Property Management Tip #49 – Require Carpet Cleaning

If the rental has carpet, the lease should require tenants have it professionally steam cleaned at least yearly and at the end of their lease.  They should also be required to provide the receipt from a professional carpet cleaning when they vacate the property.  You don't want a tenant to rent one of the do-it-yourself machines because those are not as good as having a professional come in to do it right.  Although you may not care about seeing the receipt for annual cleanings, having that as a requirement at move-out means you can deduct from the security deposit to have it done if they didn't and it means you will be giving the next tenant a freshly cleaned carpet.  As you learn which companies you prefer, you might even require that the tenant use one of your approved vendors.