A TENANT and a letting company are in dispute over the cleaning of a Worcester flat.

Steve Jackson, 56, moved into a two-bedroom apartment in Henwick Road in April, and claims the kitchen was left in a “dreadful” condition, especially behind appliances.

But Azmat Riaz, owner of Hills Estate Agents in Foregate Street, insists the flat was professionally cleaned – as promised by his firm – and added that it is not standard procedure to tackle grime or dirt concealed by cookers or similar items of equipment.

The technical disagreement has left the tenant feeling “disgruntled” while the company boss is adamant he has done nothing wrong.

Mr Jackson, who signed up for the six-month tenancy with his wife Olena Jackson, said: “The kitchen was in a horrendous state.

“We spent two days scraping and de-greasing the whole kitchen and this was the last thing we needed, as moving house is stressful enough.”

He admitted however that the rest of the flat was “okay” and that cleaners had cleaned the property prior to his arrival, but without working behind appliances.

Mr Jackson sought £125 compensation for his inconvenience from Hills Estate Agents but the company declined.

There was no written agreement detailing the exact cleaning service to be provided, with the firm merely promising verbally that the flat would be “professionally cleaned” - a service it says was provided in a timely manner.

Mr Riaz said: “We have done nothing wrong.

“It was the tenant’s opinion that more cleaning should have been carried out - but it is standard procedure for the cleaning companies we deal with to not remove appliances for health and safety reasons.

“This is a frustrating incident for us because we have many happy customers across Worcester and surrounding areas.”

The aggrieved tenant posted details of his experience on Facebook, prompting comments from other customers critical of the service provided by Hills Estate Agents.

But Mr Riaz has hit back at these complainants who are “trying to bring down his company”.

He said: “We manage a lot of properties and deal with a lot of people.

“Unfortunately it is impossible to keep everyone happy and we always try our best to provide a top quality service.

“We have been around for a long time so we must be doing something right.”