Selling your home? You may face bill if it’s left dirty

SELLERS who leave their homes filthy for the new owners now risk paying compensation.

Lawyers are using ‘ clean and tidy’ clauses in contracts to ensure properties are handed over in a fit state.

Fridges brimming with rotten food, an urn containing ashes, animal faeces and even a dog tied up in the back yard have all greeted buyers, according to a leading law firm. In another case a buyer arrived to find the pyjama-clad seller sitting on the sofa eating dinner and watching TV.

The latter apparently believed they had ‘a week or so’ to move out after completion.

Under a ‘clean and tidy’ clause, a sum of money is held over until after completion to ensure the seller’s possessions have been removed and the property is in an acceptable state.

Kerry Sharples, a lawyer at Gorvins Solicitors in Manchester, said: ‘Not only can other people’s items be unpleasant or inconvenient to deal with, their removal can cost buyers a lot of money since they have to contend with disposing of piles of rubbish before they can move in.

‘Many people assume that simply moving out on completion, with your furniture and personal possessions, is adequate and see no problem with leaving rubbish in the shed. However it should mean that it’s empty of people and property at the time it will be vacated.’

Miss Sharples said it was advisable to revisit a property just before exchange of contracts took place.

If the seller refuses to remove items or pay for their removal after completion, buyers can go to the small claims court to try to recover costs under £10,000.