‘Clean’ Is What the Ex-Landlord Says It Is
As a child, you learn early on that the concept of “clean” is quite subjective. How many times did your mother remind you to clean your room just minutes after you’d cleaned it?
“But I just cleaned it,” you’d whine.
And your mother would calmly ask, “You call that clean?”
To a grown-up renter, cleanliness is still in the eye of the beholder.
Beware the day you move out of your apartment. This time, it’s your landlord who’s going to do the beholding, not Mom. To make matters worse, you’ve got only one chance to get it right. If you don’t, you stand to lose money.
Renters need to know exactly what landlords are looking for.
So how clean is clean? The general rule of thumb is to make it as clean as it was the day you moved in, with a couple caveats:
* If you are being charged a cleaning fee and such fees are legal in your state, you don’t need to clean because the fee covers the professional cleaner that your landlord will bring in after you’re gone. However, you can’t leave the place a total mess. For example, your landlord might make a deduction from your security deposit to cover hauling fees if you leave a lot of garbage behind.
If you don’t know whether cleaning fees are legal in your state, you can ask a local tenants group or tenant lawyer for more information. Or you can research the law yourself.
* If the apartment was a mess when you moved in, don’t just assume you’re off the hook for cleaning. First, you should have pictures of the mess from move-in day to prove that the apartment was dirty. If the apartment was filthy when you moved in, you should have demanded that the landlord get it cleaned right away.
If only specific areas were dirty, you should have written your landlord a letter explaining that you won’t clean these areas when you leave. You should also note dirty areas on your move-in checklist, if you have one.
Even if you’ve done these things, your landlord may still try to deduct something if you don’t clean the apartment. But if you end up in court, you’ll at least have plenty of evidence to back you up.
Many renters have been burned when it comes to deposit deductions for cleaning. A friend recently spent eight hours cleaning her apartment and is now taking her landlord to court to get her deposit back. So even if you do clean well, you need to document your cleaning to protect yourself.
*
The most important thing you can do is to take pictures or a video of your cleaned apartment before you leave. Another easy way to document cleanliness is to hire a professional cleaner and give yourself a break on moving day. Usually the fee you pay a professional cleaner is much less than the amount your landlord will deduct from your deposit if you don’t clean.
Not only do you avoid wasting valuable time scrubbing the toilet, but your cleaner will be your best witness if your landlord tries to make a deduction for cleaning an already cleaned apartment.
If you do the cleaning yourself, keep all receipts for cleaning supplies and ask a friend to help or at least witness your work. Ask your landlord to walk through the apartment with you on move-out day. If the cleaning is satisfactory, make sure your landlord writes that on a move-out checklist and don’t leave without your signed copy. If your landlord doesn’t use a checklist, ask for some written documentation that the apartment is clean.
If the landlord points out areas that aren’t cleaned satisfactorily, ask if you can fix them before you leave. It’s rare, but some landlords have been known to give second chances, though usually you have only a couple of hours to rectify the situation.
If your landlord withholds some of your deposit, saying that you didn’t clean enough, the receipts, documentation and witnesses will help you if you decide to go to Small Claims Court.
Leta Herman is a syndicated columnist. Questions on any aspect of apartment living can be addressed to lherman@shaysnet.com, or Leta Herman, care of Inman News Features, 1250 45th St., Suite 360, Emeryville, CA 94608. Distributed by Inman News Features.
