Got a letter from the PM today.....

[Dragon Master]

We sent them a letter saying were vacating the property and got their reply letter today. As I expected they say "please get the carpets professionally cleaned and give us a copy of the receipt"... I expected that (well not the receipt) but what I didn't expect was "Do Not use Rug Doctor on this property. It does not count as carpet cleaning."

I wasn't impressed so rung them up. They admitted they can't enforce it and was "sorry" I was upset about them asking for it but said if the floor is "dirty" (I assume anything short of a professional doing it they would classify as dirty) they will have it professionally cleaned and take it from the bond. I guess this is a loophole they found in the system?

We were going to get a rug doctor as we have been here a couple of years but the carpet is atleast 20 years old anyway and is not the best. Very worn down especially in the high traffic areas and old black spots from before we moved in (my partner moved in before we got together and she didn't have the knowledge to take photo's at signup). Ofcause they have "recommended" a professional cleaner they prefer and "If you ring him up and say you rent from us it should only be $50 or so". I'm also curious as to us having to give them a copy of the receipt.

I'm not trying to be an ass. We are going to clean the property up I just hate that the "professional" PM's try to push this onto us. I'm curious as to what my options are. Can they get one done and force us to pay? Can I use a rug doctor and use that as proof the carpets were clean? I know this is an old issue that keeps coming up but I'm just curious as to what I can and can't do.

[Ahar]

Get in touch with tenancy services.....they should inform you of your rights......Mind you, many here will say that the staff aren't that well trained and the answer depends on who you talk to

I beleive PM's cannot insist on a "professional" carpet cleaning.....but if you clean it yourself be sure to take photo's and keep reciepts for the rug doctor equipment etc

[Dragon Master]

Get in touch with tenancy services.....they should inform you of your rights......Mind you, many here will say that the staff aren't that well trained and the answer depends on who you talk to

I beleive PM's cannot insist on a "professional" carpet cleaning.....but if you clean it yourself be sure to take photo's and keep reciepts for the rug doctor equipment etc

I'm not that bothered by it as it's only $50 but more curious as to what can happen and what I can and can't do and the whole can't use rug doctor and have to supply receipt thing.

[Keys]

Use a vacuum cleaner. Take photos of the carpet showing it's age, indeed, take photos of the whole house. Suggest to them that you will be willing to go to the tenancy tribunal over the issue if the bond is not fully refunded. Leave the property "reasonably clean and reasonably tidy" 40 1 (e) [iii] (click on the blue bits).

If I recall from another thread, you're moving into your own home? If so, any ruling on the web site will not affect you, even when you win.

Be aware, the landlord must prove the case if they want to win at the tenancy tribunal.

[artemis]

What keys said, except I believe it is 'reasonably clean and tidy', which is slightly different. However, I would add that if there are bad stains or similar on the carpet left by you the tenants, then a professional clean may be needed to bring the carpet to the 'reasonably clean and tidy' state.

[Dragon Master]

What keys said, except I believe it is 'reasonably clean and tidy', which is slightly different. However, I would add that if there are bad stains or similar on the carpet left by you the tenants, then a professional clean may be needed to bring the carpet to the 'reasonably clean and tidy' state.

I'm a little curious if the carpet will still be there after the cleaning. Just vacuuming the carpet is enough for some of it to go up the vacuum. I'd suspect a professional clean would rip it to shreads.

[Keys]

The problem the landlord has is that the tenancy tribunal will award nothing to them because of the age of the carpet.

[revdev]

I think the reasoning behind "Don't use the Rug Doctor", is that it is a DIY job and some people can do more harm than good to the carpets (excess water etc). This of course can effect the bond refund if it requires re-doing.

[KatieR]

I like 'rug doctor' and use it to clean the couches, the car and the carpet! I am pretty sure that if the carpet is not stained, they cannot ask for it to be professionally cleaned. But if you want to just get it over with, try grabone etc and get a voucher to use for between $59 and $89 - not much more than rugdoctor and no effort!

[Ivan McIntosh]

To the best of my knowledge, the "must commercially clean" at end of tenancy clauses are unenforceable. You either leave it clean or you don't. If you don't, the landlord can clean and recover costs (if possible). So leave it clean. Some good advice earlier in this thread.

[Dragon Master]

Update. We have been in contact with the Landlords Sister-in-Law (she and her Husband (The LL's Brother) keep an eye on his properties as he's in another country) and she said to not worry about the carpet as it'll be needing to be pulled up and replaced by EQR as there is a large crack in the concrete foundation under the carpet. We politly asked and she got the LL to email the PM to say not to worry about the carpets being cleaned as they will be pulled up anyway. So yay for us.
I wasn't against cleaning it. There are stains from things falling over during the many quakes but really didn' like the PM's attitude to the whole situation.
Anyway thank you all for your great advice.

[Meehole]

Well a good result for Dragon Master, but the issue of the Rug Doctor is that the majority of thre DIY'ers that use these in an attempt to save money often do more harm than good. As both a tenant and a landlord I prefer to have the carpets cleaned after each tenancy. It is better for the life of the carpet and as a tenant it is nice to know that the poos and spews of the previous tenants kids and the odd marks from a friends dog that has ventured into the house is wiped away.
If the carpet gets too wet from an inexperienced carpet cleaner then it smells when it takes too long to dry out. This happened to us when we moved in and it took months of using the dehumidifier to get the excess moisture out. Also the previous tenants appear to have just cleaned the carpet before vacuuming it properly.
When we moved out I paid $90 to have the whole house lot of carpet cleaned. Probably a similar cost to the hire of a rug dr and my labour cost combined.