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Who is responsible for carpet cleaning on move out? Tenant or Landlord

carcoa

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I have had tenants in my house for over a year. They did have pets, a dog and two cats. I had the carpet steam cleaned on move out as they were done prior to them moving in. I noticed there is carpet damage - fraying around doorways which was not there when they moved in. Also, the screens and blinds have been damaged by the pets. I did charge a $500 non-refundable pet deposit. Am I allowed to subtract the cost for the carpet cleaning/repair/replacment of the carpet and blinds and screens, or is that covered by the pet deposit? Are the tenants responsible to clean the carpets on move out, or is this normal wear and tear?



Thanks,

Carla
 

Thomas Beyer

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[quote user=carcoa]Are the tenants responsible to clean the carpets on move out
yes.



What you describe is over and above normal wear and tear and as such you should deduct it, and/or bill them for add'l damages !
 

Sherilynn

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In which province is the property?



In Alberta, I consider the non-refundable pet fee to cover additional wear-and-tear caused by pets (which is not deductible). However damages are still chargeable.



I also have it in my lease that the tenant is responsible for carpet cleaning. However, I have heard that this is not enforceable by the RTDRS. I will continue to charge it, and will be happy to remove the charge if the RTDRS orders me to do so for a specific case.
 

Dave3350

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Hi, sorry to follow up on such an old post, but I would be very interested in an example of the language of the carpet cleaning clause you use. Yes, I understand if challenged I would remove charge but I think in most cases, people are reasonable and accept what they agree to. This is for an Alberta Property.
 

Martin1968

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Hi, sorry to follow up on such an old post, but I would be very interested in an example of the language of the carpet cleaning clause you use. Yes, I understand if challenged I would remove charge but I think in most cases, people are reasonable and accept what they agree to. This is for an Alberta Property.

Dave, this is what I have in my contract,

Clause: Additional Obligations on Termination,

.1 Without limiting the landlord rights available in law or pursuant to this lease, the tenant acknowledges and agrees that, upon any termination of this lease (by the landlord, at the end of the Term or any other termination whatsoever), the tenant shall:

(a) have any carpets included with the premises professionally cleaned by a reputable carpet cleaning company acceptable to the landlord (acting reasonably) and shall not, due to the damages that can be caused to the underlay and other flooring, use hand held carpet cleaning machines operated by non-professionals to clean carpets; and

(b) thoroughly clean the premises, including all bathrooms including all bathrooms (including toilets bathtubs and sinks) as well as ovens and refrigerators, inside and out, and, where the landlord determines, in the Landlord’s sole discretion that the tenant has not complied with this section, the landlord may engage professional cleaners to clean the premises (including any carpets) to the satisfaction of the landlord and all costs thereof shall be paid by the tenant.

I have to say that there are hardly any carpets left in any of my units, but for the few that do I already lay out all expectations on move in date, for when vacating the premises in the future, turning over a spotless unit and expect to get it returned the same way clean and without any damages, with the exception of normal wear and tear.

When a tenant with Pet moves in they will be told that carpets will be cleaned and cost deducted after the move out, and any non refundable pet fee paid upfront is merely granting them the right to hold a pet in the unit, but any damages or extra cleaning charges will still come out of their regular damage deposit.
Make sure you follow everything up with supporting documentation, such as pet addendum with obligations, tenant cleaning list with breakdown of expectations 2 weeks before they move out, and of course a move out inspection report dated and signed by all parties.

In all this, always be reasonable and courteous, no one wants to be taken for a ride, looking at myself I wouldn’t, but when all above is in place you will for sure never have any issues.
I have had zero

Kind Regards
 

Alvaro Sanchez

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The proper way to deal with these issues when pets are allow, it is to have units pet-friendly. That is, no-carpets!.

I have been a landlord since 1992 and one of the things that I learned is that you could be right (in court as well) and have all fancy clauses on your contracts but likelihood of collecting such fees is low and tedious. Your time and brain should be focus on minimizing risk and cost on your investments. -- focus on purpose built rentals --.
 

Martin1968

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The proper way to deal with these issues when pets are allow, it is to have units pet-friendly. That is, no-carpets!.

I have been a landlord since 1992 and one of the things that I learned is that you could be right (in court as well) and have all fancy clauses on your contracts but likelihood of collecting such fees is low and tedious. Your time and brain should be focus on minimizing risk and cost on your investments. -- focus on purpose built rentals --.



I can go along with some parts of your reply; that is that you should indeed focus on minimizing risk (especially when selecting tenants) and not wasting time and money on collecting small fees such as carpet cleaning amongst others.
Not worth it whatsoever, Personally I’m always prepared to take the high road if a dispute would ever occur.

However, without questioning your credibility, one of the things I have learned in both my business dealings as well as residential tenancy laws, is to have legally sound leases in place, with clauses that leave very little room for a wide array of interpretations. Will it be a slam dunk whenever it would come to a dispute resolution? Or heaven forbid a court case? Of course not.

But the same thing for landlords applies to tenants, will it be worth their $75.00 RDTRS filing fee or, if they choose a court filing, anywhere from $25.00 to $200.00 plus time spend in order to dispute a $150.00 to $250.00 carpet cleaning charge a landlord has deducted from a security deposit? Very.....very few would.
Put in a good clause, then when you sit down to sign the lease with new tenants go through the document step by step and explain, and I will guarantee you you will have very little to no problems. If you do, chances are you selected tenants you maybe shouldn’t have selected.

Yes to eliminating carpets tho!
 
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