After having too many tenant departures where cleaning was not done satisfactorily or junk was left behind, I have come up with a way to mitigate the potential cost. I am offering a Rent Rewards program to new tenants. I set the rent at $50/month higher than market rent. In the section of the Ontario Standard Lease that deals with rent discounts, I tell the tenant that for each month their rent is paid on time and they are not the subject of any complaints, I will credit them with $50 which I will hold onto. At the end of the first year, if they renew, I will rebate it to the tenant after a successful annual inspection in the form of a rent reduction. If they move out, they have to complete a successful move-out inspection, personally hand over their keys and provide a forwarding address which I will mail a cheque to - no e-transfers. I also include my Clean-Up Checklist as an appendix to the lease and ensure that they sign it when they sign the rest of the lease. This method should leave me with $600 that I can use to deal with any junk removal or cleaning expenses.
Do any of you foresee problems with this approach? This does not replace a last month's rent deposit.
Do any of you foresee problems with this approach? This does not replace a last month's rent deposit.