Is Cleaning Shared Spaces Part Of A Lodging Agreement?

[Steph170]

Hi all, we are thinking about renting our spare room out. For those of you experienced renters, I want to ask whether it is customary that part of the rental agreement is that the lodger helps to keep the house clean by actually cleaning the shared spaces every so often (not just their room), or is that not a common practice? You rent the room and the owners are solely responsible for cleaning the bathroom/ kitchen etc. Thanks in advance.

 

[Davidglen77]

For me the fair thing would be this: If the renter shares the common areas, living, dining, kitchen and has their own room then yes, I would layout upfront a cleaning schedule, like once per week we rotate vacuuming, floor mopping, bathroom, etc, so that nobody feels like they are stuck with those chores all of the time. However if its a young person such as a student, they probably will not want to do much housework, so it probably depends on the type of tenant you get and if they are looking just to rent a room or actually 'share' another person's home which includes upkeep.

 

[Girino]

Hire a maid, they are so cheap here!

 

[Crema Americana]

You can set up a cleaning schedule.. but you're not sure if they're good at cleaning or not or even if they want to, and that opens up another whole can of worms. I'd probably include maid service once or twice a week into the rent (even if you end up being the maid) and be clear that they are to clean up after themselves (washing their own dishes after use, not leaving stuff laying around, not leaving gross stuff in the bathroom sink, etc.)

 

[GS_Dirtboy]

In my experience these agreements always create arguments as different people have different ideas about what constitutes clean and when - even with a schedule.

Good luck.

 

[nlaruccia]

In my experiences renting a room here or anywhere in the world I was always told to keep my room tidy and wash the plates, glasses and cookware I had used. Then someone would come in once a week to clean the common area and vacuum my room if it had a carpet. I was never told I had to share in cleaning the entire common area and messes others made. I don't think anyone would like that.

 

[citygirl]

Get a cleaning person if you don't have one. I can guarantee you and your lodger will have different ideas of what constitutes clean and it will lead to problems. Just factor the cost in to the rent. Obviously yes, the lodger should clean up after themselves in the kitchen and really their room is their business assuming they aren't breaking things.