Complaint regarding rental property No: 11520, rented from Imagine Ireland Ltd Castletownshend, View Halloa, Coast Road, Castletownsend, Co. Cork, Ireland We arrived at this property on Saturday 9th of July 2016, intending to occupy the property for a week. On first impressions the property appeared to be poorly maintained on the outside. The window frames were in poor condition with extensive flaking of paint evident. On entering the house we were immediately aware of the high levels of dust in the house. Within a few minutes all of us could sense irritation in our nasal passages. There was also an unsanitary smell throughout the house. We subsequently noted that all of the curtains and many of the internal window frames were covered in mould. It is likely that this mould was contributing to the smell in the premises. It was clear that a proper clean had not taken place at the premises. There were cobwebs on many of the internal window surfaces. There were also cobwebs in the shower and a spider to go with them. We found dog hairs on the bedroom carpet. We also found debris in the window sills, including an old ribbon and a bobbin from someones hair. We also found stains on the bedroom carpet and a pillow case. A serving spoon in the kitchen was found covered in rust. It was also very concerning to note that the smoke alarm had been disabled and was left in a window sill with no battery in it. The premises was also misrepresented by Imagine Ireland as a three bedroom house. There are only two bedrooms. A poorly appointed single bed takes up the small landing area, but is in no sense a bedroom. We contacted the Imagine Ireland emergency line as it was late on Saturday evening. They asked us to go through their procedure whereby the owners agent would be contacted and given an opportunity to rectify the situation. We consented to this. The owner’s agent arrived and told us there was nothing she could do about replacing mouldy curtains at short notice. She did concede that she hadn't cleaned the premises to a high standard. However she reported back to the company that she was happy the premises was cleaned to a good standard. Imagine Ireland offered to re-clean the premises. However we formed the opinion that due to the high levels of dust and mould in the building, it was too unhygienic for us to stay there with our two children for a week. We were of the opinion that the unsanitary nature of the premises gave us no choice but to hand back the keys and go and find alternative accommodation in the area. We were fortunate to find a hostel in Skibbereen with a clean family room. We stayed there for the night. Imagine Ireland have refused to give us any compensation for this experience and we are left with no alternative but to pursue a claim through the European Small Claims Procedure on the basis that the property is not fit for purpose as a holiday rental due to the high levels of mould and dust in the premises and the fact that it was misrepresented as a three bedroom house, when there are only two bedrooms. Dr John Mullen MVB