Hey Renters! As a renter, you have a certain amount of responsibility to maintain the overall cleanliness of your apartment, condo, or house. That being said, there are things that might fall outside of the purview of your renter’s responsibilities.
In some rental scenarios, the lawn falls under the purview of the landlord, so there are cases when that same scenario cover cleaning responsibilities inside your home.
So, should you ask your landlord to cover cleaning services?
The answer depends on what exactly you want to be cleaning. In most rental agreements, anything that falls under regular wear and tear comes under the purview of the landlord.
Examples:
- existing bathroom stains
- carpet/floor cleaning in hallways and high traffic areas
- debris left over from previous tenants
- any major replacement or cleaning due to over time
- damage or dirt to the property due to property issues on the landlord’s behalf
For the most part, it is up to the landlord whether they deem something under their responsibilities. Let’s say that you’re a small family with rambunctious kids. Chances are that the property is going to incur more damage and wear and tear than if it was a couple or a solo tenant. In that case, your landlord might have cause to require you to get your property professionally cleaned.
But, if you’re a couple of graduate students that have been living in an apartment for three years and will be moving out, it’s more likely that your landlord will want to replace the carpet overall before and in that case, he’ll be less likely to require you cover the cleaning fees since the replacement cost will include previous wear and tear from old tenants.
Ultimately, the answer to this question is likely outlined in your rental agreement so before you make any assumptions, consult your agreement first.
If it isn’t clearly outlined in your agreement, we recommend reaching out to your landlord and seeing if that is something that you can negotiate.
In the landlord’s case, it makes sense for them to invest in regular cleaning services. It helps them maintain the value of their home over time. Instead of having to replace the carpet every couple of years, they can instead pay for regular cleaning services and keep the overall health and quality of their property up.
If there are circumstances outside of your control that are contributing to a lack of cleanliness (like a leaky roof or insect infestation) then you have a pretty good case to request regular cleaning services be included in his services.
