Cleaning the property between tenants

[Sunny Rajvansh]

Hello,

I have been thinking about this a lot. When a tenant moves out, they usually clean as per what they think is clean. There is always some things left behind. things like inside stove, refrigerator, inside the Owen, corners, some cabinet shelves, window frames some residue on the walls etc. I always find lot of things that could be cleaned better. And I always end up calling professional cleaning service to get a deep cleaning to ensure the tenant moving in does not complain about the property being not clean.

I am wondering is it really landlord who need to bare the cleaning expenses between the tenants? I have tried to deduct some amount from deposit to cover the cleaning fees, but some tenants were bitter about that. They say, they already spend so much time cleaning the place and now they don’t want to lose the cleaning fees from deposit. But again, its never in a condition that a moving in tenant would be ok. How do you tackle this situation? I am now thinking to include in my lease that the property has been professionally cleaning before the lease, so I recommend to have a professional clean the property before moving out. I am not enforcing to get professionally cleaned but I am only recommending. Your input and suggestions are greatly appreciated.

[Henry T.]

When a tenant is moving out, he's only thinking about one thing. His new place and getting the heck out. It's the exceptional tenant that  cleans up after himself, and when this rarity happens it's a pleasure to return their deposit.  Most rarely even sweep. I awlays send a complete description of what needs to be done to restore the property to move-in cleanliness. A good effort goes a long way in consideration.