All Forum Posts by: Michele Fischer

Housekeeping is pretty subjective and hard to enforce. We do have the language below in our rental agreement, and we sometimes tell tenants that they are not up to standards and they are unlikely to get their deposit back if they move out with this unit in this condition. I find that when it starts to slip, it usually gets worse.

Operation, Maintenance, Storage, Alterations to Premises: On a continuing basis, tenant agrees to:

1. Keep premises in a clean, neat, and sanitary condition; no parking, storage, or accumulation of debris on lawn or yard.
2. Dispose of all rubbish, garbage, and waste in a clean and sanitary manner – at reasonable intervals – and assume all costs of extermination and fumigation for infestation caused by tenant; not feed straying pets or animals; not temporarily host pets.
3. Keep any shared or common areas reasonable clean, sanitary, and safe from defects increasing the hazards of fire or accident

HOUSEKEEPING ADDENDUM

The Landlord's goal is to improve the Highlands neighborhood and maintain a high quality living environment for all residents. It is important that we work together to sustain cleanliness and good housekeeping and keep the premises looking nice. This addendum sets forth uniform standards and responsibilities for Tenant. Failure to meet the minimum standards will be cause for termination of the rental agreement.

This Addendum modifies the rental agreement, and is part of an effort to establish uniform standards for Tenant and resident housekeeping. The terms of this Addendum shall be in addition to the terms of the rental agreement as if the terms of this Addendum were written into the rental agreement.

MINIMUM HOUSEKEEPING STANDARDS

The following housekeeping and sanitation rules will be adhered to at all times. Minimum standards include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following items:

• The unit must be kept in condition such that one person is able to clean within four hours. Clean is defined as: all surfaces (walls, floors, counters, fixtures, appliances) free from dirt, grime, excessive dirty dishes/laundry, and grease.
• Storage of items in or on the premises: Items stored shall be at least twenty-four (24) inches from the heating system and the hot water heater. All items stored by Tenant must belong to the Tenant, and must be the Tenant's own personal possessions. All items must be kept neat and orderly.
• All heating vents will be kept clean and free of dust, dirt, and mildew.
• No noxious, offensive or foul odors are to be permitted to emanate either inside or outside the rental unit from any source, including but not limited to spoiled food, accumulated trash or debris, liquor and beverage containers, dirty laundry, sinks, toilets, bathtubs or showers. Tenant will immediately act to identify and remove/clean up the source of any such odors and to ventilate the rental unit or otherwise remove the foul odor upon discovery of it.

General --

• Walls: should be clean, free of dirt, grease, holes, cobwebs, and fingerprints.
• Floors: should be clean, clear, dry and free of hazards.
• Windows: should be clean and not nailed shut. Locks should work. Shades or blinds should be used, not blankets. Window screens should be present and operational, and should be free of any rips, tears and / or damage to the mesh portion of the screen.
• Heating units: should be dusted and access uncluttered, in compliance with local fire code.
• · Hallways: should be clean and free of hazards.
• · Stairwells: should be clean and uncluttered.
• · Laundry areas: should be clean and neat. If washer/dryer is used, remove lint from dryers after each use. Washing machine drain: Water should readily drain into washing machine drain without any back-ups.
• · Utility room: should be free of debris, motor vehicle parts, and flammable materials.

Kitchen --

• Stove: should be clean and free of food and grease.
• Refrigerator: should be clean. Freezer door should close properly and should have little to no ice accumulation.
• Cabinets: should be clean and neat. Cabinet surfaces and countertop should be free of grease and spilled food. Cabinets should not be overloaded. Heavy pots and pans should not be stored under the sink to permit access for repairs.
• Exhaust Fan: should be free of grease and dust. Filter should be clean and intact.
• Sink: should be clean, free of grease and garbage. Dirty dishes should be washed and put away in a timely manner. Water should readily drain from sink without any back-ups.

Bathroom --

• Toilet and tank/ Tub and shower/sink: should be clean. Where applicable, shower curtains should be in place, and of adequate length. Water should readily drain without any back-ups.
• Exhaust fans: should be free of dust.
• Floor should be clean and dry.

Outdoors --

• Porches (front and rear): should be clean and free of hazards. Any items stored on the porch (or in the yard visible to neighbors) shall be minimal, be arranged neatly, and must not impede access to the unit. Furniture stored and used outdoors should be outdoor furniture, not indoor upholstered items.
• Steps (front and rear) and sidewalks: should be clean, and free of hazards. Sidewalks should have no weeds or grass growing in any cracks.

HOUSEKEEPING INSPECTIONS

When the Landlord or agent visits the unit or conducts a maintenance inspection, the Landlord will schedule a follow-up housekeeping inspection if there are concerns that these minimum standards are not being met.

Landlord will advise Tenant of the specific correction(s) required to establish compliance, and also advise the date that the dwelling will be re-inspected for corrections. Within a reasonable period of time, Landlord will schedule another inspection. If the unit is not acceptable after the re-inspection, the Tenant shall be advised that their lease will be terminated for failing to comply with the minimum standards.

The Tenant authorizes the Landlord and Landlord's Inspector to take any necessary photographs or video footage of the rental unit conditions for the Tenant's file.

TENANT AGREES THAT ALL THE PROVISIONS OF THIS RENTAL AGREEMENT ADDENDUM HAVE BEEN READ BY TENANT AND ARE UNDERSTOOD BY TENANT, AND TENANT FURTHER AGREES TO BE BOUND BY THE PROVISIONS AND CONDITIONS AS WRITTEN IN THIS ADDENDUM.

Here's some things I would consider:

Vehicle must be licensed and in operating condition.

Do you care if an RV or large vehicle gets parked there?

Spot is for vehicle only, no items to be left in the space, even on short term basis.

You are not responsible for time that the space cannot be used due to circumstances beyond your control or maintenance periods.

Are oil changes or maintenance allowed in the space?

Surface to be kept in good condition - no paint, no oil leaks, who is responsible for any snow removal or other weather issues.

Unpaid parking is considered unpaid rent, if your local landlord-tenant laws allow it.

How to handle unauthorized parking by others (call tow company direct, go through you, in our area it is more difficult to have vehicles towed than it should be).

We moved away from our units, so we use a property manager now, but we did it quasi in-house and never charged an application fee.  In my mind it is a small cost to the landlord that doesn't add up to very much agains the bottom line and can deter applicants from applying (both the cost and the hassle).

We used the inexpensive screening service that our state landlord association offers and supplemented it with our own calls and checking.  I had a point system that I documented to help make things less subjective and more defendable for discrimination claims.

Agree that credit score or an approximation isn't the full picture.  It is an one of many indicators and I actually used other data on the report more than the score itself.

Companies may already offer this, but not in smaller markets.

I think this is an interesting idea.  I feel like it would work to charge a small subscription fee to have a company on call, then have a list of tasks they will do at a set cost and let the landlord choose which they would want to outsource.  Different landlords have different strengths, weaknesses, schedules, and pain points.  We could handle two move outs at the same time, but when we hit three at the same time we would have loved to outsource it.

We would also love to have someone else hire and monitor landscaping, all maintenance, verifying previous landlords and employment, or rent collection while we are out of town.

Agree with your approach, I would not formalize it so you still have flexibility, and I would think about 4-6 months instead of 3.

You are getting good advice.  Realistically, you will probably only get the deposit amount back, but you should itemize the cost to get it rent ready and the rent for the period they should have given notice and put that on a move out deposit itemization.

If you don't have a forwarding address mail it to the address of the unit.  If it doesn't get forwarded, retain it as proof of attempting to deliver.

Keep in mind that if you are able to rerent the unit before the notice period expires, you can only charge the tenant until you collect rent from the new tenant, you can't charge two parties for the same unit.

I would reserve judgement until you see how long it is vacant.

Even with regular inspections it is difficult to guage what condition you will be the property back in and it is good to have some flexibility in how fast it needs to be turned and ready for rospective applicants to make a good showing.

That said, they should hustly while it is vacant, able to work long hours to get it ready.  Some property management companies have a waiting list of applicants that they don't need to do a lot of advertising.

Property managers will never minimize vacancy costs the way that owners would, but we find that ours increases rent enough to more than offset a few weeks of vacancy.  If it is a month or more that is a concern.

My perspective is that if applicants had good credit they would buy rather than rent.  One compensating factor we look at is what type of debt they are carrying.  Medical is understandable, consumer is normal, and any debts to utility companies or anything that looks like it could be a landlord judgement are a no.

Like so many other things that happen on our properties, this is so hard to police and enforce and even know the extent. Anything agaisnt the lease is always just temporary and you can't verify much one way or the other.

I personally would ask for a quick text of the breed and length of stay when it happens and leave it at that.  Then if you had any issues (dog attack, prolonged stay, suspected second dog) you would have some information to help decide how to proceed, but it is too hard to enforce anything more.

For some comic relief, I am going to say mint green.  On all surfaces.  Walls, ceiling, switch plates, all of it the same shade of mint green, in all rooms of the apartment.  This is a gift one of our outgoing tenants left us.  They thought they were helping.