Possession day is an exciting day – a new home and the new future that it brings. But it can really change the mood if you show up to a dirty house and end up needing to clean someone else’s mess! Simple solution, you would think, just have the sellers hire a cleaner as part of the offer.
Through hundreds of possession days over the years, I can tell you that it unfortunately is not that simple! Ask any real estate lawyer and they will tell you that they have dealt with files over the years where possession has been delayed due to a dispute over professional cleaning.
The only clause that deals with anything related to cleanliness in a standard purchase contract is in this phrase, that on possession day, “the Property will be in substantially the same condition as when this contract was accepted”.
So when you viewed the home prior to making an offer, if the place was impeccably clean, you can expect it to be similar at possession. If it wasn’t to your standards, don’t expect much different at possession, unless you write in an extra term about cleaning.
If we are in a hot seller’s market, it may be difficult to have the seller agree to any extra terms related to cleaning – especially if you are in competing offers and are trying to beat out other parties. But let’s say that it’s a buyer’s or a balanced market and you feel that you have some leverage, then we may be able to negotiate an extra term in the offer.
Normal wording for this would be along the lines of “Seller to have property professionally cleaned prior to Possession and to provide receipt to Buyer.” But like every industry in the world, not all cleaners are alike! In this wording, there is no incentive for the seller to hire the best cleaner for the longest amount of time; they just need any cleaner that will give them a receipt. The difference in quality of cleaners can be vast and many a buyer has still been disappointed on possession day, even when the seller fulfilled their legal obligation to provide a receipt.
Unfortunately trying to use wording like “Seller to have property cleaned to Buyer’s satisfaction prior to Possession” opens a can of worms that no Seller will want to agree to. How could they possibly know whether the Buyer will be satisfied or whether their standards are reasonable?
If you have a cleaner you have used and trust in the past, you could potentially write in that the Seller hires this specific cleaner and that they do a “move-out clean” which is a bit more specific but still would have variance in things like whether appliances were pulled out to clean behind, whether interior and exterior windows are cleaned, steam-cleaning of carpets, etc. And if the Buyer still isn’t happy with the job they did, they weren’t the ones that paid them so may not have as much recourse to have the cleaner come back and redo anything.
If we show up on possession and the cleaning isn’t adequate, we are scrambling to have the lawyers negotiate a credit back to the buyers before funds transfer over and keys are released. If the Sellers refuse, a small problem can become a big one. If you’re waiting to get into the property and start getting settled, it can create a last-minute delay for handing over the keys.
If you really feel strongly about having the sellers complete the cleaning, we are there to fight for you and can put in the best wording to try and protect your interests. But in most circumstances, I feel the best course of action is to assume the house won’t be perfectly clean at possession and make plans to spend a few hundred dollars hiring your own cleaner or, if you’re lucky, have a helpful mom come over!
In any market, adding extra terms can make an offer feel nitpicky or give the seller the impression that you’re asking for too much. This can create unnecessary friction and cause the seller to dig their heels in during negotiations. Sometimes, leaving out these extra terms can help keep negotiations on track and preserve our ability to negotiate a better price or more favourable terms elsewhere.
For these and all other little nuances of offer negotiation, we bring the experience of hundreds of deals to the table and can help you navigate the best path forward for you.
