Including cleaning service in rent

[thedayisbrave]

I've got one of my units rented out to students (4 boys).  They are quiet and don't party/do much to trash the unit like you'd expect from most college kids, but it is generally quite dirty inside.  Nothing is really affected, per se, but I just don't want to end up with a bug infestation or something similar.  I'm thinking about raising the rent next year (haven't raised the rent in 4 years so I probably should either way), from $350/mo to $385 or $395, and including a monthly cleaning service.

Has anyone ever done this before? Thoughts?

[navystache]

I get my properties carpet cleaned and cleaned once a year.  It shows tenants you have pride in the properties and not a slum lord.   You can up the rent as well, but only do it because your doing it accordingly to the market.  Personally as a tenant I would leave if my landlord increased my rent due to a cleaning service. 

In your position, I would raise the rents according to the market or pay out of pocket to get unit cleaned. 

[thedayisbrave]

I get my properties carpet cleaned and cleaned once a year.  It shows tenants you have pride in the properties and not a slum lord.   You can up the rent as well, but only do it because your doing it accordingly to the market.  Personally as a tenant I would leave if my landlord increased my rent due to a cleaning service. 

In your position, I would raise the rents according to the market or pay out of pocket to get unit cleaned.

Thanks for your response... I'm definitely upping the rent next year either way.  I will most likely have 3 or 4 new tenants in there come late summer, so I thought including cleaning in the new price would be a nice value-add.

[James]

I get my properties carpet cleaned and cleaned once a year.  It shows tenants you have pride in the properties and not a slum lord.   You can up the rent as well, but only do it because your doing it accordingly to the market.  Personally as a tenant I would leave if my landlord increased my rent due to a cleaning service. 

In your position, I would raise the rents according to the market or pay out of pocket to get unit cleaned.

Thanks for your response... I'm definitely upping the rent next year either way.  I will most likely have 3 or 4 new tenants in there come late summer, so I thought including cleaning in the new price would be a nice value-add.

A lot depends on the cost of the cleaning, but I would be surprised if you would come out ahead in the long run. Better to just up the rent and set aside extra money for cleaning and replacing carpet etc after tenants leave. Even with the cleaning you are going to see similar wear and tear with 4 guys in an apartment, so you might have the same increased maintenance even with the cleaning.

But if you are seeing issues with them not cleaning enough, I would put something in your contract to the effect that if you aren't satisfied with their cleaning you can hire a service at their expense. Not that you would expect to use that, but it would give them added incentive to not let the place get too filthy. Also be sure they know you will withhold some deposit for excessive wear and tear or filth when they leave. I think it would take more than "generally quite dirty" to get serious bug problems, but if it got that bad then I would certainly hire a service and try to make it at their expense. But I wouldn't hire a service just as a routine, simply because I don't think it would be financially worth while over time.