Cleaning is without doubt the most commonly debated and least understood element of property management. Whether it is bond cleaning of rental properties, departure cleaning of holiday properties or cleaning properties for sale, there are some basics that everyone simply needs to understand.
This article is dedicated to the vexed topic of cleaning, in the hope of clearing up the many misconceptions, myths and misunderstandings.
KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER:
1. There are more properties needing to be cleaned on the Sunshine Coast than there are reliable cleaners to clean them
2. Good cleaners are in very high demand and can basically choose the properties that they do (and do not) want to clean.
3. Good cleaners do not need to clean your property. If a cleaner forms an opinion that the owner is unrealistic, pedantic or unappreciative, they will generally move on and choose to clean for a different owner.
4. Not all cleans are the same. Departure cleans, standard cleans, bond cleans and spring cleans are all different things and cleaners are paid quite differently for each of them to perform quite different tasks.
5. Cleaning is hard work and most people don’t want to do it. hauling equipment up flights of stairs over Summer into properties with no air conditioning to clean up after people while everyone else is on the beach with their families, just to earn $100 is not very appealing to most people.
6. Virtually all cleaners are self-employed. That means no holiday pay, no sick leave, no paid annual leave, no long service leave and no employer superannuation contributions – but plenty of outgoings such as liability insurances, business registrations and vehicle expenses etc.
7. Good cleaners can make good money, but they have to work much longer than a 38hour week, including weekends and holiday periods, and they do the work that nobody else wants to do.
8. If there were no cleaners, property investment would grind to a halt. Many Sunshine Coast accommodation providers regularly do not let out all of their available properties because there is simply not enough cleaners to clean them all of the time.
CLEANING HOLIDAY PROPERTIES:
Generally there are two types of cleans associated with holiday properties:
DEPARTURE CLEANS:
These are the cleans that occur when the guest checks out of the property. They are often done under very tight time constraints due to the fact that new guests are waiting to check in, and there are usually multiple properties that also need to be cleaned within the 10am to 2pm turn around period.
Cleaners do not clean everything, every time as part of departure cleans. They do not routinely clean under heavy couches, skirting boards, behind fridges, external windows, walls, window furnishings or kitchen cutlery etc as part of a departure clean.
Departure cleans are paid for by the guests – not the owners. The guest pays the cleaning fee when they make the booking. The money is held in trust against the owner’s property and paid to the cleaner once the work has been done. Some owners who see the cleaner being paid from the trust money incorrectly believe they are paying for the clean themselves. They are not. Departure cleans are always paid for by the guests.
SPRING CLEANS:
Despite the name, Spring cleans are usually conducted at least twice a year. Usually around March or May, and again around November.
Spring cleans are a much deeper clean and basically everything within the property is cleaned. Walls, kitchen appliances, behind washing machines, windows, inside light fittings, everything. Spring cleans usually entail the usual cleaner, a carpet cleaner and someone to clean the drapes and blinds.
Spring cleans are obviously more expensive than departure cleans, and are always paid for by the owner. Savvy owners will marginally increase the nightly tariff of their properties to accumulate the extra money needed to pay for the Spring cleans when they are due.
Sometimes owners won’t pay for Spring cleans but expect the cleaner to provide the same or similar level of service as part of the departure cleaning program. This never ends well. Cleaners cannot maintain a property to a Spring clean standard when they are not paid to do so.
CLEANING RENTAL PROPERTIES
There are two types of cleans associated with rental properties:
STANDARD CLEANS:
These occur when tenants choose to engage a cleaner themselves to clean the property on a ‘once off’ or regular basis. Generally the tenant will negotiate with the cleaner as to the extent of the work to be done, and the tenant pays the cleaner directly for the service provided.
BOND CLEANS:
In order to recover their bonds, tenants are required to return their rental property to the same standard as when they commenced the tenancy (less fair wear and tear). This includes the cleanliness of the property.
Tenants do not have to engage a professional cleaner to bond clean the property as they are legally allowed to do it themselves BUT the property must be returned to its original state.
It is an offence for a landlord or property agent to demand that a bond clean be undertaken by a professional cleaner, and it is illegal to insist upon a professional cleaner as part of a lease “Special Condition”
Bond cleans are thorough and expensive cleans that basically mean everything has to be cleaned. They are a bit like holiday Spring cleans, but without all of the furnishings and clutter. Some cleaners specialize in bond cleans only.
Bond cleans are paid for by the tenant, and are probably more hotly debated than any other topic when it comes to rental leases.
Trying to get the landlord, the tenant and the cleaner to all agree on what constitutes a fair clean can be pretty difficult. At these times, landlords should be guided by the advice of the property manager, who will refer to the Entry Condition report, their own experience of seeing hundreds of bond cleans, and their prior knowledge of what probably will (or will not) be supported by QCAT if the matter ends up in arbitration.
There are lots of rules associated with the timing of bond cleans, what happens if the bond clean is not up to standard, what happens if the owner enters a property before the bond clean has been finished (or even started), what happens if the tenant is COVID affected etc etc – so once again, refer to the property manager for professional advice.
OWNERS SELF-CLEANING
Owners cleaning their own properties are rare, but some people do it. It generally only refers to holiday properties because rental landlords undertaking bond cleans on behalf of tenants is fraught with danger.
If owners do clean their own holiday property they must make sure they do a good job. Because holiday guests pay for the cleaning (and they know they do), any guest who pays for a clean and is not happy with the standard, has every right to expect the owner will return and clean it to a professional standard, or provide compensation.
There is lots to know about cleaning, but here are the Key Points!
1. According to Tripadvisor data, cleaning is more regularly commented upon than any other element of holiday bookings worldwide.
2. Bond cleans at the end of a rental lease are the most commonly disputed aspects of permanent rental agreements.
3. There is more work for cleaning on the Sunshine Coast than there are good cleaners.
4. Good cleaners are continually offered more work than they can cope with. Many Sunshine Coast cleaners have abandoned holiday departure cleaning in recent times, in preference for more lucrative and more stable commercial cleaning, NDIS cleaning, private cleaning and government cleaning contracts.
5. Owners should do their best to retain good cleaners - they are almost impossible to replace.
6. Irrespective of the intentions of the owners, good cleaners who believe owners are overly picky or pedantic will over time, simply change to cleaning different properties or abandon departure cleaning all together to avoid the hassle.
7. There are different types of cleaning services – departure, spring, standard and bond cleans
8. All cleaning is paid for by guests or tenants, except for spring cleans which are paid by owners.
9. Holiday property owners who think they pay for departure cleaning are mistaken. The guest pays the departure cleaning bill.
10. Holiday property owners who rely solely on departure cleans will never have some elements of their properties cleaned. They need to have scheduled spring cleans as well.
11. During busy periods such as school holidays and Christmas, holiday property cleaners are inundated with work and cannot devote the usual time to clean each property. Simple mathematics!
12. Holiday owners who accept shorter bookings will have their properties cleaned (and paid for by somebody else) more often.
13. There are lots of laws relating to rental property departure cleans that owners have to be wary of.
14. It is illegal to insist on professional cleaners to carry out rental bond cleans.
15. Unacceptable and poor quality cleaning should be reported to our property managers as soon as possible.