Unboxed & used needle found in rented apt

Crane

Hi all, just wanted some opinions here. We've been in our apartment since early July. There have been some issues with appliances breaking but it's been mostly OK. The apartment was supposed to have been cleaned before our tenancy began and it seemed to have been given a cursory clean - but it wasn't great, we have had to clean and defrost the fridge ourselves, for example. My roommate has noticed a bad smell coming from the fridge the past few days so she cleaned and defrosted it, but the smell persisted. She pulled it out from under the counter a little to see if its back needed a wipe and an unboxed, used needle pen (for diabetes) fell out.

We are a little bit put out as we feel this could represent a health and safety concern. We are wondering whether it's something to get onto the landlord or letting agents about, even if just to tell them their cleaners aren't up to scratch.

Any thoughts?

Mr. Incognito

I think you will all live to tell the tale.

Dont put it in the bin. Contact your local pharmacy to dispose of properly

Crane

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

I think you will all live to tell the tale.

Dont put it in the bin. Contact your local pharmacy to dispose of properly

Quite aware of our living to tell the tale - still can't help but feel it's pretty uncool to have people's used needles lying around our apartment I guess.

Mr. Incognito

What do you hope to happen?

That they will come clean it? Rent reduction?

Whats the objective outside of a moan?

Crane

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

What do you hope to happen?

That they will come clean it? Rent reduction?

Whats the objective outside of a moan?

Crane wrote: »

We are wondering whether it's something to get onto the landlord or letting agents about, even if just to tell them their cleaners aren't up to scratch.

Really not sure why you're taking up such an aggressive attitude - I am asking for opinions. I pay my rent on time and would be reasonably sure that this entitles me to 'moan' about an unpleasant incident in my rented accommodation even if the situation isn't exactly solvable but might be mitigated in the future, even if that is for another tenant that is not myself.

userod

Crane wrote: »

Really not sure why you're taking up such an aggressive attitude - I am asking for opinions. I pay my rent on time and would be reasonably sure that this entitles me to 'moan' about an unpleasant incident in my rented accommodation even if the situation isn't exactly solvable but might be mitigated in the future, even if that is for another tenant that is not myself.

He doesn't seem to be being aggressive to me. He seems to simply be asking you what would be the objective of your phone call, perhaps so he can advise you how to go about said phone call then?

Similar situation for me for example, I don't know how to advise you as I don't know what you are trying to achieve?

Crane

userod wrote: »

He doesn't seem to be being aggressive to me. He seems to simply be asking you what would be the objective of your phone call, perhaps so he can advise you how to go about said phone call then?

Similar situation for me for example, I don't know how to advise you as I don't know what you are trying to achieve?

OK, I'm sorry - I'm probably just taking it up wrong. Hard to read tone over the internet. Apologies if so, Mr Incognito.

I suppose I was wondering for interest's sake rather than anything else if anyone else had had issues like this in the past and if, for example, there is an obligation on the landlord to ensure the property is fully cleaned out before a new tenancy is taken up. I understand nothing can be done, and I'm not upset about it - certainly won't be asking for a rent decrease or anything like that - just wondering, really. As I have stated we have had other, smaller issues with the apartment and I'm trying to gauge how thorough of a landlord we are dealing with as our tenancy is still relatively new - it's something that might be useful for us to know in future.

Again, sorry for any lack of clarity.

on_my_oe

It's not unusual in our experience; our last place was supposedly cleaned but the toilet bowl was black, visible dust on the skirting boards and we went through two cans if Mr Muscle oven cleaner over a week of daily repeated cleaning. Yet the letting agent swore blind it had been cleaned the day before we moved in, so I handed him the bag of used cleaning products. When we moved out (and it was in a hurry as it was being repossessed by the bank), the letting agent admitted we have it back in better condition than we got when we moved in.

Our current place was similar, we had to clean it again, although not the oven as it was beyond repair and had to be replaced. Our fridge had to be replaced a couple of weeks back, and moving it out there were lots of tiny baggies and a needle. It appears a previous tenant was retailing as well as using drugs.

There's little you can do, except possibly make the agent aware so they can a) put the previous tenant on a blacklist (unlikely) and/or b) give out to the contracted cleaners if they did a clean before you moved in (again unlikely)

Vent if it'll make you feel better, but in this case it'll probably be a waste of (your) oxygen

JeffKenna

Hi OP,

Being honest if it were a used needle that may have been used for drug taking in the past I would be very worried about the safety concerns, possibly pricking yourself by accident and running the risk of HIV etc

However that isn't the case. Just dispose of the needle and move on.

jimd2

OP,
I think that you should report it to the landlord and the letting agent and tell them that you are less than impressed with the standard of cleaning. Whether you get money off is anoher thing. But at least keep a record of the issue and be prepared to use it if they attempt to hold back any deposit when you are leaving for some other issue.

Mr. Incognito

You took the house as you saw it.

I really dont understand the complaint or the objective here?

Crane

Sorry for any confusion - my complaint was that I found a used needle which was not mine nor my roommate's in my rented accommodation. My objective was to get a hold on others' experiences in similar situations (which I got) and advice on whether I should contact landlord/letting agent (which I also got - thanks, jimd2 & on_my_oe, it didn't occur to me that this is something I should note to them in case of a withheld deposit at the end of my lease).

Thanks to those who shared their thoughts - I'm not seeking any damages/cleaning or decreases in rent but I think I will get onto landlord/letting agent just to note the case anyway. Appreciated.

NomadicGray

Definitely give the landlord&/cleaners a shout, or mention it alongside the fridge smell and any other issues with appliances, maybe it'll help get those problems sorted a bit quicker.

Not sure why you're getting such hostility from that spastic, wouldnt take much mind of it though. Best of luck!!

pwurple

Found several used needles in my old house, and in the garden. Delightful couple of teenage heroin addicts lived next door, until they commited enough crime to eventually end up in prison.

We owned the house though, so couldn't do much about it. They are hard to see, I have to say. Very disconcerting though, it made me want to move away.

Very odd thing for a diabetic to do, they should have kept track of their needles.

Taco Chips

I think people are jumping down the OPs throat a bit. First of all no one wants to stumble across a used needle in their home. Thats a legitimate concern. Added to that they were told by the landlord that the place had been cleaned thoroughly before moving in (pretty basic thing to expect) and in fact the place was a little shabbier than that would have suggested. No need to accuse them of having a moan or whatever. I'd be really put out by that as well. I know this forum is full of landlords eager to make excuses for each other and whatever but cop on for a minute and realise the situation at hand.

makeorbrake

Taco Chips wrote: »

I think people are jumping down the OPs throat a bit. First of all no one wants to stumble across a used needle in their home. Thats a legitimate concern. Added to that they were told by the landlord that the place had been cleaned thoroughly before moving in (pretty basic thing to expect) and in fact the place was a little shabbier than that would have suggested. No need to accuse them of having a moan or whatever. I'd be really put out by that as well. I know this forum is full of landlords eager to make excuses for each other and whatever but cop on for a minute and realise the situation at hand.

I don't think people are jumping down the OP's throat at all. The OP sounds like a reasonable person - and they are right to expect a property to be clean when moving in.

However, they did inspect the property BEFORE signing a lease. The fact that the needle was stuck in the back (external) of a fridge - well, I don't think its unreasonable to expect that this was something they missed.


The way things run in IRL, many properties are turned over to LL's in a state. I'd wager if the process could be fixed so that both errant tenants and errant landlords could be held to account, then properties would be handed back in the way they were found - and in turn, handed on to the next tenant in the way that it would be reasonable to expect.

Not justifying anything - just saying a proper functioning system is in the interests of all parties.


As regards whether its worthwhile to have a go at the LL over this, it's questionable if it's worthy of that. Would have been useful to take pics of the whole place before starting any cleaning - for comparisons purposes when it comes time to turn the property back in to the LL (and protect your deposit). Hope you did.

Taco Chips

makeorbrake wrote: »

I don't think people are jumping down the OP's throat at all. The OP sounds like a reasonable person - and they are right to expect a property to be clean when moving in.

However, they did inspect the property BEFORE signing a lease. The fact that the needle was stuck in the back (external) of a fridge - well, I don't think its unreasonable to expect that this was something they missed.


The way things run in IRL, many properties are turned over to LL's in a state. I'd wager if the process could be fixed so that both errant tenants and errant landlords could be held to account, then properties would be handed back in the way they were found - and in turn, handed on to the next tenant in the way that it would be reasonable to expect.

Not justifying anything - just saying a proper functioning system is in the interests of all parties.


As regards whether its worthwhile to have a go at the LL over this, it's questionable if it's worthy of that. Would have been useful to take pics of the whole place before starting any cleaning - for comparisons purposes when it comes time to turn the property back in to the LL (and protect your deposit). Hope you did.

Whatever about errant tenants and errant landlords. The past tenants are nothing to do with the OP. Prior to moving in the landlord had promised them to get the place cleaned. This is a perfectly reasonable condition of taking up a lease. The LL obviously didn't bother their arse doing this. Any good spring cleaning would include scrubbing under and behind a fridge. That is a typical place for things to build up.

Separately, I totally agree with having a system set up whereby tenants and landlords register their details with a third party and there is better regulation of deposits and damage/basic maintenance.

makeorbrake

Taco Chips wrote: »

Whatever about errant tenants and errant landlords. The past tenants are nothing to do with the OP. Prior to moving in the landlord had promised them to get the place cleaned. This is a perfectly reasonable condition of taking up a lease. The LL obviously didn't bother their arse doing this. Any good spring cleaning would include scrubbing under and behind a fridge. That is a typical place for things to build up.

Separately, I totally agree with having a system set up whereby tenants and landlords register their details with a third party and there is better regulation of deposits and damage/basic maintenance.

I don't disagree with you. I guess my point is that until such time as there is an equitable functioning system for all stakeholders, all are going to be dissatisfied to varying extents.

I don't condone a LL turning over a property that hasn't been properly cleaned. However, I can understand how it might be more likely to come about given circumstances as they are generally in the irish rental sector right now.

Grandpa Hassan

makeorbrake wrote: »

I don't disagree with you. I guess my point is that until such time as there is an equitable functioning system for all stakeholders, all are going to be dissatisfied to varying extents.

I don't condone a LL turning over a property that hasn't been properly cleaned. However, I can understand how it might be more likely to come about given circumstances as they are generally in the irish rental sector right now.

In the uk the vacating tenants are responsible for the deep clean. Is actually written in to the lease. Much better system. Everyone knows where they stand, and there are hundreds of companies in London alone that provide end-of-tenancy cleans. And you can guarantee when you move in somewhere that it has been professionally cleaned.

MouseTail

I dont understand the complaint either, the previous tenant /LL / cleaning company missed a spot behind the fridge. Why would the Landlord need to know this?

Victor

Mr. Incognito wrote: »

What do you hope to happen?

That they will come clean it? Rent reduction?

Whats the objective outside of a moan?

No need to be so harsh.

Moderator

Weyhey

As far as I am aware most diabetics I know would be pretty careful about disposing the needle using a sharps box and would put the cap back on after using a pen. If this wasn't the case then it was probably an accident that it went down the back of the fridge. If it had no lid then of course it would be scary to come across this. Just because someone has diabetes it doesn’t mean they don’t have some highly infectious disease that can be passed on by a jab.

Absolutely no harm to inform the landlord of the needle. He may offer to get placed cleaned again or may not but what is the worst that can happen by informing him?

By the way the majority of places I have rented that weren’t previously owner occupied where only ever tidied when I moved in. I had to do a deep clean.

Export

Did you find the source of the smell?

beauf

Crane wrote: »

... if, for example, there is an obligation on the landlord to ensure the property is fully cleaned....

Did you search for the obligations?

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/repairs_maintenance_and_minimum_physical_standards.html

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/landlords_rights_and_obligations.html

I don't see anything about cleaning, never mind about cleaning under and behind appliances.

Would you refuse to move into a place if it wasn't cleaning? Which would encourage better cleaning by LL's?

Crane wrote: »

...The apartment was supposed to have been cleaned before our tenancy began and it seemed to have been given a cursory clean - but it wasn't great, we have had to clean and defrost the fridge ourselves, for example. ...

Its possible that the LL didn't clean it at all. What you're seeing is how the previous tenant left it.