Often, property managers focus on keeping common areas clean and well-maintained without much thought to the cleanliness of units between tenants. Although landlords have an obligation to ensure units are clean and sanitary when new tenants move in, they might not clean to the level new tenants would expect.
This can set a bad first impression and increase tenant churn. In this article, we will share our top ten professional cleaning tips for Toronto property managers to help ensure tenant satisfaction and retention.
1. Create a warm welcome
Whether you manage a single-unit rental property or a multi-unit building, creating a warm welcome is always important for new tenants. Making sure the front door and surrounding walls are clean and dusted and having the entire entry cleaned to a sparkling finish helps make tenants feel welcome in their new homes.
Paying special attention to the walls, floors, ceiling, and light switches addresses the highest touch and traffic areas.
2. Consider health
Tenants have a right to feel that their homes are safe, which makes it important to consider how cleaning impacts their health. A deep cleaning that sanitizes the Toronto home, especially in the bathrooms and kitchen, ensures the surfaces look and smell clean.
Even a hint of must, lingering pet or food odours, or mould may scare tenants into thinking the home is not healthy.
3. Tackle carpet odours
If your lease does not allow pets, you know that some tenants hide the fact they are pet owners, which can contribute to carpet odours. Regardless of whether there are pets in the unit or not, odours often find their way into carpets, including cigarette/marijuana smoke, food odours, lingering smells from water damage, and overuse of powder deodorizers.
A thorough vacuuming and carpet cleaning ensures the carpet is clean enough for bare feet and small children while eliminating all odours. As a result, tenants don’t have to contend with unpleasant smells in their new home.
4. Polish wood floors
Although many landlords have discovered the beauty of low-maintenance, durable, luxury vinyl floors, older units (or exclusive rentals) tend to have wood. By arranging for a thorough polishing and cleaning of wood floors, you can help protect them from wear and tear and keep them looking their best.
No doubt, tenants love hardwood floors and will be proud to live in a home with this high-end finish.
5. Protect stone and marble counters
Whether it’s the kitchen or bathroom counters, stone and marble require special care to avoid stains. Using a stone or marble sealant between tenants (or even every year) will ensure your counters remain flawless and protect against stains that can reduce tenant satisfaction.
6. Clean appliances
In most cases, rental units come with used appliances, which most tenants find a little off-putting, especially if the appliances do not appear clean. Ensuring appliances are cleaned properly between tenants not only provides a clean place to store and prepare foods, but also ensures appliances are operating efficiently.
7. Get windows to sparkle
Filthy windows detract from the cleanliness of the unit, as well as the views from the home. You want the windows to be immaculate to accent the beauty of the area, especially when renting apartments overlooking the lake, the city skyline, or lovely green spaces.
Even if the views aren’t show-stoppers, clean windows bring in more natural light and make the apartment feel more livable and appealing.
8. Partner with a professional cleaning company
A professional cleaning lady or service in Toronto will provide the level of cleaning that makes tenants feel comfortable from the day they move in. Scrubbing every surface ensures tenants enter a home that is germ– and bacteria-free, while making a good first impression that shows you care about the condition of their home.
This can speak volumes to the quality of the building they’ve chosen, and provide confidence in your property management to keep their new home well-maintained.
9. Unit inspections
Once the old tenants move out, you should immediately inspect the unit to create a checklist of specific issues you must address. This should include a standard move-out cleaning list, as well as issues that require repairs.
For example, things like slow leaks under the sink might go unnoticed by tenants, which can lead to mould and wood rot. You might also discover the appliances don’t work because the tenant never cooked a meal at home, so didn’t bother reporting it.
Unpleasant smells might set in due to pets or the poor cleaning habits of the previous tenant, which must be addressed. Unit inspections will ensure all existing issues are fixed, while also determining whether the former tenants deserve their deposit back.
10. Give new tenants a “maintenance tour”
Finally, when new tenants move in, give them a “maintenance tour” to offer tips on how to keep their new home in good repair. For example, you might point out that the oven is self-cleaning, or that the stove top is glass and requires a special tool to remove stains. You can provide the tool, and show them where you keep it.
You can also point out challenges like the hardwood floors and explain how to clean the floors to keep them looking their best, or advise them to use a sealant on marble or granite countertops.
For something tricky, like the windows of a glass-walled shower that are prone to water stains, explain how a quick swipe of a squeegee can avoid this after showering. This also makes your tenants’ lives easier, as it reduces the amount of cleaning required.
This little tour can be the saviour of your unit maintenance, prolonging the life of delicate finishes like marble and wood, keeping your appliances operating more efficiently, and helping tenants enjoy living in a comfortable, clean space.
Focus on the positives, pointing out the challenges as features, and then explaining how to care for them to keep them in good condition. They will be more likely to see the challenges as benefits that make their home more attractive and take pride in keeping everything looking its best!
Contact the Toronto Cleaning Professionals
Although retaining good tenants and reducing complaints isn’t easy, these tips will help keep tenants happy and reduce tenant churn.
For more information about Maid4Condos’ professional cleaning lady services in Toronto, click here. You can also call us at 647-822-0601.
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