and invited the last to remain to use them free of charge to avoid potentially more expensive cleaning labour charges: Mr Muscle oven cleaner, Viakal descaling solution, 1001 carpet cleaner spot and stain remover, furniture polish, a scrubbing brush, bathroom mouse cleaner all contained in a plastic storage box.   I explained that I was happy for these items to be used to ensure the house was cleaned. 
We send a detailed reminder to each tenant group well in advance of departure as to what is expected with further tips as highlighted on our web site pages:
Cleaning prior to leaving
It is our policy not to get personally involved in disputes over cleaning.  Instead, we engage independent cleaners to report on the current condition of the property and this at Leydon Lettings' expense, regardless of the condition of the house.    We then attempt to provide an opportunity to outgoing tenants, where practicable, to rectify any issues arising.  Then, depending upon whether there is sufficient time available, especially before the next group arrive, to engage independent cleaners to effect any cleaning still remaining.

If you have an opportunity to return to rectify items prior to the cleaners report I urge you to do so.  You will not be permitted to return after the start of the subsequent new tenancy.

The cleanliness and presence of rubbish I found was below the minimum standard required but I await the independent report before commenting further. 
I also note the outside shed is full of left possessions and a broken dining chair.  The rear garden looks good – front lots of rubbish bags still being added to when I left.  Any rubbish left behind is likely to incur a removal charge.

I know you said to leave the keys in the inside of the bedroom doors but as a parent I insist you attend the house today as it is the last day of the tenancy so I can personally hand you the keys in and so you can check the condition of the house.  I will be here until 2pm today.

We have an appointment system. It is not reasonable to insist upon a visit on the same day nor that you should ignore our request to leave the keys on the inside of the bedroom door locks.  With many student tenants leaving on the same day it it would burden our administration to comply with your request.  We will pop round and collect the keys in due course and leave it to the independent cleaners to report on the condition of the house as formerly stated.

We have all left the house please advise when our deposits will be returned.

Independent cleaners report on the condition of every house regardless of condition, whatever the condition at our expense.  Only remaining work is charged for.  We aim is to dispatch all deposits by 7 July.  However deposits can be delayed where there is unquantifiable costs to deduct, pending quotes.  There may therefore be a delay getting trades people or cleaners to provide costs.

We have all left the house why should we have to wait on a report before you return our deposits.  Is this just an excuse to deduct money from our deposits?

You have wrongly pre-empted the reason for, and the results of, the report. I perceive because you are anxious about the outcome you are envisioning the worst.  We previously explained the independent report is to ensure impartiality.  We particularly emphasised the need for you to:
Remove your rubbish in good time - with several pages dedicated to this topic on our web site.  

We really do not want your money, we just want you to get rid of your rubbish.  

Most deposits have already been returned well within the 10 days advertised and in some instances before tenants even left where there were no issues like rubbish to consider.  Due to the demand for cleaners at this time of year we have to prioritise what to do first:

A. Houses in reasonable condition (not perfect) with no significant questions arising - return deposits straight away.

B. Houses with new tenants arriving imminently - ensure these are clean first regardless of reports which can wait till later.

C. Houses with rubbish outside or with a query inside - lowest priority.  Do these after priorities A. and B. are finished.

We did advertise that rubbish removal could cause delays in returning deposits, pending costs for removal.  So we are not late to return deposits but actually well within our agreement having pointed out the rubbish and oven condition within the 10 day period. The oven was clean upon the first of your group to arrive, this is indisputable. Your oven is not necessarily dirty just not free of carbon.  Allowed to build up carbon becomes impossible to remove.

My ensuite was left spotless why have you charged me for cleaning it?

Cleaning must be distinguished from lime-scale removal.  Shower door glasses which are normally transparent should not be returned opaque with scale.  Lime scale whilst not dirty is perceived by some tenants as dirty. Left to build up this causes damage to bi-fold door-mechanisms preventing opening and closing resulting in excessive force and breakage.  Health wise lime-scale can harbour mould.

My oven was left spotless why have you charged me for cleaning it?

Cleaning must be distinguished from carbon removal.  You may have removed grease but left baked on carbon.  Oven chrome work which is normally shining should not be returned brown or black with carbon.  Black or brown carbon though sterile is perceived by some tenants as dirty. Left to build up this becomes impossible to remove.