In the property management world, there are many types of tenants. One tenant that most landlords try their best to avoid is the dirty tenant.
Every landlord wants to find a tenant that pays rent on time, stays for a while and care for the property as if it was their own. The ideal tenant will look after the apartment by cleaning regularly and with a preventative state of mind.
Unfortunately, there are tenants out there who pay their rent on time but also let their pizza boxes stack up to the ceiling.
It is difficult to come up with a strategy to approach these tenants because cleanliness lies on the border between personal and professional. You want someone who takes out the garbage regularly, but on the other hand, you cannot tell them to do it every Tuesday at 7:30 using only grey garbage bags. Since a property management service cannot make personal demands like these, it can feel like you are often caught in a trap.
However, it is imperative that you find a way to strike a balance between the personal and the professional.
At Keyrenter San Antonio, we recommend that our clients use one of these three ways to deal with dirty tenants:
1. Outline Cleaning Expectations
If you have certain standards of cleanliness to maintain, let the tenants know by including standards for cleanliness in the lease.
Whether you have surfaces that need to be treated with a special cleaner or the neighborhood is prone to pest problems, you can help protect your property by making the tenants aware of these issues before they move into the property.
Doing so outlines the expectations that you have for the tenant. It also gives the renter a chance to back out if they don’t feel they can meet these expectations. Either way, it can save you plenty of headache later.
2. Hire a Maid
You might also consider adding a maid clause into your lease. This kind of clause would allow you to hire a monthly cleaning service to visit the property if the tenants are not cleaning up after themselves. The tenants would then be required to pay for the service each time you had to enact the class.
Be careful when enforcing this clause because some tenants might find it insulting.
However, the cost of the maid service may encourage less-clean tenants to move on when their lease is up which can free you from perpetually dirty tenants.
3. Show Them How to Clean
Young people and first-time renters are just two examples of tenants who are often considered to be dirty. However, the lack of cleanliness may not be out of laziness or disrespect. They may just not know how to clean.
You can hire a property management service like Keyrenter San Antonio to provide new tenants with a basic guide to keeping the property clean.
At Keyrenter San Antonio, we understand how important it is to protect the value of your home. For more information about how we can help keep your rental properties clean and tidy, call us today at (210)-503-8000!