Legal Question in Real Estate Law in Massachusetts

I just received back my security deposit, for an apartment right outside Boston, in which my landlord has taken out 180 dollar cleaning fee. We cleaned the apartment before we left and the landlord stated that they only did the cleaning because the new tenants requested it, meaning they didn't come to the apartment and inspect it themselves to see if it needed cleaning. The problems is we allowed the new tenants to start moving in the weekend before our lease was up and notified the landlord of the situation. So by the time the apartment was cleaned the new tenants were already moved into the apartment and have been there for several days. Can they charge us for cleaning when they are most likely cleaning up after the new tenants?


Asked on 10/13/09, 12:57 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Absent an inspection and a finding that the property was left in total disaray, no they can't charge you for a cleaning of the apartment. Since you allowed the new tenants to move in ahead of time and they did not inform you of their concern, the cleaning cost should be an issue between the new tenant and the landlord.

Good luck.

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Answered on 10/18/09, 4:01 pm


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