How clean do you need to leave house?

keepsmiling1 ↓

Sun, Jan 05 2025, 9:31 pm

I recently moved out of a rental and I did a basic cleanup before moving.
Now my old landlord called me all mad that I didn't leave it spotless.
She claims that I need to go back and clean up since she doesn't want to pay a cleaning lady.
Now I want to hear your thoughts about that...
Do I need to go back to clean up thoroughly or is a basic cleanup enough?

I want to add one more point, when I came to the house, it was not spotless.

AlwaysCleaning

Sun, Jan 05 2025, 9:34 pm

At minimum, take out the trash, wipe down the counters, sweep and vacuum.

I can't remember 100% but we mightve told the landlord to deduct cleaning fee from our deposit to do a more thorough deep cleaning....

Blessing1

Sun, Jan 05 2025, 9:34 pm

Needs to be totally emptied out & the floors swept up. Nothing in closets or cabinets, nothing left behind or flying around. Nothing hanging on the walls.

pinkpeonies

Sun, Jan 05 2025, 9:37 pm

We bought our first house about 8 years ago, but I remember leaving our rental apartment. I couldn’t leave it spotless so I gave the landlord a $100 check for cleaning help (in those days it got you much further than $100 gets you today)

ra_mom

Sun, Jan 05 2025, 9:39 pm

keepsmiling1 wrote:

It's supposed to be "broom clean" which means everything thrown out, nothing left behind, and any dirt swept before leaving.

thankyou1

Sun, Jan 05 2025, 9:50 pm

We were just a couple. We emptied garbage, cabinets/closets, and swept.
No, I'm not scrubbing down the toilet and cabinets etc..

mommygirlx2

Sun, Jan 05 2025, 9:54 pm

keepsmiling1 wrote:

what did it say in your lease?
basic decency is to sweep clean and take out garbage. my opinion

hkwl2

Sun, Jan 05 2025, 10:07 pm

We just moved out of our apartment in June and the landlady requested that we clear everything out because she had a cleaning lady coming before the new tenant moved in. I offered to vacuum before leaving and she told me not to bother, it’s her responsibility to make sure it’s spotless for the new tenant so she wanted to make sure it was done right. I think this makes sense, it’s the landlords job to make sure it looks nice for the next person. You just make sure you’re not making that more difficult than it should be.

tweety1

Sun, Jan 05 2025, 10:18 pm

In the law it's called broom clean.

"Broom clean" is a real estate term that describes the condition a property should be in when a renter or seller moves out. It means that the property should be ready for the next tenant or buyer to move in without any additional cleaning.
The term "broom clean" generally means:
Removing all personal belongings and trash
Sweeping or vacuuming floors
Wiping down surfaces
Cleaning out appliances
Leaving bathrooms sanitary
Ensuring the yard, garage, and any outbuildings are free of debris

↑ keepsmiling1

Sun, Jan 05 2025, 10:41 pm

Thanks for the responses! I left it "broom clean" and I got it that way as well so that's why I wasn't sure why I got such a yelling.