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Updated over 1 year ago, 07/08/2023
Should a landlord clean a filthy tenant's kitchen and bath
Hi everyone,
I've got a weird question today. My husband has been working on our ancient 4plex including what started as a small handful of repairs at one of the units where a tenant's been living for about 18 years (he's not leaving yet either). The guy went thru some health issues and depression, consequently the place is a wreck. My husband hauled out three truck loads of garbage for the dump, paid for it and loaded and unloaded it too. Now he's replacing most of the tenant's appliances with newer used. AND he wants me (The Wife) to head out there and CLEAN THIS GUY'S KITCHEN AND BATHROOM. I've already cleaned the used appliances (range and fridge and range fan and microwave) AND cleaned all the cabinet doors brought home for that specific purpose. They were filthy, mega. Believe me, I don't mind helping out, it's my property, too. BUT, this seems over the top. The guy's not leaving so why should we clean his 18 years worth of filth, and why shouldn't he do it? FYI - I've asked the hubs and I got rage + wrath + fury at my daring to ask such a dumb question.
Landlord is spelled L-A-N-D-L-O-R-D, not M-A-I-D.
Never have I heard of a landlord providing free maid service.
I can just imagine if I ever asked my wife to do that. BWHHHHAAAHHAAA!
Not sure why you are upgrading someplace that the tenant treats like crap.
Yes I know he has been there for 18 years and I would definitely be buying him newer stuff, but not if he just treats it like crap.
I wouldn't do it. It's tenant responsibility.
This is a tough situation - it sounds like your tenant has a hoarding problem. Unless he has undergone treatment for, or somehow come out of, his depression/health issues then you'll likely be looking at this as an ongoing problem. That level of filth and disarray can absolutely be damaging to your property, so it's not prudent to ignore the situation. That said, unless he's paying for maid service, I don't think you should provide maid service.
What is the status of the lease? If it were me, I'd look into the possibility of renewing the lease with an added charge for basic cleaning and then contract with a cleaning company to come in every week or two weeks to maintain sanitation/safety. I don't think there is any legal obstacle to that -- in fact I remember reading years ago about a landlord who specialized in student housing doing that very thing - the rent included maid service and required the students allow the cleaners access.
Nah, don't clean up after that guy. If he's been there for 18 years, pays on time, and doesn't creep the other tenants out, then I agree with the decision to upgrade the appliances. If you really feel that keeping this tenant is worth all of the hassle, and the potential damage to the apartment, then I'd hire a cleaning service to do a good once over for $100-$200. If he's a hoarder, maybe get a family member's phone number and get him in touch with some psychiatric help.
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Don't see the reason your husband wants to do all of this. No benefit to you guys. Only time this needs to be done (by you guys) is at turnover.
Let him know that all the folks on bigger pockets agree with you and that
happy wife = happy life. : )
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Absolutely not, unless you want to open up a side business and charge him for it, and your time is better spent elsewhere.
I am blown AWAY! What awesome and well thought responses. And you've corroborated my thoughts completely. HOWEVER. The note about this maybe being a husband/wife issue....is right on the money. I have zero say in things like this and am yelled at for bringing ANYTHING up. Seriously. So.....since he just walked in the door early and I don't want to experience the rage...better sign out for the moment. Thanks so so so much. Excellent advice! I'm so touched....and I'll be back. :-)
@MARY CLEMENT-HILL send your husband on here so that he can get a different perspective. It is the tenant's responsibility to keep their unit clean. Should they be unable to do so, it would be reasonable to get the tenant to pay others to perform cleaning. Cleaning by the landlord is something done AFTER the tenant moves (taken from the tenant's deposit if warranted and if allowed by law); cleaning by the landlord is also called for when a renovation or repair is undertaken in a tenant's unit that leads to the mess that needs cleaning. Other than that, cleaning is a tenant responsibility. Your husband is taking things out on you that should not be directed at you; that anger at a tenant should not be sent your way.
EDIT - the condition of being filthy is just what this tenant will have the unit looking like in short order when they do not have good housekeeping ability.
Originally posted by @MARY CLEMENT-HILL:
... The note about this maybe being a husband/wife issue....is right on the money. I have zero say in things like this and am yelled at for bringing ANYTHING up. Seriously. So.....since he just walked in the door early and I don't want to experience the rage...better sign out for the moment. ...
Mom? Is that you?
Seriously, sounds like my parents.
Whew! He's off to the bar with his contractor friend. Yay. Okay everyone, I got up the courage to ask the simple question....why am I cleaning the tenant's filth and not the tenant. Well, as expected, a rage tornado ensued. But, once it died back a bit, I gleaned some helpful info. First, the hubs is trying to be a 'nice guy' and doesn't want to throw the tenant out. I'm certainly encouraged to kick him out though if I want to take over running the building. Second, the guy doesn't have the money to have it deep cleaned so I can get another job to pay for it if I don't want to do it. Third, this is the GOOD part. Apparently, he's making the tenant have maid service come in once a week to keep the place up once we've gotten everything back to acceptable levels. It'll be cheap maid service, but that's better than nothing. At least there's that....
All I can say is, I hope we sell this place. :-)) Soon!!!
Thank you everyone, I'll try to reply to some of your individual comments and I hope you all have a great weekend. Think of me while I clean 18 years worth of kitchen GREEEEZ. LOL!
As a Christian I have a big heart and am a big believer in helping people but not enabling people as you will just reinforce that type of behavior. Sounds like an unsafe environment, which is not good for him or your property. If you clean up this guys mess and not charge him, I will almost certainly bet a year from now it will look as bad again. I would be fair but firm give him notice to correct and if he doesn't you take action and bill them. Also regular property inspections help cut down on this before it gets out of hand.
Is he elderly? At least that's less stuff to haul off when time comes to re rent the place.
But yeah that is going overboard cleaning, I would mow the outside if I had to, but that's about it. Unless he asked your husband for help...does your tenant have any family around to give a heads up on his living condition? I don't know how privacy laws would impact this.
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Originally posted by @MARY CLEMENT-HILL:
All I can say is, I hope we sell this place. :-)) Soon!!!
Now this comment changes things quite a bit. If you guys are selling the home then your husband wanting to clean the home is not out of left field. Cleaning it for the tenant for no reason is an incredible waste of time and resources. Cleaning it so it shows better when you are trying to sell it makes A LOT of sense.
If the tenant is filthy you are not going to change him and convince him to clean it. If selling the property is his motivation your husband is probably just looking to get it done so you guys can sell.
However, he is still missing the boat.
Cleaning it so it shows better to potential buyers is not the solution here.
Removing the tenant THEN cleaning it THEN selling it is the real solution here.
You could hire a professional cleaner service and bill the additional cost into the rent.
My relative was managing a property and was wasting her weekend cleaning after the tenants (all the restrooms + kitchen + vacuum the carpet). So I rented the extra bedroom that was being used as a library / storage and hired a maid service.
Net net: extra income after netting out maid service.
wow no offense but this is
Kudos,
Mary
Originally posted by @James Wise:
Originally posted by @MARY CLEMENT-HILL:
All I can say is, I hope we sell this place. :-)) Soon!!!
Now this comment changes things quite a bit. If you guys are selling the home then your husband wanting to clean the home is not out of left field. Cleaning it for the tenant for no reason is an incredible waste of time and resources. Cleaning it so it shows better when you are trying to sell it makes A LOT of sense.
If the tenant is filthy you are not going to change him and convince him to clean it. If selling the property is his motivation your husband is probably just looking to get it done so you guys can sell.
However, he is still missing the boat.
Cleaning it so it shows better to potential buyers is not the solution here.
Removing the tenant THEN cleaning it THEN selling it is the real solution here.
My parents and I had this exact problem with a tenant. The single family house was a mess, but we were trying to sell it. After listing it on a Thursday, we had 6 showing requests for the weekend. Well the tenant rejected 5 out of 6 showings because they were too early (1030, 11, 1130 am) He was a slob too and the house was cluttered.
Luckily, after his year lease expired it went to a month to month. After agreeing with him on a date to move out, he left. Not without trouble though. He was supposed to be out on a Friday, but that afternoon asked if he could stay till Saturday and that he would be gone first thing in the morning. I had a paint crew scheduled for that Saturday and told him yes, but we will be there at 7am to paint the house. Well, he wasn't out first thing. He didn't even have the moving truck loaded. In fact, I had one of the painters help me unload, reload, and pack more of his crap in the truck since he didn't stack anything right and would have NEVER gotten it all in.
He finally left around 4pm that day...
So when we originally listed it, we priced it at 169k. After we got the tenant out and scrubbed the house, we were able to list it at 189k. We got an offer within days of listing it. Currently waiting on the buyers home inspection.
that was very nice of you and sure he is a loyal tenant, but NOT sure if i would have done all that myself.
i would hook him up with a good maid service and make sure he knows that he is reasonable for the bill. Maybe mention that you replaced the appliances and removed the trash from his apartment with the expenses out of Your pocket.
We have a clause in our lease requiring the tenant to maintain good housekeeping. If they fail to keep the place {relatively} clean, we reserve the right to send-in a cleaning service at the tenants expense.
Originally posted by @MARY CLEMENT-HILL:
"Whew! He's off to the bar with his contractor friend. Yay. Okay ever Second, the guy doesn't have the money to have it deep cleaned so I can get another job to pay for it if I don't want to do it. Third, this is the GOOD part. Apparently, he's making the tenant have maid service come in once a week to keep the place up once we've gotten everything back to acceptable levels. It'll be cheap maid service, but that's better than nothing. At least there's that....
All I can say is, I hope we sell this place. :-)) Soon!!!me while I clean 18 years worth of kitchen GREEEEZ. LOL!
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Well if your husband has gotten the man to agree to a maid service that the man pays for this sounds PERFECT. Your husband has found an excellent solution to this problem. A Filthy tenant is is a serious problem for any Landlord. You probably should monitor the maid service and see that the maid service understands what has to be done. Like get rid of the garbage every week and wash the kitchen and bathroom floor, and wash all the appliance.
You can not have this man destroying your property with his filth and you probably are stuck with him as a tenant since it is so difficult to evict someone.
Now that you have the maid service, you can stop cleaning.
You or your husband have to go the extra step and be clear with the maid service and man as to how you expect that apartment to look.
No a Landlord should not have to do this stuff but you are involved with a tenant with a serious house keeping problem and unfortunatley it now has become your problem because this is your Property and your invested money.
You are fortunate that your husband has found a solution and fortunate that this tenant has agreed to have a cleaning person. Consider your self Lucky that there has been a solution.