Cleaning tops tenancy deposit claims for fifth year running

I should have been specific.I was referring to Kenya which I have personal experience of. Yes I had a tenant from S.Africa who said it is impossible to get rid of tenants there.

Reply to the comment left by David at 16/06/2026 – 13:33
It doesn’t matter if certain things are written in the contract, it doesn’t mean it’s legally applicable. You could write in the contract that a tenant will forfeit their deposit unless they can do 50 push ups, it doesn’t mean anything

When I use to do inventories for a letting agent the front page stated the property was professionally cleaned. Their contracts also stated this and that they have to return it to a professional clean standard and that if they don’t then professional cleaners will be sent in on their behalf and the costs deduct from deposit

When some were sent to the DPS for adjudication, the clause in the contract didn’t apply, the DPS would award based on what they felt was reasonable

Tenancy contracts do not trump legislation

Reply to the comment left by Billy Gunn at 16/06/2026 – 22:50
My letting agents vet what they believe will stand up if challenged and as you say not everything will as it could be deemed an “unfair contract”.They say that cleaning clause is acceptable and so far I have never had a problem.They argue that the property should be returned in the same clean state as let.They did not add professional cleaners will be sent in, but the 3rd party inventory clerk determines if the property is returned in the same clean state as when let. Of course it seems all these deposit protection schemes can determine exactly what they want. If only the rest of the public could scream “unfair contract”, but it only seems to work for tenants.

Reply to the comment left by Billy Gunn at 16/06/2026 – 22:50
I’m in the middle of a dispute about cleaning costs, so will be interested to see what the adjudicator makes of basic contract law principles. Remember you don’t have to agree to TDS adjudication, you have the option of making a claim in the County Court, though of course costs and hassle will often make this unattractive.

Reply to the comment left by Julesgflawyer at 17/06/2026 – 08:49
That is interesting that you could go to court, however I have little faith in justice. Could that mean though if you lost it would mean a CCJ, but also a CCJ for the tenants if they lost. Good luck, I wish you well.

Reply to the comment left by David at 17/06/2026 – 10:38
“Small claims court” if less than £10k claim, so no costs orders. Even an adverse costs order isn’t a “CCJ” unless you don’t pay and it gets enforced.

Reply to the comment left by David at 16/06/2026 – 23:09
When I worked directly for letting agents we only sought deductions that were legitimate, in fact I was very upfront with landlords about what issues are their responsibilities and what are tenants

But the DPS are very in favour of tenants, even if they agree to some cleaning needed, a lot of the time it was ‘3 hours cleaning needed at £15ph, I award the letting agent £45 for cleaning’

I’ve conducted around 700 checkouts over a 12 year period, only maybe 5% went to the DPS, but that was their general response

We even had cases where glass halogen hobs were broken and they wouldn’t award any money for it, they would say the expected life span for a hob is 10 years and thus as it’s older than 10 years they don’t award any money

2 year lifespan for decorating in high traffic areas like hallways, 5 year lifespan for whole property decoration. 5 year lifespan for carpets, and so on

Reply to the comment left by Billy Gunn at 18/06/2026 – 00:25
Yes i suspect the DPS, like just about everyone else is in favour of the tenants, but IMO nothing ventured nothing gained and landlords and letting agents need to fight back, not be defeatist from day one. Oh that won’t stand up with the DPS is not the way.
I had a similar problem with a cracked hob from another “adjudication” company and lost. A hob does not just suddenly crack, something heavy has been dropped on it, so obviously a bias in favour of the lovely tenants who can never do any wrong.They didn’t even ask how old the hob was.

Reply to the comment left by David at 18/06/2026 – 10:05
The DPS hold the money and give it back to tenants upon their decision

They don’t give you their opinion to then approve, as I said, the DPS give the money back to the tenant the see fit upon thier decision

Sure, you can then go down all the legal routes, but who is going to do that for a £100 cleaning cost

Reply to the comment left by Billy Gunn at 20/06/2026 – 02:58
Yes we got shafted there having to hand over deposits to an agency.1 bed cleaning costs in my area are £300, but who is going to trust a judge these days.