What to know
- Ontario tenants are not legally required to pay for or hire professional cleaning services when moving out, even if a lease includes a clause requiring it, according to a legal expert.
- Under Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act, tenants must leave their rental in a state of “ordinary cleanliness” rather than professionally cleaned.
- If a tenant leaves excessive dirt, damage or conditions that create health or safety risks, a landlord may seek compensation through the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB), and serious cases could lead to eviction.
- Experts say lease clauses that contradict the Residential Tenancies Act, including mandatory professional cleaning requirements, are generally unenforceable at the LTB.
- New tenants are also entitled to receive a rental unit in an ordinarily clean condition and can ask the landlord to address cleanliness issues or pursue remedies through the LTB if necessary.
If you’re a long-term renter in Ontario, you’ve probably also come across a requirement for a professional cleaning or a cleaning fee when moving out or into a rental unit. But are landlords actually allowed to demand this?
Moving out from a rental property comes at a certain price, between payments for a new home, safety deposits, and moving costs, and professional cleaning fees often also fall into it.
Now Toronto spoke with Samuel Mason, a staff lawyer and clinic instructor at Parkdale Community Legal Services, about whether these fees are actually allowed in the province.
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Can your landlord demand professional cleaning?
Although this may be a common clause or requirement made by the landlord through lease agreements, tenants in Ontario do not have an obligation to provide professional cleaning services of their unit before moving out or during their stay.
According to Mason, landlords could still ask their tenants to provide this, but they do not have an obligation to accept it, and landlords can also not demand they do so.
However, that does not mean tenants are free to leave their units dirty.
Tenants responsible for ‘ordinary cleanliness’
As explained by the lawyer, Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act determines that tenants are responsible for the “ordinary cleanliness” of the rental unit, unless it is specified in their lease agreement that the landlord must provide cleaning.
Although the act does not specify what “ordinary cleanliness” means, Mason said it is less pristine than what a professional cleaner would provide.
“I would say in practice, the unit would be left in a state of ordinary cleanliness. Some people also use the term ‘broom-swept condition’.., which is less than professional cleaning,” he explained.
According to the Insight Law Professional Corporation website, in real-estate, “broom-swept” includes emptying the units from all personal belongings, removing any garbage, sweeping or vacuuming floors, and wiping down surfaces.
In addition to keeping the unit reasonably clean when moving out, tenants are also responsible for maintaining this “ordinary cleanliness” state throughout their lease term, avoiding any damage to the unit.
“A tenant’s obligation during the tenancy and up until the end of the tenancy is to maintain the unit free from any undue damage and in a normal state of cleanliness. So, that’s during a tenancy, but also at the termination of a tenancy,” Mason added.
What happens if the tenant fails to keep the unit clean?
As explained by Mason, if the tenant can’t keep the unit within an ordinary state of cleanliness, they might be held liable through the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).
If by lacking cleanliness they also happen to damage the unit, the landlord might also be able to hold the tenant accountable for that.
According to the LTB, although lack of cleaning is not a reason for evicting, if it interferes with the reasonable enjoyment of the unit by other tenants or the landlord, they could also get evicted. Examples of issues that could lead to eviction include if the unit is dirty to the point of attracting pests or if it leads to a fire hazard.
What happens if the landlord demands professional cleaning?
If the landlord insists on the tenant providing professional cleaning services or fees after moving out or during the lease term, Mason would recommend they firmly refuse it.
In some cases, the landlord might also insist on including a clause on the lease that requires a professional cleaning fee. If that happens, Mason said even if the tenant chooses to sign it, the landlord would still not be able to enforce it at the LTB.
“The Residential Tenancies Act offers a lot of protections and rights to tenants, and often landlords will try to get tenants to waive those or agree to something else through a lease agreement,” Mason said.
“Any terms in a lease agreement that contradict the Residential Tenancies Act are void, so it wouldn’t carry any weight that the tenant agreed per the lease agreement to provide professional cleaning services for the landlord.”
In that case, the lawyer would recommend the tenant sign the agreement if they wish to do so, but keep in mind that it is not enforceable.
“The tenants should not willingly pay for the landlord to fulfill their own responsibilities. So the landlord, in providing a new unit to a new tenant, one would expect that the unit is cleaned. An outgoing tenant should not pay that business cost for the landlord,” he emphasized.
Can tenants require that the unit be clean?
Cleanliness requirements for a landlord when a new renter is moving in are similar to those of a tenant when they move out.
Upon coming into the unit, Mason said tenants can require the landlord to provide a unit that is in an “ordinary cleanliness” condition. As mentioned, this doesn’t mean the unit must have been professionally cleaned, only that it must be maintained under a reasonably tidy state.
In case the unit is not reasonably clean upon moving in, tenants can demand the landlord provide cleaning, or escalate the situation to the LTB if necessary.
