Re: cleaning fee or deposit - Landlord Forum thread 316154

Re: cleaning fee or deposit by Bill on March 15, 2014 @20:44

When you charge a cleaning fee at the beginning of the lease you are inviting the tenant to leave the place as dirty as they can possibly stand. Most have a high threshold for grime and filth.

You wonder if you should "tell the tenant the cleaning fee may be returned if the rental was cared for." The tenant will fill this statement with his own meaning. Well cared for is so nonspecific as to be meaningless. Get ready for a real debate about what well cared for actually means...to them.

Why not charge a full month's rent for the deposit? Have a checkout list of what you want cleaned and to what level. List if all out. If you want the floors vacuumed, swept or mopped, say so. Describe the tub cleaning as to have no ring and the toilet without stain or ring. No mildew in the shower and the mirror cleaned with windex. Especially be specific about the stove. No only must the oven be clean but the top must be lifted and cleaned plus replacing all liners and drip pans. If you do not provide detail to every single task, it will not get done. Beside each item provide the cost if you have to do it. Tubs, toilets, stoves and the refrigerator cleaning will come at a premium. Explain to the tenants that they can not to wait until the move out day to clean because it will take a couple of days. This way there is not surprises about what "well cared for" means and what it will cost to neglect the cleaning.

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