How clean is my oven?

Landlords have you ever arrived at your rental property at the time of the tenant check out to be confronted by an oven that is like a scene from one of Gordon Ramsays kitchen nightmares?

Where do professional landlords go for their landlord insurance?

Grease upon grease, charred and baked, black and generally yuk. That was me the other week. I have overlooked the marks on the walls and the slightly grimey carpets. I have put this all down to fair wear and tear. However, when the tenants moved in three years ago the oven was brand new so I new it was spotlessly clean. They clearly hadn't cleaned it at all since they moved in.

I clearly needed to get a professional oven clean done to try and restore the oven to its former glory and for this I would get a professional oven cleaner in to do the job. I told them that I would obtain a quote from a business such as ovenu. I told them if it wasn't exceptable then they were free to get an alternative quote and if equivalent and cheaper I'd go with them.

Phone & email tennis

Then started the email and phone tennis. I texted the tenant the cost. They said it was more than they had expected. I'm sorry that's how much it costs! Lets face it, who wants to clean an oven, it's a horrible job. Certainly not them, that's why it was in such a state in the first place. Having text them the figures for the landlord oven clean. The tenant then phoned me to ask for an invoice to prove the cost. I duly emailed them the invoice. They replied to my e-mail, although I didn't receive it. So the tenant phoned me to see why I hadn't replied to their email. I said I hadn't received their email. They said they would resend. I checked - no email. I phoned them to say "no email received". They would print the email by recorded delivery. I suggested they resend by hotmail. The email said that the cleaning costs were more than they expected. The cost being £57.50 for the oven, £20 for the hob, £20 for the extractor. Then a phone message from the tenant asking me if I had received the resent email, he would phone me tomorrow to find out if I had.

Then I glanced at the tenants employer. He works for East Midlands Regional Assembly. This explains it all. A regional eurocrat!!! The tennis will no doubt continue for some time. Unfortunately for him the cleans booked in for this week so he is running out of time.....