Do you hire professional cleaners between tenants?

Question

I'm curious how most landlords and property managers handle turnovers between tenants.

Do you typically:

• Have the outgoing tenant clean before move-out?
• Hire a professional cleaning company every time?
• Only hire cleaners when the property needs a deep clean?
• Handle it yourself?

I'd love to hear what has worked best for you and why.

Janice Carter · Answer

@Vaughn Baldwin I require the outgoing tenant to leave the property clean according to the lease but I still hire a professional cleaning company between every tenant. It helps ensure a consistent standard, gives the new tenant a great first impression and reduces the likelihood of complaints after move-in.

Mason Weiss · Answer

I I always get professional cleaning done, no need to skimp here and negatively impact a future tenant's experience.

Sara Valentine · Answer

My contract requires that the tenant leave in property in the same condition it was when they moved in - and specifically states that the rental must be cleaned by a licensed professional at move-out. A few weeks before a tenant moves out, I always offer to book a cleaner I prefer on behalf of the tenant since the tenant may not know any licensed cleaners - that has worked well for me and the tenant.

Drew Sygit · Answer

you really should disclose that you own a cleaning service - so this is NOT an "innocent" learning inquiry.

Vaughn Baldwin · Answer

I understand, and that's a fair point. I do own a cleaning business, but I'm not here to sell or solicit work from anyone. My goal with this post is to learn from experienced property managers and investors about how they build relationships with vendors and what they value most. I'd rather get honest feedback from people in the industry and use that to improve my business than try to market my services here. I appreciate you pointing it out.

Patrick O'Sullivan · Answer

We ask tenants to leave the property clean, but we don't count on it being move-in ready. We always do our own walkthrough during turnover, clean anything that needs attention, and take care of any maintenance or touch-ups at the same time. If it needs a deep clean, we'll bring in a professional. That process has worked well for us because we know exactly what condition the property is in before the next tenant moves in.

Jim Johnson · Answer

We stopped relying solely on move-out cleanings after walking a new resident into what looked like a clean home...until they opened the oven and refrigerator.

Ever since then, we've treated professional cleaning as part of the turnover, not an optional expense. It saves awkward conversations on move-in day.

Do you hire professional cleaners between tenants?

Do you hire professional cleaners between tenants?

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