Cleaning fee when away

Temptation_waits

Hi I'm a new live in landlord and now have 3 rooms i rent out to lodgers.

I charge each a £50 a month cleaning fee that covers the whole house plus cleaning materials, toilet paper etc.

One lodger has stated they are away for half of next month. Should they get a discount on the cleaning fee?

On the one hand i get they are not there making mess but on the other hand i think it could turn into a nightmare with each lodger saying they've not been there random one or two days etc each month so they shouldn't have to pay. Would be a struggle to keep track of so keeping it as a fixed amount is appealing.

Also i will still be cleaning communal areas when they are not there.

What would you do?

unforeseen

£50 on top of the rent??

Temptation_waits

Yes on top of the rent. It works out cheaper than getting an actual cleaner for them.

seashore22

Do you give your tenants a choice to have a cleaner or not?

How many tenants do you have?

I would have thought that as a live in landlord a cleaner is very much for your benefit and it's a charge that you should be absorbing.

Does the cleaner do the tenants own rooms? As a tenant I would hate that.

Temptation_waits

I have 3 lodgers.They agreed to the cleaning fee when signing the contracts.

Just to clarify i am the one doing the cleaning. I do their rooms too. This is recommended my spareroom.co.uk as there can be some legal issues around lodgers if you cannot access their rooms. Lodgers seem fine with it.

Thanks for the responses so far, however none have really addressed the question at hand.

seashore22

Really? Hmm.

martinthebandit

Temptation_waits wrote: »

I have 3 lodgers.They agreed to the cleaning fee when signing the contracts.
.

In that case then I would say that the cleaning fee applies irrespective of when or if the tenant is absent.

But that's just my opinion.

[Deleted User]

Hi

Temptation_waits wrote: »

Just to clarify i am the one doing the cleaning. I do their rooms too.

so you go in and pick up dirty underwear on the floor, used condoms under the bed, seems ok for £50 a month, if he's not happy he has the option to move.

Rambosmum

Keep it simple. If it is in the contract, what does it say? £50 per month every month? If so, then no discounts for holidays. Otherwise you'll have to work out a daily cleaning charge, then charge each tenant for every day they are there, or discount for when they are not, or are you going to say that you won't discount for one night but one week you will? Where will you draw the line?

seashore22

So this is normal for lodgers to pay extra for cleaning and to have no choice over whether they use this service or not? Genuine question.

It sounds like the tenants don't have a choice here, so wouldn't this all be avoided by including cleaning in the cost of the room. Charging extra for something that is mandatory is what's causing this issue.

Can the tenants say that they would rather clean their own rooms? I would hate to have my privacy invaded in this way.

Edit - I've just been reading about rights of lodgers and landlords and it seems to suggest that lodgers should not have locks on their doors and that it is the landlords best interests to enter the rooms on a fairly regular basis. It's been an eye opener.

ssparks2003

Getting past the morals, and the used condoms.

If the agreement is £50 per month, then its £50 per month whether they are there 2 nights a week, 7 nights a week or off on their jollies for one and a half months. Just the same as rent.