Landlord tries to extort $300 from tenant for deep cleaning despite tenant leaving the place spotless: 'It is just another way to extract wealth from people who are already struggling'

Landlord is trying to extort $300 for a carpet clean I already handled myself

I am finally moving out of this basement unit and the landlord is already starting with the security deposit games . The lease has a vague clause about "professional cleaning" upon move out but I went above and beyond. I rented a high end industrial cleaner and spent the entire Saturday doing every single square inch of the place. The carpets look better now than when I moved in two years ago.

When you're moving out, you're probably super aware of the state that you're leaving the apartment in. You're cognizant of wanting your security deposit back, and you're on guard for your landlord trying to trick you into thinking you did something wrong. That's the position this tenant was in when they decided to take matters into their own hands and clean their apartment themselves. So they did, and it turned out great. But while they thought they were going above and beyond, their landlord had a different idea of what was happening. Keep reading for all the details of the story.

I sent over the photos and the receipt for the machine rental and this parasite has the nerve to tell me it does not count. He is claiming that unless I use his specific "preferred vendor" he is going to deduct a flat $300 fee from my deposit for a professional steam clean. I looked up the company he mentioned and the address is literally a residential house registered to his brother in law. It is a total kickback scheme designed to shave off a few hundred bucks from every tenant that leaves.

Being implicated in someone else's scheme is probably not how they thought this interaction was going to go. Nobody wants to feel like they're being given the run around by someone who is taking advantage of them. That's what this landlord was doing, though, and was tipping his hat to his own scheme probably a lot more than he thought he was. So when the tenant pushed him on the issues, some of the cracks started to show. He was clearly wrapped up in his own kickback game and didn't want to lose out on the extra cash. Scroll on to finish the story.

He is refusing to even walk through the unit with me and just keeps repeating that "it is policy" to use their people for the deep clean. I have the place spotless and I know he is just going to pocket the cash or have his relative sign a fake invoice while nobody actually cleans anything. It is just another way to extract wealth from people who are already struggling to cover a new deposit at a different place .

 

The amount of control these people think they have over our lives and finances is disgusting. I am not backing down on this one and I will take it to small claims if I have to just out of spite. They act like they are doing you a favor by letting you pay their mortgage while they find every possible way to nickel and dime you on the way out .

 

Just a typical day dealing with a professional middleman who contributes zero value to the world.

-u/Monarch47_Glint