to clean or not to clean?

[dunebug]

I recently hired a property manger to manange an out of state rental property. After the previous tenant move out I made the trip to clean and inspect the unit. The unit was left in good condition but when I returned home I received an email, not a phone call from the property mananger regarding the walk thru with the new tenants. Tenants had complaints that the toilets and tub were not clean, furniture not dusted, and crumbs left in the bottom of the warming drawer and the property manager suggested to hire a professional cleaner.

I left a message with the property manager stating I did not want to hire a cleaner for these minuscule items. Yet, today I received the rental check with a deduction for the cleaning service without an invoice.

Question is? Does my property manager have to reimburse me for the cleaning that I did not authorize.

FYI- Contract states that I must authorize any repairs and maintence to the property.

 

[Smiling JOe]

That sounds like a legal question, and it may depend on the state in which the property is located.

 

[Matt J]

If it's not covered in the contract I'd ask for my money back.

Be careful of vague statements in the contract such as manager has right to perform maintenance and cleaning as needed.

It's a double edged sword. I've moved into places where I had to basically clean the entire place and then had the landlord keep my deposit due to the fact that the unit wasn't left in a surgery ready state of clean. Also consider that if someone is upset over crumbs in the warming tray they are going to drive you nuts for every little thing down the road. There are reasonable people out there willing to rent.

 

[dunebug]

If it's not covered in the contract I'd ask for my money back.

Be careful of vague statements in the contract such as manager has right to perform maintenance and cleaning as needed.

It's a double edged sword. I've moved into places where I had to basically clean the entire place and then had the landlord keep my deposit due to the fact that the unit wasn't left in a surgery ready state of clean. Also consider that if someone is upset over crumbs in the warming tray they are going to drive you nuts for every little thing down the road. There are reasonable people out there willing to rent.

Thanks for the feedback! I was careful with the contract and covered all my bases but the property manager continued to snake this one in. I hope this is a lesson for everyone.

 

[rheffron]

For future reference! GI Cleaning