Question on adding cleanliness in a lease

[Andy Sabisch]

Here's a general question.  We have a pretty solid lease that has served us well on our properties but on the most recent move-out by a long-term tenant that always paid early, we had to clean from floor to ceiling and everything in between.  Does anyone have a cleanliness clause in their leases that that invoke when they do periodic walk through?  When we do ours we check smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, sump pump operation and overall condition but have not focused on cleanliness.  Be interested in what your thoughts are to include this in a lease (needs to be maintained to some defined degree of cleanliness rather than waiting until move-out and deduct cleaning charges from their deposit).