Property Cleaning

Property
Cleaning:

As a Landlord you have a duty of care to your
tenant to ensure that the property you are renting to them is habitable for
humans.  This actually includes ensuring that the property is clean for
when your tenants move in.  Naturally, the cleaner the property is at the
start of the rental term, the more likely the tenants are going to keep the
property in a clean condition.

It all depends on the sort of tenants you want to
attract.  If you are looking for professional persons then I suggest that
you ensure that the property is in excellent condition before you start to
market the property.  This will not only entice potentially excellent
tenants, but will also show them that you are a landlord who takes pride in
their property and therefore they will believe and it is usually the case that
should they have a problem with the property in the future, that you will assist
them in a professional manner.  Looks do count!

The whole property should be cleaned thoroughly
from top to bottom.  In our agreements we state that the tenant must have
the property professionally cleaned prior to their contract terminating. 
An inventory clerk will be able to pick up on whether this has been done or not.

In theory therefore you should be able to hire
professional cleaners in to clean your property just the once.  Then the
tenants have the property cleaned prior to the next set moving in.  It is
another expense, but it is worth it in the long run.  Besides it is far
easier to get a professional company in with all their strong detergents than
have yourself scrubbing away with the usual High Street brand names.

As I said, once you have had it cleaned, then the
tenants have to have it professionally cleaned by the terms of their contract. 
If they fail to do so then you are within your rights to have the property
cleaned to a satisfactory standard at the cost of the tenants.  But you
will actually only get away with this if you have had a professional inventory
done, both make, and check out.  Never cut corners, it can cost you a lot
of valuable time and money.

Professional cleaning should also include the
cleaning of the carpets, where applicable.  Thus you can prove to the
inventory clerk when he/she does the make that there are no stains.  When
it comes to the check out and the inventory clerk spots the stains, then you can
assure the tenant that it is their responsibility to get them removed or that
you will do it at their expense.

In short, we advise that you have the property
professionally cleaned prior to marketing the property to attract the best sort
of tenants.  They will then have the property cleaned at the end of their
tenancy ready for the next set and so you should not have to have the property
cleaned at your expense again.  A clean property, a clean tenant!  We
hope!