[Matt and Gail]

Originally Posted by big guy

We "inherited" a tenant when we bought our house. They had paid $500 damage deposit but no cleaning fee. They paid their rent on time and asked to rent it again next year, They departed and I went over with 2 other people to clean. They hadn't cleaned anything for the 3 months they were there. It took 3 of us 6 hours to clean the place. I would like to write them a check for $400, keeping out $100 for cleaning, and return the $400 to them in hopes they get the message that they aren't wanted for Jan, Feb, and March 2015. My husband doesn't want me to do that because he thinks that it's the norm rather than the exception. Is this so?

We have held back monies from a deposit before and sent a letter with the refunded amount using "we hope this does not come of a surprise to you but" to explain the charge. It has never been questioned. Pigs know they are pigs. We also state in our rental agreement that if you don't want to clean, please do not rent our home.

Stand up for what is right! Reasonable charges for extensive cleaning should not be questioned (IMHO).

Good luck!