Keeping a rental unit clean and neat between tenants can be challenging and stressful. As a landlord or property manager, some of your responsibilities include not only collecting rent but also standard maintenance checks, running background checks and, of course, cleaning the unit. Sometimes cleaning the unit is easy but other times it is a lot more than you expect.
Having a clean unit has lots of benefits and it shows renters that you are good in taking care of your unit. A well maintained unit allows landlords and property managers to charge higher rental prices, while making the renters stay more comfortable and enjoyable. Another great benefit of properly cleaning the unit between renters is the added longevity of the unit.
One thing to keep in mind: cutting corners cannot be a good way to manage a unit, and it can help to have a checklist to ensure you cover all the things. Whatever condition the rental unit is in post tenancy a landlord should always take care of it to set a precedent for the next renters.
Require Tenants to Clean the Property
The current tenants hold responsibility to take care of the unit and hand it back to the landlord in the same or better condition as it was when they first moved in. Their biggest motivation to keep the unit clean and neat is the security deposit that they will want back at the end of the tenancy. To help your tenants to perform a decent cleaning job, hand over a detailed checklist so they can follow what has to be cleaned. This also enables a landlord to check over what has or has not been cleaned. Making the tenants your allies can save you a lot of work when it comes to the end of tenancy cleaning, especially if they want to obtain the full amount of the security deposit.
Maintenance
This is not a hard one. Wear and tear is natural, of course, but it is important to search for marks, holes, or dents in floors, walls or cupboards. If you find any, make sure to repair them. If you decide not to, it sets a bad precedent for the next tenants that will treat your unit to new marks and holes. The same goes for appliances. If any appliances need replacing, make sure to replace them. This way you will only have the hassle of dissatisfied tenants if any appliance breaks during their tenancy.
Mould and Repaint
Unfortunately, mould occurs in a lot of properties and it is most likely to occur in bathrooms. It is toxic so when cleaning make sure to take precautions (wear a mask and gloves; ventilate). An updated extractor fan can be your friend in this. If not, make sure to warn the tenants that mould can occur and do your best to keep the room well ventilated. Once mould has been treated and holes have been removed, you may also have to repaint the walls in order to give the unit a new, fresh feel.
Carpet Clean
If the unit has carpets, then hoovering is not enough. Our advice would be to rent a carpet cleaning machine or bring in the professional end of tenancy cleaning London to clean the carpets because this can make a big difference to the hygiene of the whole unit. A basic hoover will not be able to thoroughly clean the carpets while a professional carpet cleaning machine will be able to extract the grime and germs hiding deep into the base of the piece.
Outside
It is not something that many homeowners do often but not taking care of the external part of your home might bring up a lot of problems. Get outdoors and make sure to check for any cracks in the brickwood and dirty, overflowing gutters. Of course, you should not ignore the more obvious tasks such as mowing the lawn.
If the landlord chooses not to clean outside, it can cause troubles. The cleanliness of the whole unit will dictate how tenants treat it during their tenancy. It is the tenant’s responsibility to return the rental property in the same condition as it was when they moved in. Therefore, if a tenant moves into a unit that has been thoroughly cleaned, they must hand it over thoroughly cleaned. It is in the best interest of the landlord to deep clean the rental unit to make sure it is returned in a good state. Please, keep in mind that you can always check the cost for a deep cleaning service in London and turn to a professional cleaning company for assistance.
Leave Comment