Professional Cleaner?

[littlesally]

My stepson is moving out of his flat and been told that unless he pays for a professional cleaner to come in he will not get his deposit back!
This seems so unfair, the flat is not a mess at all. There seems to be no allowance for 'reasonable wear and tear'.
My daughter has moved in to a flat which has listed every tiny little mark already there and she is concerned that if she (and she will) makes any marks she will lose her deposit. Her deposit is with an 'unbiased' middleman. How unbiased are these so called middlemen?

I realise that things have changed a lot from the days of being able to drill holes, decorate and basically treat rented property as if you owned it, but surely landlords can expect to pay for decorating and general doing up inbetween tenants.

Two questions ...
Can rent deposit be with held for not 'professionally cleaning?
How can you check if 'middlemen' are trustworthy?

Sally x

[Mr lex]

Hi Sally,

Does your son's landlord live far from his flat? If not, get your son to ask the landlord to come and inspect his flat and point out anything that needs action. I expect this is just laziness on behalf of the landlord so he can tell the land/lettings agent the property has been 'professional cleaned' before re-letting.

Good luck

Lex xx