Reasonable costs/charges at end of tenancy

[Enid73]

Hi there,

Our tenants left last week and there are a couple of things we will need to charge for.

1. The curtains need to be washed - I can just do this in the washing machine (but it will be time consuming as only one will fit in at a time) - Can I charge for a couple of hours to do this and if so how much is reasonable?

2. Broken spindle - we had these custom made - i'm sure we have spare in the loft but again, can we charge for the time involved in fitting/painting this, and how much would be reasonable?
Or, do we have to have receipts for everything?

Also there are odd things like light bulbs which have not been replaced, the sink chain has been ripped off the sink, and the taps have bubbled up. Would this constitute wear and tear?

Thanks in advance

[JK0]

If I were you, I would get a tradesman to do the spindle, send the curtains to the laundry, and just charge the cost of the bulbs, and sink chain. If the chrome has come off the taps, I guess that is wear and tear.

[bhaal]

You can't evade paying for things like the laundry or try to make a profit by washing the curtains yourself and then charging the tenant for your time, so don't try. Just do as JK0 suggests and pass the actual, reasonable cost back to the tenants.

[Enid73]

Thanks for your replies.
Will phone some people tomorrow to get the issues sorted.

[midlandslandlord]

What's a 'spindle'?

(You don't rent to Sleeping Beauty, surely :-)? )

Update: Aha. Banisters !

ML