$250 cleaning fee paid with lease

Submitted by UnfriendliestCzech t3_11a46hd in boston

A few years ago I signed a lease where I paid first month, last month, and $250 cleaning fee. I'm planning on moving out in a few months and I recently discovered that in MA a cleaning fee is not a legal fee that can be charged when creating a lease. I was not asked for a security deposit because I had good credit. I was planning on calling them and letting them know that for the 2nd to last month's rent I would be deducting $250 from that rent payment to recoup this expense they illegally charged.

Does that make the most sense? What would you do?

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Comments

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RealKenny t1_j9pq022 wrote

Do not do this. Ask them for it back and see what happens, but deducting it from rent will cause you a lot more BS than the $250 is worth

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AnyRound5042 t1_j9q5zqx wrote

Depends on the landlord. I did that at my last place. Upstairs room mate had someone living with him, when we would talk to the landlord they would kick that person out and a new one would move in with that room mate. And dogs which were against the lease. Me and the downstairs kid told the landlord we weren't cool with the free ride for a stranger so we'd be splitting the total rent in quarters instead of thirds.

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canardencaoutchou t1_j9pq2mu wrote

Deducting it from your rent is not legal and would put you in the wrong.

I would try asking for the cleaning fee back nicely. Pointing out that the fee is illegal is not likely to get you anywhere unless you’re willing to follow that up with legal action.

This sounds like a crappy situation, the fee is too small for a reasonable person to fight it, and any action you take to withhold rent is a losing battle for you.

Ask for it back, and if they refuse, leave the place dirty enough that they won’t be able to pocket your $250

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mr_showboat t1_j9prpio wrote

Personally, I would go into it less antagonistically. Call them up and ask them what the cleaning fee is for (shit, maybe it'll actually make moving out easier if you don't need to worry about cleaning everything). Maybe you can let slip that you found out it was illegal and see how they react.

Pissing them off for $250 is probably not worth the headache it will cause you. Probably better to be diplomatic.

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Due-Dog6719 t1_j9qqfg4 wrote

Ask for it back via email. If they decline follow up w a reminder that its not a legal and you would like a refund of the fee cc’ing the AG and anyone else that has over site. Id also recommend reaching out to the AG’s office for clarity and guidance.

I 100% disagree with anyone that thinks this isn’t worth fighting for. You owe them nothing, avoiding the hassle of sticking up for your rights will only perpetuate this practice.

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OldSweatyBulbasar t1_j9trcp9 wrote

Right? That is at least two week’s groceries and it was illegal. Treating $250 like a small amount not worth the hassle is some rich nonsense.

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Icy-Neck-2422 t1_j9pw0ry wrote

"Hey I'm planning on leaving the place in immaculate condition when I leave - any chance you could forego the $250 cleaning fee?"

Don't play Matlock on them from the jump.

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parsley_animal t1_j9psbls wrote

You can send a demand letter and possibly get 3x ($750 in your case) if you're willing to take it to small claims court and they're not willing to give it back after the demand letter. There are laws you can find online regarding what fees can be taken as part of the lease and what documents need to be with it.

As others said, it's a small amount and going to court may not be worth it to you or the LL. But sending the demand letter would likely be enough to get them to send it back.

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[deleted] t1_j9s5q8o wrote

[deleted]

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mtmsm t1_j9t9o03 wrote

It’s not about being polite, it’s about protecting OP from the legal consequences of shorting their rent. OP can escalate it and the court will back them if the landlord refuses to refund the fee, but they have no case if they haven’t even tried asking for the fee back.

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