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I would check your lease. Some leases will actually put down in writing what is expected of the home if the "cleaning fee" is to be returned. In most cases, cleaning the home in the manner described will actually cost you about the amount of the cleaning fee (the rental agency makes money by contracting all the rental house cleaning to certain company's, who in turn, give them discount rates). If your not able to clean the house to those standards, then odds are you will not get the full "cleaning fee" back, if any. Most of the time, the house needs to be spotless, floors need to be "professionally" cleaned (steam cleaned carpets, floors mopped and waxed), the kitchen should be spotless (includes all appliances (including under the stove lid, inside the stove, inside the fridge (if left), and any other appliance left), the entire house should be dusted thoroughly, and then vaccummed, and then the carpets shampooed and/or steam cleaned, stains should be removed (as much as humanly possible). If you feel that your home is clean and is clean enough to have the cleaning fee returned, and it isn't, then i would suggest seeking legal advice.
I have lived in a number of apartments. I always clean the bathroom fixtures and clean the sink and stove in the kitchen; the rest of the apartment I sweep and vacuum. Since I don't live like a slob, that leaves it clean enough for the landlord to come in and repaint and start to show when its dry.
I have always deep cleaned every place I have lived. We have moved over 30x and except when I was very young (early 20's) I have gotten 100% of my deposits back.
I also clean houses for a living and do plenty of rentals. I would never pay someone $75.00 an hour to clean but hey it pays my bills. It has been my experience that most people think things are clean but there is always dirt.
Clean like your security deposit depended on it. Because it does.
Basically, the apartment should be as clean OR cleaner than when it was given to you.
You should be able to tell, because you've taken pictures BEFORE you moved all your stuff in, and you can compare them to the pictures you've taken AFTER you moved all your stuff out. The difference between these two pictures will be subtracted from your security deposit.
Very good advice...
My State requires the unit to be returned in the same condition as when the lease started... less normal wear and tear.
The wear and tear part is often the problem... ink on the carpet, crayons on the walls, burns on the counter, holes in the walls are not normal wear and tear.
Landlords here are also required to provide a pre-move inspection at the tenants request... precisely to go over potential problem areas... I actually like having the opportunity to give my tenants a heads up and the opportunity to ask questions.
The tenant at my last vacancy did a very good job... except for the carpet... it was badly stained from bleach that had leaked... I told her not to worry about it... the carpet was already scheduled to be replaced... it was almost 10 years old.
PS... I always explain my cost for removing left behind trash is always much higher than if they take care of it... the company I use to haul away furniture, exercise equipment, car parts... has a minimum and the dump charges are substantial.
I always cleaned it like when you do a deep cleaning of your usual housework. Never have i had any landlord complain. they said it was nicer than it had to be.
But as im getting older, the move was so draining on me, that i barely did a decent cleaning. Yet, my landlord said it was ok.
What they often get is - trash left in the apartment, holes in the wall, grease all over, so what i did was a lot better than that. and yes, i had one apartment where they listed the items they needed cleaning just like your list. Still, i told them that was all that i could phyically do.
One landlord said to me is they have it professionally cleaned for the next tenant anyway, so i was expected to just do a decent job (vaccuming, trash out, wipe down the counters, wash floors, wipe the things in the bathroom).
If you are not sure, it may be worth it to get a professional housecleaner. For about $100 it might be worth while.
by the way, if you have any holes from artwork on the wall, you can get this Spackle in a little container. it works great and makes a huge difference. you just dab some onto the wall, and smooth it. It works great!
1st time I transfer apts I hired a person to clean. I got charged anyway! Didn't bother on the next transfer.... didn't get charged... they ripped everything up replaced all appliances repainted all walls including ceiling...
Any time I move out of an apartment, I hire a cleaning company to do a full move out cleaning. I want to be able to walk in when they're done and *smell* how clean it is. Every inch is cleaned, including inside closets, drawers and cabinets. One benefit to this is this is it guarantees that nothing is accidentally left behind.
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