San Diego reasonable cleaning rate?

Question

My wife and I have spent the last week and a half cleaning a rental of ours. What is a reasonable rate that can/should be charged for cleaning required to return the unit to rent ready condition (minus normal wear and tear)?

Linda West · Answer

One bed, one bath, 550 sf costs about $250 for a move out cleaning including washing walls, baseboards, windows, heavy stove/fridge cleaning, bathroom and kitchen in normal albeit dirty shape.  Painting, patching, landscape and any other make ready would add $$ to the tune of $25/hr for one, $40 hr for two.

Justin R. · Answer

@Jamie Powers About 60% of the time, my tenants are "normal" cleanliness and make an attempt to clean themselves prior to handing over the keys.  In this case, make-ready cleaning of a studio costs me $100, up to about $200 for a 3bd/2ba.  This is from reliable independent cleaners who bring supplies, but I usually supply additional speciality supplies.  I'd say it works out to $20 an hour for them.

It can, of course, vary wildly - I've spent $250 to deep clean just a kitchen, and I've spent $800 to trash out a backyard.

This doesn't include any repairs necessary - painting touch ups, replacing damaged fixtures, landscaping, etc.

Jamie Powers · Answer

3 bed 2.5 bath, approx 1500 sq ft, two stories. The planter outside required both of us for 4+ hours, walls needed scrubbing, oven and behind oven needed serious cleaning, bathrooms needed scrubbing, etc. we chose to do a most of the cleanup ourselves and I want to be reasonable. Maybe another way to ask is what is a fair hourly rate for labor when returning a rental to rent ready condition?

Linda West · Answer

Define "normal".  How large is this place?  One story or two?  Including appliance cleaning? How about yard/patio/outside space?  Tons of variables here. For a make-ready, do you want the walls washed? Baseboards?  How about holes in the walls, dings, patch and paint?