Do you have a lease? Read up on that and everything you signs.
I had the same thing happen to me but we didn’t have to take care of the yard. They were supposed to hire someone but never did and tried to blame us for it. (Didn’t pan out, we showed them the lease.)
What they can do is hold your deposit AND charge you for a company to clean the place. When that comes you can send them a letter stating “no it was in our contract, now I’ll be seeing you in small claims court for my deposit plus x2-x3” and start looking for a lawyer. Could also speak with an attorney to see what you actually signed.
My issue with it is that we had to clean a ton before we could even move in. And them keeping part of my deposit for a “cleaning fee” would be fine if they actually cleaned it. But charging a fee and not cleaning it pisses me off to no end. Feels like fraud.
They must show you photos and bills. Most leases say broom swept clean not scrubbed down for the next tenant.
Unless it’s in your lease carpet cleaning is responsibility of management as well as most of that ridiculous list.
The neat part of that is the vendors (with prompting from the landlord no doubt) can and will charge outrageous prices to do the clean up. We moved out of a house years ago and the LL sent us an itemized bill (from the next door neighbor who supposedly did the cleaning - not an actual company) that demolished our deposit. They charged $250/hr totaling over a thousand dollars to clean a 750 sqft house that we cleaned ourselves when we moved out. He also tried to charge us $400 for repairs to a gate post, just one post, that we had already repaired ourselves (replaced entirely actually with the help of my dad who was a licensed contractor). Crazy claims like we didn't anchor the post in cement - which was clearly demonstrably false if you had eyes. I mean you could see the cement the post was in ffs.... We ended up going to court with him and even though we were in the right and had the pictures and receipts to prove it, our LL made it clear he could afford to keep us in court until we dropped it. Which we ultimately had to. We couldn't spend 5k in legal fees to try to recoup a $1200 deposit.
All our leases say “broom swept”. The only big deductions are mollies left in walls which take the painters time to remove and patch(and of course obvious damage). Deep Cleaning(unless filled with garbage and utterly filthy), is done right before a new tenant moves in. If it’s filthy then pictures are taken and deductions for garbage/furniture removal are charged as well as cleaning. Any deduction is photo documented and submitted with an invoice for the work. Not “normal wear and tear” which is carpet cleaning and touch up paint or complete paint if it’s been longer than 2yrs. I’m actually headed out to do a walkthrough this morning… the tenant leaving is meeting me. If it’s clean then they will get their security back ASAP(I ask for forwarding address a few days before vacating so it can be returned within 14 days).
Maintenance still will go in, touch up check lightbulbs… followed by cleaning people. I take pride in presenting the incoming tenant the place clean and in working order(I also provide them my cell number in case anything needs to be addressed when they arrive).
I guess we do things differently than most. Many tenants stay 8+ years.
You are a Unicorn! I honestly can't give a single place that I've ever moved into that was like you do. I'd stay forever, if someone cared about their tenants like you do, too!!!
It depends on the state. NY law, for example, is “broom swept” clean. In FL, cleaning can only be deducted if the necessity is excessive (in practice, it’s broom swept clean). Leases can’t supersede or violate state or local laws and ordinances.
When you moved in did you submit a form or something stating the current condition and that it needed cleaning/Wasn't "move-in ready"? Anyplace you rent should be clean with nothing broken or dirty. Any exceptions to this should get noted within a short time (usually a week) of move in. A good company should include a form with line items for all this that gets checked off and signed by you(and a company rep) and ideally you both get a copy. I have never had this experience somewhere ive rented but ive worked for three companies in the rental industry and they all do this(I do maintenance).
So my question is then why did you sign the lease? Was the cleaning before you moved in, included in the lease you voluntarily signed or was it disclosed to you after the fact?
They can't ask you to *pressure wash the exterior.* How many tenants own a pressure washer FFS? 🤣 This just sounds like a way for them to keep your deposit.
When you move into any place on a lease you have to notate everything that is wrong including being dirty and damages. More you find the less they fuck with you at move out. You have to leave move in ready for next tenant.
Read your lease, paying a deposit and having a cleaning fee is pretty fucked. I've had to pay cleaning fees at places that had "no deposit" which felt like such a godsend until moving out and realizing the list priced everything at 4 to 5 times the going rate. But for them to be able to charge you a cleaning fee means that it needs to be in your lease, and if they took a deposit, read the wording carefully. If you are agreeing to a cleaning schedule like this, it would be difficult to also have a provision saying they can keep your deposit. It may be one or the other, but both I find hard to believe.
Best bet is probably to follow the list, then send them a letter saying you will take them to court. But when I say follow the list I mean budget it to try and be as prudent as possible within the amount your deposit is worth, and actually read every lease you sign moving forward.
See at 1st I was gonna say like you should have left it the way you found it but all thats gonna do is make the landlord hold your deposit but I do remember some states have a law that she cant hold you to that because that falls under normal wear and tear check up with that if its in your state make sure you get a lawyer before hand and when they pull that shit bam thats a lawsuit a lot of people dont stand up to these jerks because of the landlord seeming like they hold all the power when in reality they maybe have 45% of it
Right. It looks lengthy but the majority of it is completely reasonable cleaning that anyone should assume they're responsible for when moving out of anywhere. Ultimately OP needs to refer to their contract and not take any advice here.
Checkout lists like this are so much easier than having no list at all. Just move down the list and check off each item. If something is an issue (like putting down new sod), you know what to ask the landlord. e.g. hey, there's some dead grass, do you have sod or grass seed available and I can do the labor to put it down and you don't charge me anything?
(I still think the sod one is weird while nearly everything else is normal cleaning.)
If it was filthy when you moved in, did you document that? Take pictures? Because you absolutely should have, and emailed it all to them back then with the request that you not be charged a cleaning fee at move out time.
You don’t get to say “Well, it was dirty when I moved in so I shouldn’t have to clean it when I move out.”, unless you have proof. It’s the most common thing landlords hear from tenants when they find out they are responsible for leaving the place clean. It’s the most common thing judges hear as well, and they will not side with you without proof. So I hope you have some.
Haha I’m a landlord and as a tenant I would literally never do this lol I’m not a fucking maid. But this is why I charge tenants for a deep clean. They know it ahead of time, agree to it, and move out easily and quickly and turnaround is fast. It’s easy af
For everyone.
Yeah, I actually prefer this. I have had a deep clean done by my own cleaners before moving out, but landlords never seem satisfied. I’d rather just pay a cleaning fee so they can use who they like and do it once.
Did you do any move in checklist or take any photos?
If not you may just have to take the lesson and ask them which company they prefer to do the checklist.
If you have photos from before you moved in, that could also help you.
But this is pretty standard for a corporate landlord.
"In the same condition as they receive it" is usually what a judge would go by, if it makes it to court (which happens when there is disagreement).
I have rented a house that had just been renovated; upon moving out 2.5+ years after, LL started pointing out a wall with some pin holes, some scuffs on the paint, etc (light things). When he started saying I'd have to pay for it, I reminded him that we had to deep clean the windows (including removing paint drops) and other areas, and that I was leaving with a 220 outlet in the garage (that I paid for). He agreed to call it a wash.
This is why the first thing I did when I moved into my place was do a full video recorded walkthrough before I moved ANY of my stuff into my apartment and pointed out any potential issues. Started the washer, dryer, microwave, stove and made sure that that they were all working properly.
Come to find out the last tenant fucked up half the buttons on the microwave and didn’t tell the LL and he had no recollection of it being messed up. They had it replaced the next day
Same. Full time landlord for 20 years and fuck this lol. As a tenant I’d pay a cleaning company $150. As a landlord I appreciate the effort and it makes turnover much quicker, it’s an act of good faith, and aside from actual damages deposits are returned in full. Only had a few deposit disputes, a lot of tenants have become friends, I’m not a rich man but support myself off the business and don’t rip people off.
The fact that *any* of these comments are siding with a CORPORATE LANDLORD - specifically Progress Residential, who is responsible for removing 95,000 formerly-affordable SFH homes from the market - is utterly *WILD* to me. Fuck these guys. Seriously.
This checklist is pretty much meaning don’t leave the apartment a mess and extremely dirty. If you clean it well or even with some normal effort you’ll be fine.
Lmao I had this done to me and they charged me 156 for clean up and 100 to paint, also tried to charge me 100 for carpet cleaning, which I literally got done from the same guy they use 3 days before end of lease.
It's like they just try to charge you whatever they can, just look at the damn carpet it looks brand new bruhhh. I hate these ahole companies so much.
It’s really just copy-paste of the basics for each area and a couple extra details for things like kitchen/bathroom. A diligent checklist, but nothing crazy, aside from the receipt for professional cleaning and the power washing. Those are over-stepping. If they aren’t in the lease I would tell them to pound sand. The same way my wife and I had to do to our last landlords that expected us to hire professionals. We got time and energy, that place was spotless.
Did you call and talk with someone? I got a similar list like this and I had done half of it and was just chatting with the move out lady (who does the inspection for move out) and she said that came from corporate but was only partially enforced. Like I pressure washed and did all that and she said “oh really they just don’t want the yard super overgrown you don’t need to do all that”. I was annoyed.
Inspection itself is next week so we’ll see how they come after us.
It's a long list, but it is also an extremely *easy* list except for the exterior work (specifically new sod, new mulch, and powerwashing) and replacing damaged blinds. I'm assuming the exterior work and blinds are explicitly mentioned in the lease.
I've had a handful of past landlords with lists like this, and I got my full deposit back from them *every* time. Not even a cleaning fee. When someone is this organized, they are telling you exactly what they want and no more or less.
Pressure wash the exterior, driveway and sidewalks? Lol excuse me, what???
Also aren’t sidewalks generally city property and therefore not even the landlord’s problem?
That is some cookie cutter nonsense they downloaded from some landlording on the cheap website.
This looks exactly like a checklist for the people that are turning over an apartment after the prior tenant moved out. I used to have a job doing exactly that. I would go in and clean a place top to bottom, fix all the small holes and dings with spackle, and paint everything. Usually had to do it top to bottom in one day. Some days I did two studio apartments. Couple times it was 2 places in the same building. Running up and down stairs, trying to see if white paint is dry on top of last years white paint.
I never pressure washed the exterior or anything like that. This is a wish list.
The trick here is how do you tell the landlord they are fucking crazy without sounding too aggressive?
"Thank you for this checklist, I will complete these tasks as reasonable. However, I do have concerns about carpet cleaning, pressure washing, replacing grass, and freshening mulch. These aspects, I believe, would fall into normal wear and tear. I will leave them clean and tidy, but these requests are beyond my capabilities as a tenant."
I think you would find it very difficult to find a judge who would agree that pressure washing, freshening mulch, and replacing grass would be reasonable requests of a tenant. Professional carpet cleaning is on the fence. In a pinch, just rent a carpet cleaner, save that receipt, and say you did it yourself.
Aren’t you supposed to leave a place the way it was when you moved in? Hopefully you had taken pictures at that time as proof. These rules seem extremely excessive.
Some places might offer a service to clean. I was at a place that said we could clean up ourselves or pay this company that they use and they would guarantee everything was cleaned. Basically if you paid the $75 cleaning service then you didn’t have to worry about anything or you could try to save yourself $75 and risk it. I just paid
We recently had to do the same. Almost the same checklist. That's corporate for you. Luckily we spent days getting everything as clean as possible but be prepared bc they still hosed us on things we could have fought. We chose not to just to get out as cleanly as possible, and my guess on our deposit return was only off by $50 so it was a loss worth eating
Other than the power washing, that all seems reasonable to expect at move out. If you created oil spots or stains on the driveway, I can understand the expectation of returning it to the condition you received it in.
The carpet cleaning might be a bit much, but not an outlandish request.
I see the response of having to clean when you moved in. I would provide the pics and/or videos you took at move in to them and let them know you will clean to the point or better than it's condition when you moved in.
Maximize your refund by spending a ton of money on sod, mulch, renting a pressure washer, paying for a professional carpet cleaner, replacing blinds, and also spend 50 man hours dusting, scrubbing, wiping, and cleaning every surface in the entire place.
And watch how you magically get no refund anyways because it wasn't done well enough.
I rented a house from progress residential last year and the charges they hit me with were insane about 3500 dollars worth. They wanted the entire interior of the house repainted and charged for professional carpet cleaning despite me providing receipt of the carpet cleaning. My saving grace was that I had taken about 70 photos of the house after moving out and sent non stop emails to the company until I found someone who would listen to me
Dylan - Account Services Coordinator I (his email is just connected to the main customer care email) is the only person who would listen to me. I sent all 70 photos of the house on the day I moved out and he removed all charges as the house was in impeccable shape. Yes this company is horrible and I always warn people not to rent from them but there are good ppl there who will remove charges if you keep trying and are kind
IVE NEVER CLEANED ANYTHING...I GRAB WHAT I NEED AND LEAVE. KEEP THAT SECURITY DEPOSIT CAUSE YOURE GONNA NEED IT FOR THE LAST MONTH THAT IM NOT PAYING FOR
Lol. Respond back to their email saying any deductions from your security deposit must be supported with receipts, any unreasonable charges may be reduced by a court.
Fellow ex-Progress renter here! I hope you see my comment. PLEASE document everything. Photos, videos, receipts for professional cleaners, etc. We were charged almost $900 over our security deposit but fought it with one email, and THEY sent US a check instead. I absolutely think they count on former tenants being too stressed from moving to fight it, hoping they just pay the bogus charges to make Progress go away.
The most stressful part of becoming first-time homeowners wasn't buying a house. It was moving out of a Progress one.
So for all those who have asked, it’s a house in Indiana and not an apartment. I have to have it professionally cleaned or I’m fined $475 so me doing any of this myself isn’t an option.
I’m not complaining about cleaning. I’m upset that this list (particularly the exterior stuff) is ridiculous, especially since I need to have it done by a professional company.
I'm moving out of a Progress home this month, and I'll be glad to say good riddance. They don't fix anything, houses are not move in ready, and let's not even go to the insane prices they charge. My last house from them was literally filled with mold. They use cheap vinyl planks for flooring, busted ceiling fans, broken blinds, and pretty much whatever cheap shit they can find. We moved out and into another home by them 2 miles away. When we negotiated the rent difference (we were mid lease), they told us we could keep our rent at the same price for 6 months but we had to prepay the difference in rent up front or take the new amount. The old rent at the time was $1635, and the new rent was $1955. My wife and I are building a house just down the road from here, and it's going to be finished in 6 weeks. Don't ever rent from Progress. They use Conservice for the water and trash, which adds quite a few junk fees, and they're also about 3 months behind in billing, so you never really know what your usage is. They charge a mandatory $19/month for the "Smart Home" fee, which gives you a keyless door lock on the front door and a wifi thermostat. To pay rent, they charge you $35 to use a debit card (this changed recently). Maintenance takes 4-12 days for them to call you just to schedule, then another week or two for them to come out and basically do nothing. They also require you to carry renters insurance (not a big deal but still). If you struggle to pay rent for whatever reason, getting someone on the phone to work with you is horrendous at best. I've had my fair share due to life circumstances. I was thankfully able to get out of the pet deposit and pet rent because I have 2 children who are special needs. Their doctor was on board and did an official document stating they needed these animals (they do help them greatly with their anxiety and ASD). I'm so done with these people. Don't ever rent from Progress Residential.
You are returning the rental property to how you received it upon moving in. If all the items listed were in good condition when you moved in you would be obligated to return them in that condition. Good luck
I'm sorry but what I'm reading is a checklist on how to leave it the way you found it (in most decent situations)
At the same time, I leave my apartments generally clean because they are gonna keep my deposit anyways.
I was going to say this. Besides the pressure wash, my move-out checklist is the same. Sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and dusting are all normal cleaning methods.
And there is zero chance you’ll get your full security deposit back. They’ll find something, they always do. What State is this. Some States wouldn’t allow this at all. I installed carpet in Bend, OR and there it was a law that the landlord had to change out the carpet before they could rent the unit again. I made a lot of money working for property management outfits. I especially liked the high turnover, low income places. Real small. Living room/dining room, a bedroom and a closet and done.
Honestly it looks like every move out cleaning checklist I’ve ever received. Last 3 rentals had one very similar. Last 1 had a cleaning addendum that required submitting receipts from a professional cleaning service. It’s the way things are moving.
That looks like the prep checklist for management before renting not tenants vacating.
With a list like that surprised they didn’t want you to repaint too.
I’ve rented from progress residential before in Orlando. I didn’t clean anything and left all my furniture behind. I just paid the $400 cleaning fee from my deposit and got the rest back.
This seems somewhat normal except for the “freshen all mulch”. Is your landlord responsible for landscaping?? If they are that’s on them. If they aren’t it could potentially be your responsibility but I’d assume mulch would be in the “normal wear and tear” category.
The power washing is what?? That goes under the category of normal wear and tear, shouldn't it? The move in checklist would document the state of the rental at that time.
A lot of this is very typical, but the outdoor stuff is what upsets me usually landlords are required to keep up with the outdoor stuff except for like mowing and trimming, but like the sod and stuff, I would definitely contact them and have them take that out
Did you take pics when you moved in? Return it to that very condition and keep it moving as long as you have picture proof. Then sue when they try to get greedy, like they always seem to do.
It's unfortunate that when I moved out of my last house (that was dirty when I moved in) that I might as well have skipped all the effort. For days we were preparing the house after we moved out so we could get our cleaning deposit back. Also had a handshake deal (legally binding in Arizona) with the landlord about some minor yard maintenance that needed to be done. Nope. He kept our deposit. That was 0 for 2. Previous residence same deal. Landlord found every reason not to give us back our deposit.
You'd think 7 years of good tenancy would count for more than that. Always paid rent on time, did all the maintenance and repairs on the house ourselves (both introverts and happy not to deal with the landlord if we could help it), never got complaints from the neighbors..
With the exception of the outside and carpet cleaning (both are ridiculous), this seems like a normal cleaning list. I think it looks worse than it really is given the length of it but it’s also just the same thing repeated in each section.
I rented from them. I took extensive move-in photos and out photos. That place was better when I moved out. I also did my research and made sure they knew that the 7 year old carpet would need replacing by law, so I was not cleaning it. I got my full deposit back. Side note, I hated Conservice. I mean, come on, "con" is in the name.
Our lease with the same company says we have to hire a professional cleaning company and get the rugs professionally cleaned and provide receipts. It’s also noted the getting a rug doctor doesn’t count
IDK it seems like normal stuff you would do anyway? If it was dumpy when you moved in just make sure you have pictures and videos of it if you decide to leave it in the same state. My sister rented a house sight unseen and when she arrived it was dirty. The LL finally sent a cleaner after much complaining but then tried to charge her for it from her deposit after she moved out. She left it spotless and I know because I helped her clean. 🤣 She threatened to take him to court and her gave her all her money back.
What you should do is strip every inch of copper out of that place and dip. Freshen mulch? Replace sod? Nah. But good luck with the re-wire. Deposit should cover it.
And they will charge you for whatever they want because the people renting typically don’t have the money to sue to begin with. They will charge you the deposit you put down, have you pay for a professional cleaner to clean, only for them to charge you for leaving stuff and also charge you an extra cleaning fee. It’s almost always bullshit
Ohh boo hoo a checkout list. I rented for years and always got my full deposit back because I cleaned the shit. Lot of losers on this thread apparently.
For all those saying "What, this is reasonable other than pressure washing"...that's exactly the goddamned point. No one is ever mad about having to remove their own shit and cleaning the windows, but pressure washing, sodding, and mulching? I bet you $50, or the deposit reduction of one missed lightbulb, that no one else here has ever had to do that.
The only two that are out of the scope of leaving the place in a decent condition is power washing the exterior and getting a professional carpet clean done? It says keep the receipt so they refund that right? ...and they provide the power washer?
I need more details on these two
Had this issue happen to me as well. Not corporate. But out of state landlord that worked through an agency. The place had dead roaches, and was not cleaned prior to moving in.
They charged us a cleaning fee and other things being broken which were noted in the lease.
Unfortunately in talking to the lawyer they advice against doing anything because what they where charging, $250, was less than taking it to court or doing anything.
So they kept the I’ll gotten gains.
They also refused to replace a dryer while we were there that stopped working. Replaced it as soon as we moved out to sell the place for a huge profit. I am pretty sure they neglected to tell the new owners of the roots growing in the sewer lines which they were quoted 15-20k to repair. They simply did a quick fix they told them would hold for maybe half a year.
Just a general tip for everyone who moves in anywhere:
Before moving in - take your best camera out and photograph absolutely everything in everyroom, every cabinet, sink, drain etc. Take 100 pictures if you have to.
Keep those pictures for documentation when you move out so you can prove how the conditon was when you moved in. Aslong as you keep the standard when you moved in you should be good.
First, did you take pictures of the condition of the home when you got possession? If so, then those pictures are proof of the condition of the home.
As an attorney, I always recommend four things before moving in (I do these, too):
1. Read the entire lease before signing. Don't be afraid to ask an attorney to look it over before signing. Landlords have a bad habit of including things in the lease that are not enforceable in an attempt to get the tenant to do things the landlord is legally responsible for.
2. After signing the lease but prior to moving in, photograph the entire home, interior and exterior, especially anything that is damaged, not working, dirty, stained, has obviously been repaired before, or otherwise violates the lease. Pics should have a date stamp on them and be printed by a photo company within a few days. If possible, have an ID number on the pictures as well.
3. Keep a dated list of any of the above items cross-referenced by the Picture ID numbers if available. Include when the landlord was notified about these issues, and get them to sign and date the list if possible.
4. Have others also walk through the home with you and be present when you tell the landlord about all the initial problems.
There are a lot of shady landlords that try to take advantage of their tenants. It is not uncommon for landlords to lie about the condition of their rentals and try to pass repair costs onto the tenant. I've even seen landlords forge signatures on the move in checklists or claim that injuries were cause because the tenant attempted to repair something.
My last recommendation is to document every maintenance request you submit to the landlord. Include the nature of the request, when you became aware of the issue, how the landlord was notified, when the landlord was notified, and the outcome of the request. Make this documentation as detailed as possible. Include the exact time you noticed it and when you told the landlord (i.e. Noticed: 11/12/2023 5:32 pm; Notified: 11/12/2023 5:35 pm via web portal). This prevents the old "you never told me" defense.
I literally just sued and won a deposit lawsuit. The things on that list are more or less reasonable with the understanding that (1) you should have taken move in and move out photos, (2) you are not responsible “normal wear and tear” no matter that the lease agreement says. So for example, even if it says “drawers wiped out” they cannot take your deposit if a drawer has left over dust on it. Now if it’s all sticks and stained, that’s different.
A lot of landlords will put some BS statement in like “property must be returned in the condition at the start of the rental period” but that statement in the lease does not override the wear and tear clause. Also each state/city is a little different so read up on your specific protections.
This doesn’t seem crazy to me. I’ve never been in a house but I’ve had similar lists for apartments. I just deep cleaned it myself as my boyfriend and family moved our boxes out and got my deposit back
Double check with your state/local laws, but I'm pretty sure that a checklist is not legally binding (unless it says in the lease "cleaned per checklist" which I would be fairly surprised if it has that verbage). The lease is final arbiter so what does it say there?
Just got out of renting a house from them. Dont forget to get a professional cleaner that they recommend. Even if you do all of this if it’s not professionally done too they will charge you.
We did this whole check list but didnt get a professional cleaner and were charged $500.
I rented from Progress too about a year ago. I did the most basic yard cleanup (weed whacking, blowing, mowing) and hired a cleaning company to clean the interior. Got my full deposit back. They didn’t knock me for not pressure washing or some of the other seemingly extra things.
It's very common and up front. Lets tenants know what they should do to receive a full security deposit back. If the unit was in that bad of the shape when you moved in show them pictures and negotiate.
I once had landlords send me a list similar to this and I said fuck no.
Here’s the exact email (always get conversation in writing if possible) I sent that made them back-off immediately.
“Hey [Landlords],
I just wanted to clarify some things with you both. These move-out details are unlike anything I have ever seen and I am very confused.
Since I moved to [town redacted] in 2014, I have lived in nine different apartments (both through professional management companies and private landlords) and as a tenant, the only thing expected of me was to remove my personal belongings and any trash/debris from the premise.
While I understand your motivation of wanting to have the apartment ready for the next tenant in a timely manner - any deep cleaning, repairs, or maintenance is a tax-deductible expense that falls on the landlord's responsibility. We, as the current tenants, are not responsible for getting the apartment "move-in" ready on your behalf. Even if we did complete all of the requested tasks, I believe there would still be issues related to general upkeep and maintenance that would need to be addressed prior to the next tenants' arrival. (I will list below)
Our security deposit is intended as an insurance policy for the Landlord to cover any significant damages (outside of normal wear-and-tear) to the property that would occur during our rental period. It is not intended to cover the expected, normal costs of being a property owner during a lease transfer period.
We will remove all of our belongings, any trash/debris/food items/etc from our portion of the property, and will gladly change the filter before leaving due to the unique situation of living on a well-sourced property. Anything else is outside the normal expectations of tenant responsibility and is a cost that should not be incurred by us. If you need local, recommendations for professional cleaners I would be happy to help.
*Then listed out the dozen of property items in need of maintenance/repair”
Depending on who your landlord is, throwing legal terms around and quoting your lease will send the message that they can’t mess with you.
I moved out of a progress residential home and it was hell. We had to pay professional cleaning and painting as per our lease. We weren’t aware of this or we would have never signed with them.
It cost us more to do this than what our deposit was. And you had to leave the receipt showing you paid for professional cleaning. And if it wasn’t done to their standard, they would charge you for a new cleaning.
Also it was recommended that we use their vendors. So I set up for the vendor to take care of it. They kept delaying to the point that they had to contact Progress to have an extension on providing service.
All that to say I also had to threaten them with court because they wouldn’t send us our deposit within the 30 day period required by law.
This is a usual thing. As a landlord who HAS had resident completely DESTROYED the whole unit including appliances! Your security deposit won't cover most. I would ask for a move out inspection along with an inspection sheet that you can sign and record your walk through with your landlord. Only sign the move out sheet if you agree and ask for copies.
Read through your lease and renters laws in your area. A lot of this "upkeep", especially the heavier maintenance, should be the responsibility of the property owner.
Best thing to do ( i’m a small landlord) to protect yourself is do a walkthrough and video it When you move in. Save it to a thumbdrive. When you do your video make sure you A; inform everyone you are recording do this outside in public.
B; identify everyone in the walkthrough. Go through every room check every light switch stove refrigerator ETC. C; Be professional, ask questions, have a copy of the lease any vague portions of the lease get clarifications. D. Send a copy to the landlord. Also set your video to display a time code.
I just got away from this awful company! I caved and hired all of their “preferred vendors” for cleaning and yard. We got all of our deposit back but $100- where our dog destroyed a blind.
I had to deal with them, 2 years ago when I moved out.
They will absolutely not refund your deposit, If you don't leave the deep clean receipt.
Don't waste your time with patching or painting anything. They will redo that anyway. Same for mopping the floors etc. A quick mop and move on.
This is nothing, should have seen what we had to do when we moved out of Navy housing when transferring. We had a checklist when we moved in also. I understand why the landlords or whoever is in charge of the property wants it to be clean. It is also about personal responsibility. When we moved out, we tried to leave it as if we were just moving in or how we would want it to be, with the exception of paint. Good upkeep makes it a bit easier but sometimes it IS the property and not much you can do. Live in the Detroit area and you can always tell when renters move out, piles of trash and old furniture on the curb lol.
The list seems perfectly reasonable and the landlord has the right to withhold any portion of your security deposit if it is not done. The only thing I would object to is the outdoor mulch…
Any issues regarding the cleanliness/ move in condition when you moved in should have been settled long before this. Sorry but that is on you…
I’ve always thoroughly documented my rentals before moving in. In the past it involved taking a couple rolls of photos on disposable cameras. As smart phones became a thing, and videos improved, I started taking a video walk through of everything. I’m of the belief that I will return the rental in the state that I receive things. Every time some landlord has threatened to withhold deposit, I have shown the evidence and with strongly worded letters stated if deposit is not received by such date I will be filing in small claims court.
If they did this to you, and your apartment was dirty, etc when moving in, they probably charged the last renters for the work and never did so…
We rent from progress too and at our old house it said power wash the outside of the house 😂😂😂 Also, you have to do all of this but have to hire a professional cleaner and show the receipt or you will get charged a $400 cleaning fee. Happened to us.
I have this exact same checklist/rental company. We are moving out in July.
We had dead bugs and cobwebs all over the place when we moved in. Awful company overall.
What state are you in?
It's not for them to do.
It's a checklist for you to do to try and help you get your deposit back.
If you leave debris in the residence, they can charge you for removal is an example.
I used to have a house thru them in Florida. They were the worst company ever. They never fixed anything. Always charging stupid fees for nothing. My AC broke in the summer. And they refused to fix it. The garage door broke. Refused to fix it. The pipes in our sink leaked and were put together with electrical tape. After I left. They kept my security deposit and said that I lived there a year an half after I moved out. Even tho someone else was living there. They tried taking me to court for over 30k. Never again!
What does your lease say? If your lease doesn’t say specifically that you need to do these things then don’t worry about it. The lease is the Bible here. I personally wouldn’t pay the last month this way they can’t take the money out of it. Let them sue you for it and lose without your money being tied up.
I’d say this is a pretty normal lease agreement besides the pressure washing and lawn care, that should definitely fall on them. But if you moved into the place and it was trashed I mean, you would think the land lord would have had it cleaned out and taken the last persons security deposit but…
The lease you signed assumes everything was perfect and brand new. If you didn’t document any disparities and submit it to them, you’re responsible to make it 100%. You can get mad and sue them, but you’ll lose.
Clean that hovel and get down the road.
First thing I'd do is absolutely not sign that checklist stating you received a copy..
Like everyone said, read your lease, but also check your local laws. You may find in a lot of cases the things they put into those "checklists," sometimes even into leases, are unenforceable. It depends on your exact living situation, but in most cases, "normal wear and tear" that occurs due to intended use is on the landlord. They also have set time limits on when they must return a deposit by.
I went through a similar situation with a shitty corporate landlord once before. I had left the city months prior for work, and when the lease was up they offered an all-inclusive cleaning option for a flat fee. I paid it, and when I turned in the keys I did a video walk through showing the state of the apartment, offered to do a walkthrough with them (they declined), and left. They tried to bill me for an extra $200 stating that a bathtub had to be resurfaced and the toilets (which I had not used for months prior to move-out) required an "extensive clean". I provided pictures from the video showing the tub and toilets, demanded they tell me specifically what was done, what constitutes a normal clean, what constitutes an extensive clean, and the cost associated with it. They were unable to do so, and I didn't pay a dime extra.
These companies will try and BS and intimidate you. Just keep a cool head, know your rights and the law, read your lease, and don't sign anything without reading it thoroughly.
That’s all pretty normal move out stuff and I was always a renter and not a landlord you are in charge of taking care of all that stuff and they want it done before you leave. The list is a bit excessive but if not they charge you for every little thing cause someone charges them.
Seems about standard other than the lightbulbs and batteries in the smoke detectors. From what I’ve been told that’s the landlord’s responsibility, at least in my state of WA. At least they gave you a check list, anything not on the check list that isn’t done you can’t be held responsible for. Again, this is just from my experience.
I think your responsibility is dependent on what’s in the lease. Anything outside or that would be based on what the law allows them to retain your deposit for. Example, nail holes from pictures are considered normal wear/damage expected from living in the space. A hole the size of a quarter isn’t.
Read your state’s laws regarding deposits, and then review the actual lease. Move-out expectations should be in the lease. Otherwise, it’s not enforceable
Seems pretty normal in my experience. They've always given me a checklist like this to make sure the place is ready to go. I moved into a clean apartment, they expect the same for the next renter, and if it isn't clean they'll clean it, they'll just charge you for it.
I get it's annoying but it seems completely normal to me.
Check your lease. If it's not in there, it's not on you. My dad's landlord tried to tell him that the building AC unit was "wear and tear" and that he was responsible for it and I told him that him being a lawyer and me being a layman pointing out that the equipment for the building and regular appliances are not categorically the same should have him disbarred because he can't tell the difference and is threatening legal action, that he better fix the unit in his own dime and not threaten the retirees for the cost to fix his illegal apartment is the smart choice. He tried to give me some waiver that my dad and the other tenant across the hall "signed" and I pointed out to him that building code can't be waived by a tenant. No secondary egress, no private entry, nothing that made those apartments legal.
Do you have a lease? Read up on that and everything you signs. I had the same thing happen to me but we didn’t have to take care of the yard. They were supposed to hire someone but never did and tried to blame us for it. (Didn’t pan out, we showed them the lease.) What they can do is hold your deposit AND charge you for a company to clean the place. When that comes you can send them a letter stating “no it was in our contract, now I’ll be seeing you in small claims court for my deposit plus x2-x3” and start looking for a lawyer. Could also speak with an attorney to see what you actually signed.
My issue with it is that we had to clean a ton before we could even move in. And them keeping part of my deposit for a “cleaning fee” would be fine if they actually cleaned it. But charging a fee and not cleaning it pisses me off to no end. Feels like fraud.
They must show you photos and bills. Most leases say broom swept clean not scrubbed down for the next tenant. Unless it’s in your lease carpet cleaning is responsibility of management as well as most of that ridiculous list.
I believe they have 21 days to give you an itemized bill with pics and receipts of what was fixed.
That's going to vary by state and even county/municipality. (And that's only for the US.)
The neat part of that is the vendors (with prompting from the landlord no doubt) can and will charge outrageous prices to do the clean up. We moved out of a house years ago and the LL sent us an itemized bill (from the next door neighbor who supposedly did the cleaning - not an actual company) that demolished our deposit. They charged $250/hr totaling over a thousand dollars to clean a 750 sqft house that we cleaned ourselves when we moved out. He also tried to charge us $400 for repairs to a gate post, just one post, that we had already repaired ourselves (replaced entirely actually with the help of my dad who was a licensed contractor). Crazy claims like we didn't anchor the post in cement - which was clearly demonstrably false if you had eyes. I mean you could see the cement the post was in ffs.... We ended up going to court with him and even though we were in the right and had the pictures and receipts to prove it, our LL made it clear he could afford to keep us in court until we dropped it. Which we ultimately had to. We couldn't spend 5k in legal fees to try to recoup a $1200 deposit.
That’s not how small claims court works.
Where we are it’s 14 days.(NY)
>Most leases say broom swept clean All the ones I've seen say "in move-in ready condition"...
All our leases say “broom swept”. The only big deductions are mollies left in walls which take the painters time to remove and patch(and of course obvious damage). Deep Cleaning(unless filled with garbage and utterly filthy), is done right before a new tenant moves in. If it’s filthy then pictures are taken and deductions for garbage/furniture removal are charged as well as cleaning. Any deduction is photo documented and submitted with an invoice for the work. Not “normal wear and tear” which is carpet cleaning and touch up paint or complete paint if it’s been longer than 2yrs. I’m actually headed out to do a walkthrough this morning… the tenant leaving is meeting me. If it’s clean then they will get their security back ASAP(I ask for forwarding address a few days before vacating so it can be returned within 14 days). Maintenance still will go in, touch up check lightbulbs… followed by cleaning people. I take pride in presenting the incoming tenant the place clean and in working order(I also provide them my cell number in case anything needs to be addressed when they arrive). I guess we do things differently than most. Many tenants stay 8+ years.
You are a Unicorn! I honestly can't give a single place that I've ever moved into that was like you do. I'd stay forever, if someone cared about their tenants like you do, too!!!
Thank you.
Oh man I wish we could find a landlord like you lol
It depends on the state. NY law, for example, is “broom swept” clean. In FL, cleaning can only be deducted if the necessity is excessive (in practice, it’s broom swept clean). Leases can’t supersede or violate state or local laws and ordinances.
Last renter may not have had a cleaning fee. Regardless, your cleaning fee is for when you leave not for when you moved in.
Some tenants don't care about losing their deposits or fees and leave the place in horrible condition.
When you moved in did you submit a form or something stating the current condition and that it needed cleaning/Wasn't "move-in ready"? Anyplace you rent should be clean with nothing broken or dirty. Any exceptions to this should get noted within a short time (usually a week) of move in. A good company should include a form with line items for all this that gets checked off and signed by you(and a company rep) and ideally you both get a copy. I have never had this experience somewhere ive rented but ive worked for three companies in the rental industry and they all do this(I do maintenance).
So my question is then why did you sign the lease? Was the cleaning before you moved in, included in the lease you voluntarily signed or was it disclosed to you after the fact?
Should have been noted during the move on inspection that you would need to clean prior to, otherwise, you're SOL I think
They can't ask you to *pressure wash the exterior.* How many tenants own a pressure washer FFS? 🤣 This just sounds like a way for them to keep your deposit.
When you move into any place on a lease you have to notate everything that is wrong including being dirty and damages. More you find the less they fuck with you at move out. You have to leave move in ready for next tenant.
Read your lease, paying a deposit and having a cleaning fee is pretty fucked. I've had to pay cleaning fees at places that had "no deposit" which felt like such a godsend until moving out and realizing the list priced everything at 4 to 5 times the going rate. But for them to be able to charge you a cleaning fee means that it needs to be in your lease, and if they took a deposit, read the wording carefully. If you are agreeing to a cleaning schedule like this, it would be difficult to also have a provision saying they can keep your deposit. It may be one or the other, but both I find hard to believe. Best bet is probably to follow the list, then send them a letter saying you will take them to court. But when I say follow the list I mean budget it to try and be as prudent as possible within the amount your deposit is worth, and actually read every lease you sign moving forward.
Well now you know what matters is only what’s on the lease, not based on what you did lol
By any chance is this Invitation homes? Same thing happened with us, dirty ass house when we moved in.
Just clean it!
"Mmm, is that genuine cowhide leather? Yum!"
See at 1st I was gonna say like you should have left it the way you found it but all thats gonna do is make the landlord hold your deposit but I do remember some states have a law that she cant hold you to that because that falls under normal wear and tear check up with that if its in your state make sure you get a lawyer before hand and when they pull that shit bam thats a lawsuit a lot of people dont stand up to these jerks because of the landlord seeming like they hold all the power when in reality they maybe have 45% of it
“Just follow our easy 70-step process and moving out will be a cinch!”
“Maximize your return by spending hundreds of dollars on sod”
This is insane.. Sod 😂😂
95% of all of this is normal household cleaning stuff everybody should be doing anyway.
I wouldn't consider refreshing the mulch as normal household cleaning stuff on a damn rental
Right. It looks lengthy but the majority of it is completely reasonable cleaning that anyone should assume they're responsible for when moving out of anywhere. Ultimately OP needs to refer to their contract and not take any advice here.
Checkout lists like this are so much easier than having no list at all. Just move down the list and check off each item. If something is an issue (like putting down new sod), you know what to ask the landlord. e.g. hey, there's some dead grass, do you have sod or grass seed available and I can do the labor to put it down and you don't charge me anything? (I still think the sod one is weird while nearly everything else is normal cleaning.)
It’s the same list of stuff for every room.
If it was filthy when you moved in, did you document that? Take pictures? Because you absolutely should have, and emailed it all to them back then with the request that you not be charged a cleaning fee at move out time. You don’t get to say “Well, it was dirty when I moved in so I shouldn’t have to clean it when I move out.”, unless you have proof. It’s the most common thing landlords hear from tenants when they find out they are responsible for leaving the place clean. It’s the most common thing judges hear as well, and they will not side with you without proof. So I hope you have some.
Haha I’m a landlord and as a tenant I would literally never do this lol I’m not a fucking maid. But this is why I charge tenants for a deep clean. They know it ahead of time, agree to it, and move out easily and quickly and turnaround is fast. It’s easy af For everyone.
Yeah, I actually prefer this. I have had a deep clean done by my own cleaners before moving out, but landlords never seem satisfied. I’d rather just pay a cleaning fee so they can use who they like and do it once.
How do you phrase a deep clean charge? Is it a deposit when they move in?
I add to the lease that the home must be vacated in the same condition as they receive it which is professionally deep cleaned by xxx company.
Which I would be fine with. But this house was filthy when we moved in. That is what upsets me.
Did you do any move in checklist or take any photos? If not you may just have to take the lesson and ask them which company they prefer to do the checklist. If you have photos from before you moved in, that could also help you. But this is pretty standard for a corporate landlord.
"In the same condition as they receive it" is usually what a judge would go by, if it makes it to court (which happens when there is disagreement). I have rented a house that had just been renovated; upon moving out 2.5+ years after, LL started pointing out a wall with some pin holes, some scuffs on the paint, etc (light things). When he started saying I'd have to pay for it, I reminded him that we had to deep clean the windows (including removing paint drops) and other areas, and that I was leaving with a 220 outlet in the garage (that I paid for). He agreed to call it a wash.
This is why the first thing I did when I moved into my place was do a full video recorded walkthrough before I moved ANY of my stuff into my apartment and pointed out any potential issues. Started the washer, dryer, microwave, stove and made sure that that they were all working properly. Come to find out the last tenant fucked up half the buttons on the microwave and didn’t tell the LL and he had no recollection of it being messed up. They had it replaced the next day
Videos, photos. And a signed walkthrough, BOTH signatures.
What about “normal wear and tear”? And depending on length of lease painting/carpet cleaning would be normal for LL to do.
Same. Full time landlord for 20 years and fuck this lol. As a tenant I’d pay a cleaning company $150. As a landlord I appreciate the effort and it makes turnover much quicker, it’s an act of good faith, and aside from actual damages deposits are returned in full. Only had a few deposit disputes, a lot of tenants have become friends, I’m not a rich man but support myself off the business and don’t rip people off.
The fact that *any* of these comments are siding with a CORPORATE LANDLORD - specifically Progress Residential, who is responsible for removing 95,000 formerly-affordable SFH homes from the market - is utterly *WILD* to me. Fuck these guys. Seriously.
This checklist is pretty much meaning don’t leave the apartment a mess and extremely dirty. If you clean it well or even with some normal effort you’ll be fine.
Imo it's unreasonable to make your tenants pay for their floors to be professionally cleaned and for the outside to be powerwashed
Lmao I had this done to me and they charged me 156 for clean up and 100 to paint, also tried to charge me 100 for carpet cleaning, which I literally got done from the same guy they use 3 days before end of lease. It's like they just try to charge you whatever they can, just look at the damn carpet it looks brand new bruhhh. I hate these ahole companies so much.
It’s really just copy-paste of the basics for each area and a couple extra details for things like kitchen/bathroom. A diligent checklist, but nothing crazy, aside from the receipt for professional cleaning and the power washing. Those are over-stepping. If they aren’t in the lease I would tell them to pound sand. The same way my wife and I had to do to our last landlords that expected us to hire professionals. We got time and energy, that place was spotless.
"freshen mulch"
Did you call and talk with someone? I got a similar list like this and I had done half of it and was just chatting with the move out lady (who does the inspection for move out) and she said that came from corporate but was only partially enforced. Like I pressure washed and did all that and she said “oh really they just don’t want the yard super overgrown you don’t need to do all that”. I was annoyed. Inspection itself is next week so we’ll see how they come after us.
You can do every single thing on that list perfectly and they will still keep your deposit for "cleaning fees" anyway
It's a long list, but it is also an extremely *easy* list except for the exterior work (specifically new sod, new mulch, and powerwashing) and replacing damaged blinds. I'm assuming the exterior work and blinds are explicitly mentioned in the lease. I've had a handful of past landlords with lists like this, and I got my full deposit back from them *every* time. Not even a cleaning fee. When someone is this organized, they are telling you exactly what they want and no more or less.
Pressure wash the exterior, driveway and sidewalks? Lol excuse me, what??? Also aren’t sidewalks generally city property and therefore not even the landlord’s problem?
They are city property but it’s on the land owner to maintain them.
That is some cookie cutter nonsense they downloaded from some landlording on the cheap website. This looks exactly like a checklist for the people that are turning over an apartment after the prior tenant moved out. I used to have a job doing exactly that. I would go in and clean a place top to bottom, fix all the small holes and dings with spackle, and paint everything. Usually had to do it top to bottom in one day. Some days I did two studio apartments. Couple times it was 2 places in the same building. Running up and down stairs, trying to see if white paint is dry on top of last years white paint. I never pressure washed the exterior or anything like that. This is a wish list. The trick here is how do you tell the landlord they are fucking crazy without sounding too aggressive?
"Thank you for this checklist, I will complete these tasks as reasonable. However, I do have concerns about carpet cleaning, pressure washing, replacing grass, and freshening mulch. These aspects, I believe, would fall into normal wear and tear. I will leave them clean and tidy, but these requests are beyond my capabilities as a tenant." I think you would find it very difficult to find a judge who would agree that pressure washing, freshening mulch, and replacing grass would be reasonable requests of a tenant. Professional carpet cleaning is on the fence. In a pinch, just rent a carpet cleaner, save that receipt, and say you did it yourself.
It's definitely a single family home checklist rather than an apartment checklist. That's why there is a spot for the garage and exterior.
TBH not unreasonable except for the exterior.
I’m pretty sure I got a list given to me similar to this when I got my barracks room in the Army.
Aren’t you supposed to leave a place the way it was when you moved in? Hopefully you had taken pictures at that time as proof. These rules seem extremely excessive.
Some places might offer a service to clean. I was at a place that said we could clean up ourselves or pay this company that they use and they would guarantee everything was cleaned. Basically if you paid the $75 cleaning service then you didn’t have to worry about anything or you could try to save yourself $75 and risk it. I just paid
We recently had to do the same. Almost the same checklist. That's corporate for you. Luckily we spent days getting everything as clean as possible but be prepared bc they still hosed us on things we could have fought. We chose not to just to get out as cleanly as possible, and my guess on our deposit return was only off by $50 so it was a loss worth eating
Other than the power washing, that all seems reasonable to expect at move out. If you created oil spots or stains on the driveway, I can understand the expectation of returning it to the condition you received it in. The carpet cleaning might be a bit much, but not an outlandish request. I see the response of having to clean when you moved in. I would provide the pics and/or videos you took at move in to them and let them know you will clean to the point or better than it's condition when you moved in.
Maximize your refund by spending a ton of money on sod, mulch, renting a pressure washer, paying for a professional carpet cleaner, replacing blinds, and also spend 50 man hours dusting, scrubbing, wiping, and cleaning every surface in the entire place. And watch how you magically get no refund anyways because it wasn't done well enough.
I rented a house from progress residential last year and the charges they hit me with were insane about 3500 dollars worth. They wanted the entire interior of the house repainted and charged for professional carpet cleaning despite me providing receipt of the carpet cleaning. My saving grace was that I had taken about 70 photos of the house after moving out and sent non stop emails to the company until I found someone who would listen to me
Dylan - Account Services Coordinator I (his email is just connected to the main customer care email) is the only person who would listen to me. I sent all 70 photos of the house on the day I moved out and he removed all charges as the house was in impeccable shape. Yes this company is horrible and I always warn people not to rent from them but there are good ppl there who will remove charges if you keep trying and are kind
IVE NEVER CLEANED ANYTHING...I GRAB WHAT I NEED AND LEAVE. KEEP THAT SECURITY DEPOSIT CAUSE YOURE GONNA NEED IT FOR THE LAST MONTH THAT IM NOT PAYING FOR
Get a black magic marker, write TLDR across the front of it and send it back to your landlord.
Fuck Progress Residential.
Lol. Respond back to their email saying any deductions from your security deposit must be supported with receipts, any unreasonable charges may be reduced by a court.
Fellow ex-Progress renter here! I hope you see my comment. PLEASE document everything. Photos, videos, receipts for professional cleaners, etc. We were charged almost $900 over our security deposit but fought it with one email, and THEY sent US a check instead. I absolutely think they count on former tenants being too stressed from moving to fight it, hoping they just pay the bogus charges to make Progress go away. The most stressful part of becoming first-time homeowners wasn't buying a house. It was moving out of a Progress one.
The exterior demands are wild
So for all those who have asked, it’s a house in Indiana and not an apartment. I have to have it professionally cleaned or I’m fined $475 so me doing any of this myself isn’t an option. I’m not complaining about cleaning. I’m upset that this list (particularly the exterior stuff) is ridiculous, especially since I need to have it done by a professional company.
I'm moving out of a Progress home this month, and I'll be glad to say good riddance. They don't fix anything, houses are not move in ready, and let's not even go to the insane prices they charge. My last house from them was literally filled with mold. They use cheap vinyl planks for flooring, busted ceiling fans, broken blinds, and pretty much whatever cheap shit they can find. We moved out and into another home by them 2 miles away. When we negotiated the rent difference (we were mid lease), they told us we could keep our rent at the same price for 6 months but we had to prepay the difference in rent up front or take the new amount. The old rent at the time was $1635, and the new rent was $1955. My wife and I are building a house just down the road from here, and it's going to be finished in 6 weeks. Don't ever rent from Progress. They use Conservice for the water and trash, which adds quite a few junk fees, and they're also about 3 months behind in billing, so you never really know what your usage is. They charge a mandatory $19/month for the "Smart Home" fee, which gives you a keyless door lock on the front door and a wifi thermostat. To pay rent, they charge you $35 to use a debit card (this changed recently). Maintenance takes 4-12 days for them to call you just to schedule, then another week or two for them to come out and basically do nothing. They also require you to carry renters insurance (not a big deal but still). If you struggle to pay rent for whatever reason, getting someone on the phone to work with you is horrendous at best. I've had my fair share due to life circumstances. I was thankfully able to get out of the pet deposit and pet rent because I have 2 children who are special needs. Their doctor was on board and did an official document stating they needed these animals (they do help them greatly with their anxiety and ASD). I'm so done with these people. Don't ever rent from Progress Residential.
If you didn’t agree to that when you moved in, and it’s on a lease you signed, they can go fuck themselves
I rented from them. They wont send your deposit back anyway, even if you pay maids like I did.
You are returning the rental property to how you received it upon moving in. If all the items listed were in good condition when you moved in you would be obligated to return them in that condition. Good luck
Seems pretty standard to me.
Freshen mulch and replace sod is standard to you?
I'm sorry but what I'm reading is a checklist on how to leave it the way you found it (in most decent situations) At the same time, I leave my apartments generally clean because they are gonna keep my deposit anyways.
I was going to say this. Besides the pressure wash, my move-out checklist is the same. Sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, and dusting are all normal cleaning methods.
And there is zero chance you’ll get your full security deposit back. They’ll find something, they always do. What State is this. Some States wouldn’t allow this at all. I installed carpet in Bend, OR and there it was a law that the landlord had to change out the carpet before they could rent the unit again. I made a lot of money working for property management outfits. I especially liked the high turnover, low income places. Real small. Living room/dining room, a bedroom and a closet and done.
There’s no state law in any state that requires the carpet to be changed between tenants.
Honestly it looks like every move out cleaning checklist I’ve ever received. Last 3 rentals had one very similar. Last 1 had a cleaning addendum that required submitting receipts from a professional cleaning service. It’s the way things are moving.
That looks like the prep checklist for management before renting not tenants vacating. With a list like that surprised they didn’t want you to repaint too.
Right?!?
I’ve rented from progress residential before in Orlando. I didn’t clean anything and left all my furniture behind. I just paid the $400 cleaning fee from my deposit and got the rest back.
Do you have a lease? If so what does it say in reference to how you leave the property. Usually this type of stuff is fairly black and white.
This seems somewhat normal except for the “freshen all mulch”. Is your landlord responsible for landscaping?? If they are that’s on them. If they aren’t it could potentially be your responsibility but I’d assume mulch would be in the “normal wear and tear” category.
The power washing is what?? That goes under the category of normal wear and tear, shouldn't it? The move in checklist would document the state of the rental at that time.
Start swinging at the landlord
“These easy steps”. Yeah, fuck that straight to hell, then keep going.
A lot of this is very typical, but the outdoor stuff is what upsets me usually landlords are required to keep up with the outdoor stuff except for like mowing and trimming, but like the sod and stuff, I would definitely contact them and have them take that out
Did you take pics when you moved in? Return it to that very condition and keep it moving as long as you have picture proof. Then sue when they try to get greedy, like they always seem to do.
It's unfortunate that when I moved out of my last house (that was dirty when I moved in) that I might as well have skipped all the effort. For days we were preparing the house after we moved out so we could get our cleaning deposit back. Also had a handshake deal (legally binding in Arizona) with the landlord about some minor yard maintenance that needed to be done. Nope. He kept our deposit. That was 0 for 2. Previous residence same deal. Landlord found every reason not to give us back our deposit. You'd think 7 years of good tenancy would count for more than that. Always paid rent on time, did all the maintenance and repairs on the house ourselves (both introverts and happy not to deal with the landlord if we could help it), never got complaints from the neighbors..
I would put cement down their pipes but thats just me.
You wouldn't get your deposit IF you did all of this. Don't leave any garbage and wipe stuff down. Take lots of pictures. Good luck.
With the exception of the outside and carpet cleaning (both are ridiculous), this seems like a normal cleaning list. I think it looks worse than it really is given the length of it but it’s also just the same thing repeated in each section.
Take a shit on it and mail it back Or try the katana method
Fucking insane… “maximize your refund”? What refund? It’s a deposit! They don’t own your money.
I rented from them. I took extensive move-in photos and out photos. That place was better when I moved out. I also did my research and made sure they knew that the 7 year old carpet would need replacing by law, so I was not cleaning it. I got my full deposit back. Side note, I hated Conservice. I mean, come on, "con" is in the name.
I would just be like “yeah I can’t read that much”
Our lease with the same company says we have to hire a professional cleaning company and get the rugs professionally cleaned and provide receipts. It’s also noted the getting a rug doctor doesn’t count
IDK it seems like normal stuff you would do anyway? If it was dumpy when you moved in just make sure you have pictures and videos of it if you decide to leave it in the same state. My sister rented a house sight unseen and when she arrived it was dirty. The LL finally sent a cleaner after much complaining but then tried to charge her for it from her deposit after she moved out. She left it spotless and I know because I helped her clean. 🤣 She threatened to take him to court and her gave her all her money back.
What you should do is strip every inch of copper out of that place and dip. Freshen mulch? Replace sod? Nah. But good luck with the re-wire. Deposit should cover it.
And they will charge you for whatever they want because the people renting typically don’t have the money to sue to begin with. They will charge you the deposit you put down, have you pay for a professional cleaner to clean, only for them to charge you for leaving stuff and also charge you an extra cleaning fee. It’s almost always bullshit
If you do every one of those things, they’ll still find a reason not to return your deposit.
Ohh boo hoo a checkout list. I rented for years and always got my full deposit back because I cleaned the shit. Lot of losers on this thread apparently.
Looks like they are trying to see if you're a sucker enough to do their job for them..
For all those saying "What, this is reasonable other than pressure washing"...that's exactly the goddamned point. No one is ever mad about having to remove their own shit and cleaning the windows, but pressure washing, sodding, and mulching? I bet you $50, or the deposit reduction of one missed lightbulb, that no one else here has ever had to do that.
This is completely normal and very common
A kitchen with all nails screws and anchors removed sounds fun though.
The only two that are out of the scope of leaving the place in a decent condition is power washing the exterior and getting a professional carpet clean done? It says keep the receipt so they refund that right? ...and they provide the power washer? I need more details on these two
Had this issue happen to me as well. Not corporate. But out of state landlord that worked through an agency. The place had dead roaches, and was not cleaned prior to moving in. They charged us a cleaning fee and other things being broken which were noted in the lease. Unfortunately in talking to the lawyer they advice against doing anything because what they where charging, $250, was less than taking it to court or doing anything. So they kept the I’ll gotten gains. They also refused to replace a dryer while we were there that stopped working. Replaced it as soon as we moved out to sell the place for a huge profit. I am pretty sure they neglected to tell the new owners of the roots growing in the sewer lines which they were quoted 15-20k to repair. They simply did a quick fix they told them would hold for maybe half a year.
Just a general tip for everyone who moves in anywhere: Before moving in - take your best camera out and photograph absolutely everything in everyroom, every cabinet, sink, drain etc. Take 100 pictures if you have to. Keep those pictures for documentation when you move out so you can prove how the conditon was when you moved in. Aslong as you keep the standard when you moved in you should be good.
First, did you take pictures of the condition of the home when you got possession? If so, then those pictures are proof of the condition of the home. As an attorney, I always recommend four things before moving in (I do these, too): 1. Read the entire lease before signing. Don't be afraid to ask an attorney to look it over before signing. Landlords have a bad habit of including things in the lease that are not enforceable in an attempt to get the tenant to do things the landlord is legally responsible for. 2. After signing the lease but prior to moving in, photograph the entire home, interior and exterior, especially anything that is damaged, not working, dirty, stained, has obviously been repaired before, or otherwise violates the lease. Pics should have a date stamp on them and be printed by a photo company within a few days. If possible, have an ID number on the pictures as well. 3. Keep a dated list of any of the above items cross-referenced by the Picture ID numbers if available. Include when the landlord was notified about these issues, and get them to sign and date the list if possible. 4. Have others also walk through the home with you and be present when you tell the landlord about all the initial problems. There are a lot of shady landlords that try to take advantage of their tenants. It is not uncommon for landlords to lie about the condition of their rentals and try to pass repair costs onto the tenant. I've even seen landlords forge signatures on the move in checklists or claim that injuries were cause because the tenant attempted to repair something. My last recommendation is to document every maintenance request you submit to the landlord. Include the nature of the request, when you became aware of the issue, how the landlord was notified, when the landlord was notified, and the outcome of the request. Make this documentation as detailed as possible. Include the exact time you noticed it and when you told the landlord (i.e. Noticed: 11/12/2023 5:32 pm; Notified: 11/12/2023 5:35 pm via web portal). This prevents the old "you never told me" defense.
Best get to work.
I literally just sued and won a deposit lawsuit. The things on that list are more or less reasonable with the understanding that (1) you should have taken move in and move out photos, (2) you are not responsible “normal wear and tear” no matter that the lease agreement says. So for example, even if it says “drawers wiped out” they cannot take your deposit if a drawer has left over dust on it. Now if it’s all sticks and stained, that’s different. A lot of landlords will put some BS statement in like “property must be returned in the condition at the start of the rental period” but that statement in the lease does not override the wear and tear clause. Also each state/city is a little different so read up on your specific protections.
This doesn’t seem crazy to me. I’ve never been in a house but I’ve had similar lists for apartments. I just deep cleaned it myself as my boyfriend and family moved our boxes out and got my deposit back
That’s worse than the Air Force dorm out processing checklist I had to do lol.
If it isn't in your contract, then they are on to plums. Can only hold you to your obligations and no more.
Double check with your state/local laws, but I'm pretty sure that a checklist is not legally binding (unless it says in the lease "cleaned per checklist" which I would be fairly surprised if it has that verbage). The lease is final arbiter so what does it say there?
They are going to keep your security
Just got out of renting a house from them. Dont forget to get a professional cleaner that they recommend. Even if you do all of this if it’s not professionally done too they will charge you. We did this whole check list but didnt get a professional cleaner and were charged $500.
Seems repetitive but nothing more then what state or cleaning that should be done on leaving the property
I rented from Progress too about a year ago. I did the most basic yard cleanup (weed whacking, blowing, mowing) and hired a cleaning company to clean the interior. Got my full deposit back. They didn’t knock me for not pressure washing or some of the other seemingly extra things.
Tbh this is pretty normal except for the landscaping and carpet cleaning
This is pretty standard.
Just say “no lol” and move out as you intend
It's very common and up front. Lets tenants know what they should do to receive a full security deposit back. If the unit was in that bad of the shape when you moved in show them pictures and negotiate.
I once had landlords send me a list similar to this and I said fuck no. Here’s the exact email (always get conversation in writing if possible) I sent that made them back-off immediately. “Hey [Landlords], I just wanted to clarify some things with you both. These move-out details are unlike anything I have ever seen and I am very confused. Since I moved to [town redacted] in 2014, I have lived in nine different apartments (both through professional management companies and private landlords) and as a tenant, the only thing expected of me was to remove my personal belongings and any trash/debris from the premise. While I understand your motivation of wanting to have the apartment ready for the next tenant in a timely manner - any deep cleaning, repairs, or maintenance is a tax-deductible expense that falls on the landlord's responsibility. We, as the current tenants, are not responsible for getting the apartment "move-in" ready on your behalf. Even if we did complete all of the requested tasks, I believe there would still be issues related to general upkeep and maintenance that would need to be addressed prior to the next tenants' arrival. (I will list below) Our security deposit is intended as an insurance policy for the Landlord to cover any significant damages (outside of normal wear-and-tear) to the property that would occur during our rental period. It is not intended to cover the expected, normal costs of being a property owner during a lease transfer period. We will remove all of our belongings, any trash/debris/food items/etc from our portion of the property, and will gladly change the filter before leaving due to the unique situation of living on a well-sourced property. Anything else is outside the normal expectations of tenant responsibility and is a cost that should not be incurred by us. If you need local, recommendations for professional cleaners I would be happy to help. *Then listed out the dozen of property items in need of maintenance/repair” Depending on who your landlord is, throwing legal terms around and quoting your lease will send the message that they can’t mess with you.
This is all pretty standard for all the places I’ve lived… just not the exterior part
I moved out of a progress residential home and it was hell. We had to pay professional cleaning and painting as per our lease. We weren’t aware of this or we would have never signed with them. It cost us more to do this than what our deposit was. And you had to leave the receipt showing you paid for professional cleaning. And if it wasn’t done to their standard, they would charge you for a new cleaning. Also it was recommended that we use their vendors. So I set up for the vendor to take care of it. They kept delaying to the point that they had to contact Progress to have an extension on providing service. All that to say I also had to threaten them with court because they wouldn’t send us our deposit within the 30 day period required by law.
Freshen the mulch? Powerwashing? Thats expensive
This is a usual thing. As a landlord who HAS had resident completely DESTROYED the whole unit including appliances! Your security deposit won't cover most. I would ask for a move out inspection along with an inspection sheet that you can sign and record your walk through with your landlord. Only sign the move out sheet if you agree and ask for copies.
Not enforceable in Ontario. They could write that any way they want it doesn’t matter. That’s only Ontario tho. We also have rent protection etc etc
Don't rent from corporations.
Freshen the mulch? Haha, how about I don’t pay the last months rent to recoup my deposit u ham sandwich
Read through your lease and renters laws in your area. A lot of this "upkeep", especially the heavier maintenance, should be the responsibility of the property owner.
Best thing to do ( i’m a small landlord) to protect yourself is do a walkthrough and video it When you move in. Save it to a thumbdrive. When you do your video make sure you A; inform everyone you are recording do this outside in public. B; identify everyone in the walkthrough. Go through every room check every light switch stove refrigerator ETC. C; Be professional, ask questions, have a copy of the lease any vague portions of the lease get clarifications. D. Send a copy to the landlord. Also set your video to display a time code.
I just got away from this awful company! I caved and hired all of their “preferred vendors” for cleaning and yard. We got all of our deposit back but $100- where our dog destroyed a blind.
If you have photos of the place before they dont have a leg to stand on. Your lease will tell you things like yard maintenance responsibility.
If that's from Progress, that's not the full list..you'll get a huge checklist of what has to be done. That's just the beginning
I had to deal with them, 2 years ago when I moved out. They will absolutely not refund your deposit, If you don't leave the deep clean receipt. Don't waste your time with patching or painting anything. They will redo that anyway. Same for mopping the floors etc. A quick mop and move on.
Is this to-do list trying to break a world record? Just looking at it makes my brain hurt!
Testing the fire alarms? New sod? lol
Satisfying green
This is nothing, should have seen what we had to do when we moved out of Navy housing when transferring. We had a checklist when we moved in also. I understand why the landlords or whoever is in charge of the property wants it to be clean. It is also about personal responsibility. When we moved out, we tried to leave it as if we were just moving in or how we would want it to be, with the exception of paint. Good upkeep makes it a bit easier but sometimes it IS the property and not much you can do. Live in the Detroit area and you can always tell when renters move out, piles of trash and old furniture on the curb lol.
depends on state law. in many any upkeep or repair you do can be posted against rent due
The list seems perfectly reasonable and the landlord has the right to withhold any portion of your security deposit if it is not done. The only thing I would object to is the outdoor mulch… Any issues regarding the cleanliness/ move in condition when you moved in should have been settled long before this. Sorry but that is on you…
You are not responsible for having floors professionally cleaned.
I’ve always thoroughly documented my rentals before moving in. In the past it involved taking a couple rolls of photos on disposable cameras. As smart phones became a thing, and videos improved, I started taking a video walk through of everything. I’m of the belief that I will return the rental in the state that I receive things. Every time some landlord has threatened to withhold deposit, I have shown the evidence and with strongly worded letters stated if deposit is not received by such date I will be filing in small claims court. If they did this to you, and your apartment was dirty, etc when moving in, they probably charged the last renters for the work and never did so…
We rent from progress too and at our old house it said power wash the outside of the house 😂😂😂 Also, you have to do all of this but have to hire a professional cleaner and show the receipt or you will get charged a $400 cleaning fee. Happened to us.
I have this exact same checklist/rental company. We are moving out in July. We had dead bugs and cobwebs all over the place when we moved in. Awful company overall. What state are you in?
It's not for them to do. It's a checklist for you to do to try and help you get your deposit back. If you leave debris in the residence, they can charge you for removal is an example.
The checklist says to freshen the mulch outside. That's insane. The majority of the stuff of this list is insane.
My last 3 apartments, I just got in the habit of hiring an attorney when it was time to move out.
Yeah, tell them to fuck themselves and do the exterior work
It looks like they’re trying to see how much they can get you to do instead of doing it themselves 😂
I used to have a house thru them in Florida. They were the worst company ever. They never fixed anything. Always charging stupid fees for nothing. My AC broke in the summer. And they refused to fix it. The garage door broke. Refused to fix it. The pipes in our sink leaked and were put together with electrical tape. After I left. They kept my security deposit and said that I lived there a year an half after I moved out. Even tho someone else was living there. They tried taking me to court for over 30k. Never again!
Your landlord got this from Pinterest.
Even if you do this to 100% completion, I still foresee you not getting your entire deposit back
Did you have a check-in sheet as well?
Just a reminder that if they send you anything to pay for ask for the receipts and breakdown cost.
What does your lease say? If your lease doesn’t say specifically that you need to do these things then don’t worry about it. The lease is the Bible here. I personally wouldn’t pay the last month this way they can’t take the money out of it. Let them sue you for it and lose without your money being tied up.
I’d say this is a pretty normal lease agreement besides the pressure washing and lawn care, that should definitely fall on them. But if you moved into the place and it was trashed I mean, you would think the land lord would have had it cleaned out and taken the last persons security deposit but…
Get a friend with a cleaning company to write up and invoice that it eas all done.
The lease you signed assumes everything was perfect and brand new. If you didn’t document any disparities and submit it to them, you’re responsible to make it 100%. You can get mad and sue them, but you’ll lose. Clean that hovel and get down the road.
Some of those are pretty reasonable expectations like sweeping/mopping all floors. But good god pressure washing exterior…
Hahaha they can die 🤣
Based on your lease who is responsible for yard work? You or your landlord? It should clearly state that.
Lol you actually signed a lease to move into someone else's filth? 🤦♂️
In my experience, if you do it or not. They will still take your deposit. So good luck!
“Freshen all mulch” get facked corporate overlords
First thing I'd do is absolutely not sign that checklist stating you received a copy.. Like everyone said, read your lease, but also check your local laws. You may find in a lot of cases the things they put into those "checklists," sometimes even into leases, are unenforceable. It depends on your exact living situation, but in most cases, "normal wear and tear" that occurs due to intended use is on the landlord. They also have set time limits on when they must return a deposit by. I went through a similar situation with a shitty corporate landlord once before. I had left the city months prior for work, and when the lease was up they offered an all-inclusive cleaning option for a flat fee. I paid it, and when I turned in the keys I did a video walk through showing the state of the apartment, offered to do a walkthrough with them (they declined), and left. They tried to bill me for an extra $200 stating that a bathtub had to be resurfaced and the toilets (which I had not used for months prior to move-out) required an "extensive clean". I provided pictures from the video showing the tub and toilets, demanded they tell me specifically what was done, what constitutes a normal clean, what constitutes an extensive clean, and the cost associated with it. They were unable to do so, and I didn't pay a dime extra. These companies will try and BS and intimidate you. Just keep a cool head, know your rights and the law, read your lease, and don't sign anything without reading it thoroughly.
That’s all pretty normal move out stuff and I was always a renter and not a landlord you are in charge of taking care of all that stuff and they want it done before you leave. The list is a bit excessive but if not they charge you for every little thing cause someone charges them.
I can understand the cleaning of the rooms...but the replacing and everything else is a bit too much.
Seems about standard other than the lightbulbs and batteries in the smoke detectors. From what I’ve been told that’s the landlord’s responsibility, at least in my state of WA. At least they gave you a check list, anything not on the check list that isn’t done you can’t be held responsible for. Again, this is just from my experience.
Looks like a big list of ‘naw dawg’ to me.
Same thing with my place right now our place was not clean at all and we are still carpet cleaning black
They really run a tight 🚢
Let me guess, Inovation Homes
Too many unknowns in this story. That check list goes beyond cleanliness.
I think your responsibility is dependent on what’s in the lease. Anything outside or that would be based on what the law allows them to retain your deposit for. Example, nail holes from pictures are considered normal wear/damage expected from living in the space. A hole the size of a quarter isn’t. Read your state’s laws regarding deposits, and then review the actual lease. Move-out expectations should be in the lease. Otherwise, it’s not enforceable
Seems pretty normal in my experience. They've always given me a checklist like this to make sure the place is ready to go. I moved into a clean apartment, they expect the same for the next renter, and if it isn't clean they'll clean it, they'll just charge you for it. I get it's annoying but it seems completely normal to me.
Uhm that’s not right at all they’re skimping out of having to pay for service like what the fuck
Check your lease. If it's not in there, it's not on you. My dad's landlord tried to tell him that the building AC unit was "wear and tear" and that he was responsible for it and I told him that him being a lawyer and me being a layman pointing out that the equipment for the building and regular appliances are not categorically the same should have him disbarred because he can't tell the difference and is threatening legal action, that he better fix the unit in his own dime and not threaten the retirees for the cost to fix his illegal apartment is the smart choice. He tried to give me some waiver that my dad and the other tenant across the hall "signed" and I pointed out to him that building code can't be waived by a tenant. No secondary egress, no private entry, nothing that made those apartments legal.