Tenant Cleanliness Screening

[Brady Boyer]

I'm having issues with tenant cleanliness during the tenant's lease as well as when they vacate the apartment. I'm in a lower class area and I realize some of the cleanliness issues comes with renting to that class. I'm thinking of implementing a few of the ideas below to better screen for tenant cleanliness and wanted to get everyone's thoughts on the suggestions as well as anything others are doing to screen for cleanliness. 

1.) Asking this question on the rental application. "Do you own a vacuum?"

2.) Asking this question on the rental application. "How often do you clean?

3.) I've often heard of Landlords "dropping" by a tenants current address to "sign a form they forgot" so they can peak at the way they currently maintain the place. This isn't possible for my remote setup so I'm thinking of adding a prompt as part of the application process to upload a picture of applicants current kitchen and bedroom. I realize this can be manipulated but still shows an applicant is willing to put in effort to clean if just for manipulation purposes. 

I'd appreciate any other ideas of what others are doing on this topic. 

[Karl B.]

Hello. When they sign their lease include a page that shows what you charge for damage and cleaning. For example:

-Oven cleaning: $50

-General cleaning: $30 per hour

-Painting: $60 per hour

-Etc.

Brandon Turner has a list on here (probably easiest to Google search it) for damage and cleaning. I had taken his list and added work/damage he didn't include to make a more comprehensive list. 

I have all tenants sign it when they move in and I send them a copy of the signed page prior to move out - most would much rather return the rental in good condition than have to pay for cleaning/repairs and I feel sending the page is a reality check I'm not going to let damage/dirtiness slide.