Question for landlords: lodgers and cleaning

Emily_Joy

I am looking to understand whether the lodgers are expected to contribute to cleaning of the common areas of the house and how much. I seem to be struggling to live up to the landlords expectations on this respect.

Briefly, the situation is as follows. I am renting a room in the house, full time. But I am away a lot and usually go back to my own house for the weekend. During the weekdays I get up at 6am, take shower, go to work at 7:30am at latest, then I back at about 9:00pm-9:30pm if I am lucky, make myself a cup of tea and a toast, eat some fruits and go to bed. The landlord has lost their job in the end of January and has been looking for a new one since.

The landlord is unhappy because they want me (1) to deep clean the bathroom (2) to hoover the staircase that leads to both our bedrooms, and the lounge that I occasionally use as a morning room regularly (3) to deep clean the kitchen.

Frankly, I don't have time. If it was my own house, I would just get a cleaner if/when I felt it is necessary. Obviously, I clean the room I am occupying and tidy up the kitchen/the lounge after I used it, although occasional crumbs & pieces escape on the floor.

The contract is silent on this respect.

elsien

I do think that you should be cleaning up any crumbs or anything else that you drop on the floor straightaway. 
 But otherwise, if you’re wiping up the kitchen after you’ve used it, and you’re not really doing any cooking there, I wouldn’t expected deep cleaning to be part of the deal.

I’m not seeing why the landlord losing their job is particularly relevant to your question? Has the landlord only just decided that you need to do more cleaning? 

Is this the same landlord you were having debates with about heating back in December, or a different one?

Emily_Joy

elsien said:

I do think that you should be cleaning up any crumbs or anything else that you drop on the floor straightaway. 
 But otherwise, if you’re wiping up the kitchen after you’ve used it, and you’re not really doing any cooking there, I wouldn’t expected deep cleaning to be part of the deal.

I’m not seeing why the landlord losing their job is particularly relevant to your question? Has the landlord only just decided that you need to do more cleaning? 

Is this the same landlord you were having debates with about heating back in December, or a different one?

Nope - back in December I was writing about different issues I have had in the past (over 10+ years) that I was not easy about.
It appears the landlord has just decided that I need to do more cleaning. Regarding crumbs - ok, but how exactly? Assume that I was leaving in the morning and forgot something in the lounge. I rushed back, picked it up and run out of the door. As I was wearing outside shoes some (dry) bits from outside are now on the carpet/in the kitchen. Am I expected to grab a vacuum cleaner and clean it up right away? (Waking the landlord up). Should I always be removing my shoes? But the landlord does not do that when they pop outside. 

elsien

Dustpan and brush? Takes about a minute. And you can't always be rushing out of the door without a minute to spare, surely?

Emily_Joy

elsien said:

Dustpan and brush? Takes about a minute. And you can't always be rushing out of the door without a minute to spare, surely?

I do have a minute to spare, but it would have been easier to remove the shoes in this case. We all clearly have different expectations! Haven't realised a few bits would bother some people that much. 

FreeBear

As a live in landlord, I've always taken it upon myself to clean communal areas. That said, I do expect lodgers to at least wipe down surfaces in the kitchen & bathroom if they make a mess.

ThisIsWeird

You are renting a room in someone else's home. Imo, you should not be expected to 'deep clean' their home, or the rooms you share; all of these rooms are the homeowners, and they should arrange to keep them clean.

Your sole room is your bedroom - that room is your responsibility. If you do have sole use of any other room, then - yes - you should also keep it clean.

Of course, any specific mess you make, you clean it up. From what you say - the long working hours, the lack of cooking you do in that kitchen, being away at weekends, etc - would suggest to me absolutely minimal additional 'dirt' from you. So, the dirt that actually requires this 'deep-cleaning' will be occurring regardless of your presence. So, they 'deep-clean' just the way they always have, before they had lodgers.

And do take your shoes off next time - don't give them an excuse!

EssexHebridean

I would say clean up your own mess - always, but no, "deep cleaning" should not be part of the deal. If "shoes off" is not a thing, then you must be prepared to pick up any bits that drop off your shoes too - otherwise just work on the basis that shoes off in the house is a more straightforward approach here. 

Agree with TIW above about you needing to ensure that any rooms you have sole use of, you clean - and indeed "deep clean" on regular routine also. 

caprikid1

Leave a room in the same state as when you entered. Kitchen , Bathroom etc.

Takes 2 seconds to wipe round a sink, clean a show after yourself ,. clear up after yourself in a kitchen.

Ultimately it comes down to what the contract says and how much you want to upset the landlord.

propertyrental

It's entirely up to you and the LL to agree. Different LLs have different expectations.

If you cannot agree, then you are not compatible and you'll have to move.

Emily_Joy

It is a bit problematic to keep the kitchen as it was when I came in. For instance, if I make a cup of coffee in the morning, then I tend to wash the mug, and put it to dry on a drying rack. This apparently does irritate the landlord and they want me to dry it with the towel and put it away in the cupboard allocated to me. Same applies to everything else. I have been asked to bring my own cutlery/cookery etc.
This lead me to leaving without having coffee in the morning as I can get it at work with less hassle - we do have a kitchenette and a drying rack where I can leave a mug/a cereal bowl to dry. 
Alas, there is no shower - only a bathtub in the house - so I now tend to take a shower at work more often - I cycle there - so that I don't need to worry about upsetting the landlord with an occasional hair that escaped my attention.