What do GTA landlords and property managers need from a cleaner?
A rental needs the same few jobs again and again, usually on short notice and always between two dates that do not move. What those jobs are, what the Landlord and Tenant Board says about the paperwork, and how to brief a cleaner so the unit is ready.
Landlords and property managers need a cleaner who can turn a unit around between two fixed dates: a move-out clean, carpet extraction in the same visit, a fast answer when water gets in, and a dated invoice and photographs for the file. One relationship for all four saves a lot of phone calls in a busy month.
This is a practical guide, not legal advice. Where Ontario rules are mentioned, the link goes to the source, and the Landlord and Tenant Board decides disputes.
What are the jobs a rental actually needs?
| Job | When | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover clean | Between the old tenant's keys and the new tenant's | Kitchen, bathroom, inside cupboards and appliances, floors, baseboards |
| Carpet extraction | Same visit as the turnover, done last | Pre-treatment of stains and traffic lanes, dry passes |
| Mattress or upholstery | Furnished units, between tenants | Extraction, with drying time planned in |
| Water damage | Whenever it happens, often at night | Extraction, drying, photographs and moisture readings |
| Common area carpet | On a schedule, out of hours | Corridors and lobbies priced by the square foot |
The rates that apply are on the pricing page: move-out cleaning from $245 for a studio or one bedroom in Toronto, or $35 to $95 an hour, or $200 to $500 flat for a 2,000 square foot home. Carpet is $40 to $60 a room, or $0.25 to $0.50 a square foot for larger areas, and commercial carpet is $0.20 to $0.40 a square foot. Every figure is confirmed before work starts.
Why clean carpet between tenants?
Because a carpet is the first thing a new tenant judges a unit by, and because it is the surface most likely to end in an argument. Ontario's Landlord and Tenant Board says in its brochure on maintenance and repairs that tenants are not responsible for damage caused by normal use, and gives a carpet worn after years of everyday use as its example. Damage beyond normal wear and tear is a different matter.
That makes the condition of the carpet at the start of each tenancy worth recording. A clean between tenants, with dated photographs, tells you what the next tenant received. It also removes the grit that wears the pile, so the carpet lasts more tenancies before it needs replacing.
Book the extraction for the same visit as the turnover clean, done last, so nobody walks across it wet. Leave drying time before the new tenant's furniture arrives. What affects drying is in how long carpet takes to dry.
What paperwork does the Board ask for?
The Board's maintenance and repairs brochure lists items that could serve as evidence for an application about damage or an extremely unclean unit. They include printed pictures of the damage or the state of the unit, written correspondence between landlord and tenant, written quotes from licensed contractors for the cost of repairing the damage or cleaning the unit, and receipts for money spent on repairs.
If the tenant has already moved out, the Board's page on collecting money a former tenant owes explains the application. It says costs related to normal wear and tear cannot be claimed, and that the application cannot be filed more than one year after the tenant moved out. That page lists damage, not cleaning, among the things a landlord can claim, so whether a cleaning bill is recoverable in a given case is a question for the Board or a paralegal, not a cleaner.
What a cleaner can give you is the record:
- Photographs before work starts, room by room, with the date.
- An itemised invoice saying what was cleaned and what could not be fixed.
- A note of any stain or mark that did not come out, since that is the difference between dirt and damage.
- Photographs after, of the same rooms from the same spots.
What happens when water gets into a rental?
A leak in a rental involves at least three people: the tenant who found it, the landlord or manager who has to act, and often an insurer or a condo corporation. The emergency line is answered 24 hours, and AllCleaner documents water damage for an insurance claim, with photographs before anything is moved. Who pays in a condo is covered in condo water leak: who pays in Ontario, and the first steps for a flooded basement apartment are in flooded basement: what to do in Toronto. For the service itself, see water damage cleaning and restoration.
What about common areas and commercial space?
Corridors, lobbies and offices are cleaned in the evenings, at night or at weekends, so the carpet dries before residents or staff walk on it. It is priced by the square foot on the commercial rate. Details are on the commercial carpet cleaning page.
A note for short-term rental hosts
The same turnover logic applies to a short-term rental, just more often. In Toronto, the City says short-term rentals are permitted only in principal residences, so a host is renting out the home they live in, or part of it. Daily turnover is maid work. Where AllCleaner fits is the periodic job: carpet, a mattress or a sofa that guests have used for a season.
How to brief a cleaner for a turnover
Send the dates the keys come back and go out, the size of the unit, which rooms are carpeted, whether there were pets, and how access works: lockbox, concierge, elevator booking. A photograph of the oven and the worst carpet tells a cleaner more than a description. The cleaners are insured and background-checked, and all equipment and solutions are supplied.
For turnover work, see move-in and move-out cleaning and carpet cleaning, or call 647-697-7435.
Short answers.
- Should carpet be cleaned between every tenant?
- It is a sensible habit for most rentals. A new tenant notices a stained or smelly carpet on day one, and soil left in the pile wears it faster. Extraction between tenants also gives you a dated record of the carpet's condition. Ontario tenants are not responsible for carpet worn by normal everyday use.
- What records help a landlord with a damage claim at the Landlord and Tenant Board?
- The Board's brochure on maintenance and repairs lists printed pictures of the damage or the state of the unit, written correspondence with the tenant, written quotes from licensed contractors for repair or cleaning, and receipts for money spent on repairs. A dated, itemised invoice from your cleaner fits alongside those.
- Can a cleaner work in a tenanted unit?
- Yes, with access arranged in advance. Agree the date and time with the tenant before you book, and check your own obligations about entering a rented unit. For an emergency such as a leak, call the tenant and the cleaner at once, and photograph everything before work starts.
- Do you clean common areas and offices out of hours?
- Yes. AllCleaner cleans commercial carpet, including condo corridors and common areas, in the evenings, at night and at weekends, so floors can dry before people return. Commercial carpet is priced at $0.20 to $0.40 per square foot, confirmed before work starts.
