If a tenant's lease expires and they did not leave the place clean, do you hire a maid service? Standard NC residential lease used...house was professionally cleaned before tenants moved in.

Microwave is discusting, never vacuumed/mopped in 1+ year, etc. I don't expect the place to be sanitized/clean, but I'd expect it to be visibly clean. Also, how about if food is stuck on base boards and walls? Can you charge for damage from a baby gate installation? (walls were freshly painted before tenant moved in)

8/10/2014 11:15:39 AM

I took a class on this for CE. You can charge the actual cost of additional cleaning out of the deposit, can not charge for your own work though. (Like if you clean it yourself)

Make sure to take pictures of EVERYTHING in case they try to take you to court for their deposit back.

I am not sure about baby gate holes, the magistrate might look at that like normal wear and tear similar to picture holes in wall.

8/10/2014 12:04:07 PM

Congratulations you just learned the reason for a security deposit. Unless there is major damage, their deposit should more than cover a thorough cleaning from a service

8/10/2014 7:20:28 PM

I have a security depost and a home warranty to cover anything that goes awry. Just wanted to see what others did in this situation. Lease isn't up for some time.

8/10/2014 7:58:27 PM

The consensus is you cant charge anything out of a deposit for a routine clean. (vacuuming, wiping down, cleaning fridge, etc) If you try, and get taken to court by your ex-tenant you are probably going to get your hand slapped by the magistrate and have to pay the court costs. That type of cleaning is the cost of doing business for the landlord.

I have heard some property managers are writing in to their lease that the tenant must pay for a professional steam cleaning upon move out and provide documentation to the property manager that this has been completed. Sounds legit since the tenant is advised of the requirement up front and the cost is not being taken from the deposit.

8/10/2014 8:35:12 PM

What does the lease say

8/10/2014 10:05:20 PM

It says "post a thread in The Lounge on Wolf Web"

8/10/2014 10:58:26 PM

As a landlord, I would charge them for anything that goes above and beyond normal cleaning. Make sure your cleaning crew details additional charges over their standard rate due to abnormally unclue conditions. If they want to file a suit, the worst I stand to lose will be court costs plus the extra collected, but that is unlikely to happen. The magistrate will rule in the landlords position 99/100. Just take some pictures as well.

8/11/2014 9:56:25 AM

Quote :

"I am not sure about baby gate holes, the magistrate might look at that like normal wear and tear similar to picture holes in wall."

Pretty sure any type of damage, even from picture holes, can be charged to the tenant.

[Edited on August 11, 2014 at 10:47 AM. Reason : says every apartment/rental lease I've been in.]

8/11/2014 10:46:57 AM

Anything you have to repair can and is chargeable.

8/11/2014 11:02:55 AM

you can't charge for picture holes in dry wall. you can charge for damage to a door frame, like in the case of the baby gate.

8/11/2014 11:24:23 AM

source?

8/11/2014 11:54:42 AM

^^ Agreed, small nail holes for hanging pictures are considered normal wear and tear (unless they made a pin cushion out of your walls or damaged the drywall). Excess sized holes for baby gates or bolts in studs for hanging heavy objects would be considered a repair.

For our home, the lease requires professional carpet cleaning prior to move out. The home must be left in the condition it was upon move in (we had it professionally cleaned top to bottom before our first tenant moved in). If they hire a professional company to clean, they must provide receipt - any additional cleaning needed will not be charged for. If they clean themselves and anything doesn't pass inspection (i.e. - food in the microwave, excess grease/spills in oven, dirty fridge, excess dust on baseboards or ceiling fans, etc), the cleaning fee will taken from the security deposit.

Definitely take pictures of everything before cleaning or repairing. Make an itemized list of cost of repairs, keep cleaning receipts, record everything that needed to be done to make it move-in ready for the next tenant.

[Edited on August 11, 2014 at 11:57 AM. Reason : ]

8/11/2014 11:56:45 AM

^^source? why on Earth would anyone consider holes in door frames as normal wear and tear? I've also been responsible for cleaning baseboards in leases as well.

for those who don't know, carpet depreciate and they must be replaced every eight years iirc. if your landlord tries to charge you for damage to them, you can pro rate the value of the carpet for how old they are.

8/11/2014 12:06:27 PM

Read Chapter 42 of the NCGS: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/gascripts/statutes/StatutesTOC.pl?Chapter=0042

8/11/2014 12:12:21 PM

^^no, for picture nail/hanger holes. Because every rental I've ever had, the lease stipulating fixing these types of damages.

8/11/2014 12:44:30 PM

http://www.nclamp.gov/2004%20CLE/Rental%20Agreement%20Act.PDF

bottom of page 6 talks about normal wear and tear. As an example, it says that tenants cannot leave large holes in the walls from shelving. Using picture hangers or thumbtacks to mount posters is normal wear and tear. Putting a big hole in the dry wall to wall mount a TV or shelving unit, is not.

either way, you can just use a bit of spackle or toothpaste to cover up any holes.

I've lived in 6 places and have had to go to court once to sue my landlord to get my deposit back (see the car hitting my house debacle) and picture hangars have never come up. Not doubting you've had those experiences, but unless it says expressly in the lease, you could contest it.

8/11/2014 12:55:11 PM

I've been bamboozled my entire damn life!

8/11/2014 1:01:50 PM

If the lease says you have to pay for nail holes then you do.

If it doesn't they can't charge you.

It's easy.

8/11/2014 9:26:51 PM

When you show the unit and the tenants are still occupying the space, do you expect them not to be home when you show it? Do you ask them not to be home?

11/2/2014 7:08:52 AM

You should give them at least 24 hours notice. If you're not a shitty landlord, they should be out of the house.

11/2/2014 8:51:35 AM

I gave them 5 days notice (more than enough), but did not exclusively ask them not to be there. Every time I've been there to fix something, the guys wife, kids and parents have ALWAYS been there.

11/2/2014 10:22:48 AM

Well it's not like it's a couple college kids who can head down to the bar for a drink in the middle of the afternoon/evening. Sounds like they've got a lot going on as well. Unless they're being completely unreasonable, sounds like you're just going to have to deal with it.

11/2/2014 11:06:38 AM

In a sales situation I absolutely HATE for the tenants to be there. It is very distracting and buyers do not pay enough attention to the house, they just do not feel as comfortable.

On Rentals I would assume the same problems arise, but its less of a commitment, and honestly rentals are in high demand right now people will put up with some shit to get a good rental. If you are bombarding your tenants with showings and they have to leave they might feel like they aren't getting full use of the house they are still paying for. If its one or two a week I don't think its unreasonable at all to ask them to leave for the showing, but they might see it differently.

11/2/2014 1:05:47 PM

I asked them to tidy up a little (doesn't seem like they've cleaned the kitchen or bathrooms) and they replied not to count on it as they have kids. I don't care about toys and small stuff lying around. I do care about a messy kitchen/bathroom from a cleanliness standpoint.

11/2/2014 1:21:45 PM

Why don't you pay to have it cleaned then?

11/2/2014 2:25:18 PM

I plan to have it deep cleaned after they move out. No need to clean it now and again in 2 months.

11/2/2014 3:10:07 PM

You're in a difficult situation. While it sounds like they may just be messy, you can't really expect a family with kids to keep the house spotless just because you ask them to. As long as it's not so nasty as to start you thinking about eviction, then they really don't have any incentive to help you out.

If it's bad enough that you think it's affecting your showings, though, you might want to just have a professional service come in and give the kitchen and bathrooms a once-over. Couple hundred bucks is much less than the rent you'd lose if the place goes unoccupied for more than a couple of weeks...

Can your lease stipulate no kids in the future? Probably not, I guess that's illegal.

11/2/2014 4:17:57 PM

I would never limit families. The upside is there is no sunset to how long they may stay as opposed to a student (graduation). With that said, I want someone that keeps the play sanitary/clean, it does not have to be spotless.

I am flexible with pets, as I was planning to replace the carpet. If somebody wants to have a pet, I will just clean the carpet and not charge a deposit. If there is no pet, I will replace the carpet.

11/2/2014 7:16:11 PM

A neighborhood I own a condo in has some filthy hoarder (different building from mine) the entire building was having roach problems and come to find out this lady had never taken her garbage out, just let it pile up.....she also let dog piss and shit just rot and decay in the floor.

I think the HOA finally got after the owner of her unit and it was professionally trashed out, sanitized, all flooring replaced, and some drywall, then exterminated. Then come to find out the owner of the condo is related to the crazy filth hoarder lady tenant, so the crazy hoarder lady got to move right back in after all that and start over.

My in-laws that live upstairs from her had another influx of roaches (probably from the roaches trying to GTF away from all the cleanliness and cleaning activity). Their landlord has an ongoing contract with a pest control company because he got so tired of dealing with it.

11/2/2014 8:41:47 PM

^ I think I would move.

11/3/2014 9:09:47 AM