[Tony&Kat]

Hi all,

Just had an agreement form from a potential landlord, they seem to be asking for the house to be commercially cleaned aswell as the carpets upon leaving the property - is this normal? Seems a bit OTT to me!! Below is a snippet from the agreement form - any comments would be much appreciated!! Cheers!

Electricity/Phone/Water: The Tenant shall arrange and pay for all charges for electricity used in and upon the premises and all telephone hire charges and toll accounts incurred during the tenancy. The tenant shall pay for all water usage during the term of the tenancy. The tenant shall also pay for any cost of charges for standard meter readings.

Windows: The Tenant shall pay for replacement for all window panes, mirrors and light shades in the premises if they are broken or become unusable (except for fair wear and tear).

Light Bulbs: The tenant shall replace all electric light bulbs and switchboard fuses in the premises if they become broken and/or become unusable (except for fair wear and tear), with others of at least the same quality and power of those at the date of this agreement.

Tradesmen: The Tenant agrees to pay the tradesmen call out charge if prior arrangements to allow tradesmen to enter the premises to effect repairs are not adhered to.

Carpets: The Tenant shall have the carpets professionally cleaned (including stain removal) and shampooed upon vacating the premises and the receipt produced to the Landlord. Monies will be deducted from bond if stains cannot be removed/ per tradesmen quote.

House Cleaning: Upon vacating the premises the Tenant shall have the house commercially cleaned (including windows washed) and receipts produced to the Landlord. The tenant shall follow the cleaning guide which is part of this agreement.

Picture Hooks: The Tenant shall not paint, drive nails or screw into, affix any kind of adhesive tape, or in any way deface the walls, ceilings, floors, wood, stone, cladding, or ironwork, or the Landlord’s fittings and fixtures. ONLY 3M removable pictures hooks can be used. If any of the above are defaced, monies will be deducted from bond as per quote by tradesmen.

Rubbish: The Tenant shall keep the premises clean and tidy both inside and outside and free from rubbish, bottles, cigarette butts or like matters. Any costs involved to make good compliance with this clause will be charged to the Tenant.

Lawns: The Tenant shall mow the lawns fortnightly, keep gardens/grounds tidy, free of weeds and hedges cut. Please water the lawns especially on very dry days.

Drains: The Tenant shall reasonably keep the drains and sanitary appliances and sink wastes clear and in good order.

Fumigation: The Tenant shall pay for fumigation or appropriate action for the removal of any pests entering the property after the commencement of the tenancy.

Ventilation: The Tenant agrees to keep the premises well ventilated at all practical times when the Tenant is personally in residence to prevent the build up of mould and/or mildew.

Thanks,

Tony

[everythingevans]

Don't know if it's over the top for NZ, but it was standard practice on the last place I rented in the UK. Either I shampooed the carpet, and then they inspected it or I let them choose a contractor and whatever they did was deemed fine.

Didn't have to have the rest of the house - i.e. walls and other surfaces professionally cleaned though.

Regards,

S

[dusk]

it's not outstandingly over the top - sounds like they've used a standard template or had trouble with previous tenants - the having the house professionally cleaned is a bit OTT, but it depends if it's obviously been done to that standard before you move in.

I'd be having a very careful inventory & condition check done and agreed with the landlord before you move in, just to make sure you don't get charged for any damage not of your own doing.

[Moorf]

Yes, that looks about right. Friends of ours even had to have the chimney cleaned and inspected. However, I don't hear of many people who have moved in to a super-clean house.. :confused:

[Tony&Kat]

Thanks Guys, maybe it is standard practice - I guess its down to the individual. I mean, we wouldnt mind making sure it was spotless and clean by cleaning it ourselves but just seems like a waste of money having to pay other people to come and do it for us. Will see if I can negotiate a deal but im not holding my breath.

Thanks for the info

Tony & Kat

[migratory birds]

...but 3M picture hooks ONLY??

Might hold up a laminated poster of the All Blacks...but not most of the art I have!

And no painting...sounds like it'll be basic white. Ahhh, the pleasures of home ownership! Anything goes with wall colors!

Some of it sounds like what I might like to have done before I move in (well cleaned, freshly shampooed carpets) but some of the detail sounds like either very clearly delineated expectations so there are no questions during tenancy...or like they've had serious problems with tenants in the past neglecting ALL of the stated expectations.

[The Hodges]

Hi Tony & Kat

This is all standard practice in the UK if you are renting a property. We rent our house out in the UK and because we paid for all the carpets to be cleaned and the house professionally cleaned when we moved out the tenants also have to do this in return when they leave the property. If we had cleaned it oursleves our tenants would only have to do this. Check to see if it was professionally cleaned before you move in. If not, you may be able to get away with doing it yourself.

Good Luck!

[nippa&pippa]

yep standard practice BUT from our experiences, take photos of every bits that are NOT clean (even look at lampshade), damage marks on wall, mark on floors, and take pictures of garden before you move in.....to protect yourself from landlord's complaint;)
We were so glad we did it because we had to use it against our landlady even our rental house was dirty before we moved in!!!
Also ask, before you move in, for paperwork that proved that carpet has been cleaned. We think our rental house never been done because how animal hair was still there and our landlady failed to show us :roll
yep we couldn't put anything on the walls...bit unfair for kids because they need something on wall to help them settle down. Nevertheless we moved out before 12months contract end.

[dusk]

I've lived in over 20 rented properties in the UK over the last 17 years or so and have never had to pay to have the house professionally cleaned (the oven and the carpets yes, the house? no...) so I wouldn't say it was exactly standard practice, but in the end the landlord owns the property and can set whatever rules they like :)

[CJ22]

Oven, carpets, chimneys yes. The whole house professionally cleaned, no. That's over the top. Also, the rule about pictures is on the strict side (although it depends what hooks are already there) and I've never had a landlord try and tell me how often I have to mow the lawn, lol. Basically, this agreement, while no one point is outrageous, strikes me as retentive to the nth degree and I'd think twice about it. He sounds like the kind of guy that will be round every 5 minutes wanting to inspect.

Also, this is slightly worrying:

Ventilation: The Tenant agrees to keep the premises well ventilated at all practical times when the Tenant is personally in residence to prevent the build up of mould and/or mildew.

So, the house is prone to damp is it?

[BkyMonster]

All but the whole house professionally cleaned sounds fairly standard. Usually when I see things like that in rental agreements it is just for the landlord to cover their backsides. ;)
In my current apartment we had to sign a mold agreement. Basically saying we would run the fan in the bathroom and kitchen, open the windows often (all 2 of them :( ) and clean up any mold if we saw it. Hurrah for damp Oregon weather.

As for picture hanging, well, nothing a touch of spackle can't handle is what I do...

[eternalkiwi]

The only thing that I have not previously seen in lease agreements is the need to have receipts to prove how the house was cleaned. Possibly ask the landlord if they would accept that the house is left clean to a professional standard.

Shawn

[Familyofmonkeys]

...but 3M picture hooks ONLY??



That has been a condition of our last 2 rentals....different rental agents too.

Never been asked to have house professionally clean....only carpets. In fact according to the department of building and housing ( http://www.tenancy.govt.nz/tenancy-index ) when you vacate a premises it should be 'reasonably clean'....but that is pretty subjective. I suggest if you are unsuare about anything in your contract, you contact the above to see if they think this is reasonable or if you can actually be held to it. As for gardens....you are required to mow lawns, weed and trim hedges to avoid obstruction, but are not required to prune any plants etc, and you should not be required to pay for water for watering lawn. Our last 2 rentals actually refunded the cost (based on increase in water meter reading, compared to normal use over certain period of time) for watering lawns in hot weather.

[Familyofmonkeys]

Also, this is slightly worrying:


So, the house is prone to damp is it?

This is a very common contract condition in most rentals we have looked at in Auckland.....the climate is very humid all year round, so mould is a big problem....espeically as virtually no houses have no central heating.

[IanW99]

...
As for gardens....you are required to mow lawns, weed and trim hedges to avoid obstruction, but are not required to prune any plants etc, and you should not be required to pay for water for watering lawn. ...


The rules regarding gardens are likely to be defined by the landlord, in our case we didn't have to do anything with the garden at all.

In our case they paid for someone to come along and mow the lawns and take away the waste garden material etc.

Would say it's definitely worth checking with the landlord first though as we didn't and did mow the lawns before finding out that someone else was going to be doing it.

Ian

[Familyofmonkeys]

Unless you specifically agree otherwise, the guidelines from Dept of Building and Housing is..


Tenants should keep the property reasonably clean and tidy. This includes weeding and mowing lawns where the landlord has not accepted responsibility for this under the tenancy agreement. Tenants should also leave the property reasonably clean and tidy at the end of the tenancy.

Responsibility for the pruning and maintenance of trees, shrubs and hedges and the removal of any debris created in doing this is usually interpreted as the landlord’s responsibility. This is because the tenant is responsible for any damage they intentionally or carelessly cause to the landlord’s property, including facilities. Where a tenant does cause damage to or kills a tree, shrub or hedge, they may be liable for its replacement, or to compensate the landlord for the damage or loss.

Some trees and shrubs may require special care, skill or knowledge to be able to properly maintain them, which a tenant may not have. Other trees or shrubs may be protected species, or specimens of local or historical interest that cannot be removed.

If a tenant does wish to remove or prune a tree, shrub or hedge on the property, they should first get the landlord’s written consent. The tenant would then usually be responsible for clearing away any debris created in the removal or pruning of the tree, shrub or hedge.

[BaldyBeardyBloke]

I don't hear of many people who have moved in to a super-clean house.. :confused:

No, but of course they wouldn't be complaining too vocally either I suppose.

...but 3M picture hooks ONLY??


We had this in both our rentals. Couldn't hang our best pics or our lovely mirror.

[Leccy-Lee]

Sounds like an identical copy of my agreement, the floors and lawns etc.
Surprised me too, i ignored the pictures on walls though! Darn'd if i can leave with bare white walls and there echo!

[Tony&Kat]

Some interesting points there, So its not just me then that things this landlord could turn out to be a landlord from hell?

[CJ22]

Nope, I'd be thinking twice, and I've had a few.