Blog

August 21, 2010

House Cleaning For Ottawa Rental Properties

Being an Ottawa based professional house cleaning company, we wanted to dedicate a post to something we’ve been doing a lot of lately. Consistently, when we meet with self managing landlords or property management companies, we hear a surprised reaction when we provide the invoice on for an apartment or unit cleaning. In most cases, the square footage of these units is significantly less than a traditional family home, and requires less time than one might expect to bring the unit to a level that is acceptable for a move in. Well, we’re going to give you a few reasons to move ahead. Having a professional cleaning company doing the legwork for you is in most cases cheaper than doing it yourself. Professionals perform the job on average in about half the time that it would take a non professional. A house keeping service or maid service will also undoubtedly do a better job, and if you view the actual expense of having a professional service do it for you, it’s justifiable and affordable. A thorough cleaning prior to the move in of a tenant provides a true top to bottom of any apartment or home and is always a good idea to keep a happy tenant. Here’s some other reasons to have a professional cleaner do the job.

• Most landlords, even self managing ones, don’t have the time to clean units prior to the move in of a new tenant.
• The cleaning usually needs to take place prior to the end of the previous tenancy, and before the beginning of the new one. There is a usually a small window of time to prepare a new unit prior to a move in.
• You are required by law to provide a unit that is bacteria free and mold free. The elimination of these elements in any apartment that has been lived in for a period of time is going to be essential. According to Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board, a landlord has to keep the rental property in a good state of repair. A landlord must obey all health, safety, housing and maintenance standards, as set out in any provincial laws or municipal bylaws. A professional cleaning is an excellent investment taking this into account.
• Professional grade cleaning ensures a high operational standard with the unit, and should be considered preventative maintenance, and a wise investment.
• Professional grade cleaning ensures that hard to find areas where mold buildup can occur are addresses. In the vast majority of cases, the cleaning of things like bathroom fan vents, hood fans and range undercarriages, as well as the assortment of other virtually invisible areas where mold and dust buildup can occur are rarely addressed without a professional doing the job.
• Apartments and rental units tend to be smaller and not as circulated versus traditional houses. Achieving a non toxic and chemical free clean is an excellent way to ensuring the living space you are renting is as healthy as possible.

Taking all of this into account, it is also the tenant’s responsibility to ensure that the unit is up to an acceptable level of cleanliness while living there and before leaving. Working a component into the lease requiring that the tenant assume the cost of a professional grade cleaning is acceptable and reasonable. At the end of the day, the job being done properly and thoroughly is one of the best ways to running a rental property smoothly.