Shared houses have a predictable rhythm. Heavy use through the year, everybody leaves within the same fortnight, and the property has to be turned around before the next group arrives. Carpets take the brunt of it.
Handled well, that predictability is an advantage. The work can be booked in advance, the standard can be written into the tenancy, and the changeover stops being a scramble.
Why HMO carpets wear differently
In a family home, traffic spreads across the property. In a shared house, several unrelated adults use the same hall, stairs and kitchen route independently, and each bedroom is effectively a bedsit with its own eating, working and socialising happening on the same few square metres.
The result is that communal routes wear at a commercial rate while individual rooms show concentrated marking around desks and beds. The two need different treatment and should not be quoted as if they were the same.
- Hall, stairs and landing take commercial levels of traffic.
- Bedrooms show food and drink marking rather than traffic lanes.
- Kitchen and dining routes carry grease as well as grit.
- Lounge upholstery gets far heavier use than in a family home.
Scheduling around the tenancy cycle
Most landlords clean at changeover and nowhere else. A mid tenancy clean of the communal areas costs far less than it saves, because it removes the grit that would otherwise abrade the pile for another six months.
Booking early matters in university towns. Everyone wants the same fortnight in the summer, and the properties that get the slot are the ones booked well in advance.
- Book the changeover slot months ahead, not in the final week.
- Add a mid tenancy communal clean in the winter break.
- Clean before viewings for the next academic year, not after.
- Allow a clear day between the outgoing and incoming tenants.
Writing it into the tenancy properly
Vague wording causes most deposit disputes. A clause saying carpets must be left clean invites an argument about what clean means. A clause specifying professional cleaning of carpets and upholstery at the end of the tenancy, with a receipt provided, does not.
Deposit schemes look for fairness and evidence. They will not support a deduction for fair wear and tear, but they will support a deduction where the property was demonstrably clean at the start and demonstrably not at the end.
- State the standard clearly rather than using the word clean alone.
- Ask for a receipt from the tenants' cleaner if they arrange it.
- Distinguish clearly between cleaning and wear and tear.
- Keep the same wording across all rooms so it is applied consistently.
Evidence at check in and check out
Photographs at both ends of the tenancy settle almost every dispute before it starts. They need to be dated, well lit and specific, showing the same areas at check in and check out so a comparison can actually be made.
The inventory should note the carpet condition room by room rather than as a single line for the property. A carpet that was already worn at check in cannot be charged for at check out, and recording that protects the landlord as much as the tenant.
- Photograph each room's floor at check in, including under furniture.
- Note existing marks, worn nosings and any repairs already present.
- Repeat the same shots at check out from the same positions.
- Keep the cleaning invoice with the inventory file.
What to specify for the turnaround
A full property turnaround usually means all bedroom carpets, the hall, stairs and landing, the lounge carpet and the lounge upholstery. Sofas in shared houses are frequently the worst item in the property and are almost always left out of the specification.
Method choice matters when the window is tight. If the new tenants arrive the following morning, dry compound cleaning removes the drying risk entirely and the rooms can be furnished immediately.
Protecting the asset between tenancies
Carpet in an HMO is a consumable, but how fast it is consumed is largely within the landlord's control. Barrier matting at the front door and a decent vacuum left in the property both pay for themselves several times over.
Choosing the right carpet in the first place matters too. Mid brown or heather flecked hard wearing synthetic pile in communal areas hides ordinary soil and cleans up well, whereas pale plain carpet in a student hallway is a decision that will be regretted within a term.
- Fit a proper barrier mat inside the front door and clean it regularly.
- Leave a working vacuum in the property and keep it maintained.
- Choose hard wearing flecked pile for halls and stairs.
- Consider carpet protector on communal areas after cleaning.