Does the landlord have to clean?
Just moved into a brand new apartment in Brooklyn Heights, where i’m renting from a private owner. The cleaners (supposedly hired by the landlord to clean the apartment) did an awful job. There’s stains on the appliances, dried food stains in the fridge, dirty windows, a grimey shower stall, grease stains on the stove, and…
Just moved into a brand new apartment in Brooklyn Heights, where i’m renting from a private owner. The cleaners (supposedly hired by the landlord to clean the apartment) did an awful job. There’s stains on the appliances, dried food stains in the fridge, dirty windows, a grimey shower stall, grease stains on the stove, and cat hair everywhere. Upon our move in, we didn’t believe we could unpack given the condition of the apartment and went ahead and used our housecleaner (who we originally brought with us to help us unpack since i was working and my wife was handling the move alone) to clean. Given that i had specifically asked for professional cleaners becuase of my severe cat allergies (we had agreed to this over email) i think it only fair that the landlord defray some of the cost for our own cleaner. We are asking for $70 for the cleaning. The landlord is currently refusing to cover this as she feels we should have contacted her prior to engaging our housecleaner so that she could contact the original cleaners she (supposedly) hired and get them to re-do the apartment.
I see her point, but, ultimately, it’s not our fault that her cleaners screwed her. She should be responsible for the cleanliness of the apartment (especially in regards to the cat hair which i could not clean myself) prior to us moving in. Further, it’s not reasonable to expect us to stop our move-in and wait for her to contact cleaners, etc, especially not on a Friday afternoon, and especially given that i can’t even live in the apartment if there’s cat hair everywhere. I think it’s only fair she covers this reasonable expense, and handle the issue with the cleaners she hired herself.
If she continues to refuse, do i have any recourse?
Any thoughts welcome!!!
Thanks!
not removing cat hair from out in the open in inexcusable, it wasn’t even hiding!
CMU: the point is that she promised to clean the cat hair and didn’t do it. That’s not my fault, it’s hers. As a landlady, if you promised to do something and didn’t come through, and the tenant reacted to that, do you think you’d still be in the right? Even though you didn’t do what you promised? If we didn’t discuss it upfront (in writing) i wouldn’t have a basis for argument.
I feel like she should be following up with the cleaners herself to get the $$$ to reimburse herself, she certainly deserves it.
I would love to just deduct it from the next rent check, but that would constitute a defualt, would it not?
If you have such severe cat allergies, why did you even take this apartment? A once over by your cleaning lady ain’t gonna get rid of cat dander. It hides EVERYWHERE.
Segue: I have 2 cats who have free run of the outside yard, porch and, for all I know, my neighbor’s yards.
I wonder if the next time I need a tenant, I should specify ‘no cat allergies’ in case they demand I restrict my cats from their porch? Or is that illegal under ADA law ;)?
why not suggest that you’ll help her get the $$$ back from the other cleaners? and she can use the refund to reimburse you. you also could be passive-aggressive and deduct it from your next rent check, but for what its worth, and though you (tenant) are probably in the right, for $70 it probably is not worth the stress/hassle to fight that much.
CMU: It’s not becuase of the dirt, it’s the cat hair. I have severe allergies to cats, and can’t be around them or their hair. I clearly expressed that to the landlord prior to moving and confirmed in emails she would have the place professionally cleaned to deal with such an issue.
I agree it’s an honest mistake, i never said otherwise, but that doesn’t mean she’s not supposed to fix her mistake. $70 is a perfectly reasonable cleaning fee (in fact she recommend her previous houseclearner to me for regular use and she charges $80-100 so by her own standards $70 has to be reasonable).
a voice of reason! Agree it’s the civilian thing to do, we can’t expect to stop our move and not unpack our boxes becuase of someone else’s mistake, and not expect consequences to those actions.
I’d be more than happy to stip to something like that in the future.
But the point is, it appears to be a honest mistake…the cleaners screwed up, the landlady did not check (ok, that’s her error) and the tenant went ahead and re-cleaned without telling her. And (s)he can’t leave it be, for $35.
OP, I’ve been a landlord for 20 years and I’m almost always on the tenant’s side, but you take the cake…”prohibited from entering my own apartment” because of a little dirt?! Please don’t come knocking at my door.
I’m a landlord and I side with the OP, especially in this market. Tenants that are paying a good rent are to be valued. Besides, its just the civilian thing to do to leave a place in good shape. The landlord should just stipulate that in the future, other costs need to be approved before she reimburses. The amount is reasonable to me, especially if I was confronted with photos.