Q: Hi, This is related to the rental property, I was renting a property for 6 years and vacated on 1st July.
Hi, This is related to the rental property, I was renting a property for 6 years and vacated on 1st July. Tenant is charging for full cleaning fee from my deposit. I wanted to know whether it's legal to deduct cleaning fee from the deposit amount in a situation where I was living in the house for more than 5 years.
A: A cleaning fee is supposed to cover any damaged property (such as dog or cat damage, worn carpets, broken doors, etc.). Rented property for six years nearly always shows some signs of wear and tear. Many landlords claim that they are entitled to keep the entire cleaning fee, even if they are not so entitled. It is a simple matter of greed. If you left the house in good condition, you should get the entire cleaning fee back. Landlords almost always try to find some excuse for not returning the cleaning fee, and if there is no excuse you can threaten to take him to small claims court. The landlord would probably work it out with you at that point. Good Luck.
A: You are not responsible for wear and tear. However, you are required to return the rental as clean as it was when you first moved in. That is the same no matter how long you lived there. Hopefully, you have pictures when you moved in, and pictures when you moved out. If the tenancy was terminated with proper notice, the landlord was required to inform you of the right to have a preliminary inspection before you moved. The issue of cleaning should have been told to you at that time by the landlord.
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