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You must return the property to same condition as when you moved in (minus normal wear and tear). That IS the law. In my case that means professionally cleaned carpets, maid cleaned bathroom, kitchen, etc.
You seem to be mixing up quality of the work with where the work comes from, most people do this with all sorts of things. Just because a professional did the job doesn't mean it was done well and just because a professional didn't do the job doesn't mean it was done poorly. I'd find it hard to believe that if you left the place clean without a receipt a judge would allow a LL, in CA of all places, to deduct from your deposit. If it is clean then it is clean.
If you insist on writing a cleaning policy into your lease then leave off the cost and just require it to be professionally cleaned with receipts turned over with the keys and if not you will hire a company and deduct the cost, plus taxes if applicable. You are in CA so be prepared to fight about it, the majority of posts here are from CA it feels like, and have a tenant drag you to court over something so stupid as a couple hundred bucks.
You must return the property to same condition as when you moved in (minus normal wear and tear). That IS the law. In my case that means professionally cleaned carpets, maid cleaned bathroom, kitchen, etc.
Unfortunately,. in CA the courts have said that tenants must leave the premise in as clean a condition, minus wear and tear, as when they received it. However, the very act of degrading the condition by wear and tear means it has to be as clean but not necessarily professionally clean as that elevates it above wear and tear. In many CA courts, they will reject any claim of fees or security deposit deductions based on not having the unit "professionally cleaned" at move out unless you can produce a report with a verifiable and authoritative test result as to the cleanliness at move in for that unit and a similar report showing the lesser level of cleaning at move out.
You are in CA so be prepared to fight about it, the majority of posts here are from CA it feels like, and have a tenant drag you to court over something so stupid as a couple hundred bucks.
One of the reasons is tenant advocates and attorneys are now advising people to throw in the term "bad faith" with anything a landlord does that is wrong. This gives the judge an opportunity to really slap a landlord for making a mistake. CA courts do not expect tenants to know everything about landlord tenant laws, but they do expect a person playing landlord to know the laws. As a result, elsewhere a judge may let a landlord off with a warning, in CA it could end up being a hefty fine or penalty.
What would you consider a typical cleaning fee for a 2,000 square foot home after a tenant moves out. I was thinking $300. What is typical?
I have some nice glass closet doors that I installed. If tenants were to perhaps crack the glass (cosmetic) could I charge them to replace the entire thing? The manufacturer tells me that the doors cannot be dismantled. I would have to replace the entire door (for about $175 - $200 including shipping).
Clean is clean. If I clean a mirror and its spotlessly clean how can you say no I need it to be professionally cleaned otherwise it doesn't count.
What you can do is state what the charges will be if they leave the property dirty. So you can say if the property is left in a dirty condition the cleaning fees will be at $25 per hour with x amount for cleaning supplies. Painting and drywall will be charged at x dollars etc. carpet repair cleaning or replacement will be charged x dollars or actual replacement cost of a comparable carpet with a carpet life proration
But you cannot charge a set fee. You must allow the tenant to do the repairs you point out at the preliminary walk.
To answer your question a $300 cleaning fee is a bit high for 2k sq ft house. But depends on his dirty it is.
If the tenant damaged a door and it cannot be repaired and replacement is required you charge to replace the damaged door
??????? I recently moved out of an apartment that had in the written agreement that they have a predetermined cleaning fee of what I believe was either $120 or $150, so I'm sure I can do the same with a house. They did give you the option to clean but only with a professional, receipt required. Was easier to just have them do it.
Have you read anything that has been posted in this thread? Just because one LL does something or puts something in their lease it does NOT mean that it is necessarily enforceable according to law. You as a LL need to do your due diligence and read and learn your state laws and not depend upon what some other LL is doing.
With your previous LL that you are referring to, it totally depends on exactly how that clause was written. IF they were actually charging a set non-refundable non-negotiable fee in your lease then that is not enforceable in CA, period. CA rental laws states that ANY additional charges/fees in a CA lease will ALL be considered as part of the security deposit and means that it is considered as refundable.
As E4U pointed out, if you state in your lease, as an example, the following: "IF the unit is not cleaned or returned in the same condition that a tenant received it, less normal wear and tear, then you "may" be charged x amount (or market rate) for cleaning, etc, etc.", then that will suffice. And you as a LL will need to provide clear and sufficient proof that it was not cleaned to it's original condition, less wear and tear, in case it is challenged and goes in front of a judge.
But you can not state in your lease any fixed non-refundable fees because you have to allow the tenant to sufficiently do the job themselves if they choose to. If they don't clean it sufficiently (with concrete proof) then, and only then, will a cleaning charge be deducted from the security deposit.
Have you read anything that has been posted in this thread? Just because one LL does something or puts something in their lease it does NOT mean that it is necessarily enforceable according to law. You as a LL need to do your due diligence and read and learn your state laws and not depend upon what some other LL is doing..
Don't y'all remember Bug Bucks posts when he was considering renting this place (his personal home)? He didn't listen to that advice either - which was primarily that he not rent the place.
Don't y'all remember Bug Bucks posts when he was considering renting this place (his personal home)? He didn't listen to that advice either - which was primarily that he not rent the place.
Yeah, it was a slow day, what can I say....
If nothing else, hopefully someone else will get some use out of the advice.
And you as a LL will need to provide clear and sufficient proof that it was not cleaned to it's original condition, less wear and tear
My old apartment LL gave me the opportunity to professionally clean the place but they required a receipt.
As far as prepping my house for a tenant, it really doesn't matter to me whether the new tenant wants a steam cleaned carpet or not. I will have it professionally done when I move back in. I might as well leave it to the tenants to decide if they want to pay to steam clean the carpets when they move in. Less legalities to worry about.
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Just because one LL does something or puts something in their lease it does NOT mean that it is necessarily enforceable according to law. You as a LL need to do your due diligence and read and learn your state laws and not depend upon what some other LL is doing.
