Cleaning fee when away

Comms69

martinthebandit wrote: »

Well the wife does get 'some' benefit

.......and the kids were taught from an early age to clean up after themselves. They also got some benefit out of that (mainly a quieter life etc)

You would be happy to clean up after your lodgers for free?

That isn't what I said, but I do believe in treating people fairly, IE giving them the option of either cleaning up or paying for it.


But the OP has said they want the house to be spotless, which sounds fairly unreasonable and to be honest - its the OPs problem.


I presume you don't issue an invoice if your child leaves their plates at the table?

seashore22

It's hardly for free if they are paying rent.

I will say this one last time, this whole thing could have been avoided by incorporating any cleaning costs into the rent amount. I have no idea why this wasn't done in the first place.

davidmcn

seashore22 wrote: »

It's hardly for free if they are paying rent.

I will say this one last time, this whole thing could have been avoided by incorporating any cleaning costs into the rent amount. I have no idea why this wasn't done in the first place.

Though I think we have had similar queries about what ought to happen to rent/bills if the lodger isn't around all the time.

Hillbilly1

I would prefer to lodge somewhere that clearly stated cleaning took place and it wasn't my responsibility!

If that was as a separate charge or included wouldn't make much difference.

FBaby

So what happens if your lodger decided that he was happy to clean after himself in the communal rooms and not bothered with his room and therefore didn't want to pay the cleaning fee any longer. I expect you would tell him that he can go then, therefore your arrangement is perfectly unfair. You should ask for a higher rent that includes the cleaning, but I suppose you would not attract as much demand if you did it this way.

FBaby

To go back to your question, should they pay you to clean your mess and that of the other lodgers when they are away? Of course not, and your considering it says it all really.

Jenniefour

Having had two lodgers myself in the not so distant past, OP started out with a much more realistic and sensible agreement than I did about cleaning and going in lodgers' rooms. The first mistake I made was assuming the second lodger would have similar standards of cleanliness as the first, or at least reasonable standards. (The written agreement made clear that the lodger was responsible for cleaning their own room and ensuite). The second mistake I made was not going into her room/ensuite to check, because of my very seriously misguided ideas about privacy.

When, after two and a half years, the plumber needed to check something in her ensuite when a problem cropped up elsewhere, I was not pleased to find out that the shower room had obviously not been cleaned once in two and a half years, and her room was not the best either (but not the worst). And, yes, I had informed her about the plumber two days before. It was a completely filthy mess. Lodger was very apologetic, hadn't realised it might be a problem, and paid my cleaner herself to get it sorted out. Just getting two and a half years of lime scale, hair dye and other muck off the shower/tray/shower head took the best part of a day.

We managed to resolve it because we had a decent friendly relationship, luckily no permanent damage done, she was otherwise a good lodger and there were no other major problems.

If OP likes her house spotless, why not, it's her home. I think there are more than a few lodgers who would appreciate that, frees up their time to do something else. Personally, I would love it. Good hotel standard service without the suitcase. I would be offering her extra to iron the sheets. Only thing he/she might want to consider is including cleaning in the rent, then it's less likely to be seen as something to negotiate.

Comms69

Jenniefour wrote: »

Having had two lodgers myself in the not so distant past, OP started out with a much more realistic and sensible agreement than I did about cleaning and going in lodgers' rooms. The first mistake I made was assuming the second lodger would have similar standards of cleanliness as the first, or at least reasonable standards. (The written agreement made clear that the lodger was responsible for cleaning their own room and ensuite). The second mistake I made was not going into her room/ensuite to check, because of my very seriously misguided ideas about privacy.

When, after two and a half years, the plumber needed to check something in her ensuite when a problem cropped up elsewhere, I was not pleased to find out that the shower room had obviously not been cleaned once in two and a half years, and her room was not the best either (but not the worst). And, yes, I had informed her about the plumber the two days before. It was a completely filthy mess. Lodger was very apologetic, hadn't realised it might be a problem, and paid my cleaner herself to get it sorted out. Just getting two and a half years of lime scale, hair dye and other muck off the shower/tray/shower head took the best part of a day.

We managed to resolve it because we had a decent friendly relationship, luckily no permanent damage done, she was otherwise a good lodger and there were no other major problems.

If OP likes her house spotless, why not, it's her home. I think there are more than a few lodgers who would appreciate that, frees up their time to do something else. Personally, I would love it. Good hotel standard service without the suitcase. I would be offering her extra to iron the sheets. Only thing he/she might want to consider is including cleaning in the rent, then it's less likely to be seen as something to negotiate.

Literally what the whole controversy has been about.....