Can a landlord charge a cleaning fee in Alberta?

Cleaning deducted from your security deposit

Alberta's RTA Handbook puts it precisely: a landlord is entitled to deduct the cost of cleaning above and beyond normal wear and tear if the tenant agreed to that as a condition of the tenancy agreement, along with the cost of repairing or replacing damaged property. Two conditions come with it. The tenant has to have agreed to it in the tenancy agreement, and the written move-in and move-out inspection reports have to have been properly completed. Cleaning that goes with normal wear and tear cannot come out of the deposit at all, whatever the lease says.

A non-refundable cleaning fee in your lease

This is the part tenants miss. The RTA Handbook says a non-refundable fee agreed to in the residential tenancy agreement is not subject to the security deposit restrictions and is considered part of the rent. It cannot even be deposited into the security deposit trust account. So you can be charged it regardless of how spotless you leave the unit. No amount of cleaning or photo proof overrides a fee you agreed to in the contract. Read your lease before you assume a great clean gets you out of it.

Normal wear and tear is never chargeable

Faded paint, light carpet traffic, small nail holes. Landlords cannot deduct from your deposit to repair normal wear and tear. You're responsible for dirt, soil and residue (the stuff cleaning removes), not for the natural aging of the unit.

How to protect yourself

• ✓Complete the move-in and move-out inspection reports. Deposit deductions for damage require them.
• ✓Photograph every room after cleaning; time-stamped photos are useful evidence of condition.
• ✓Keep your cleaning invoice, checklist and photos until the deposit is resolved.
• ✓Know your 10-day window: with no deductions, the landlord must return the deposit plus interest within 10 days of you giving up possession; with deductions, they must send a statement of account in that window.