How to pass your Edmonton damage-deposit inspection
In Alberta your landlord can withhold part or all of your security deposit for cleaning that falls below 'reasonably clean' at move-out. The problem is that 'reasonably clean' isn't defined the same way by every landlord. So the safest move is to clean to the strictest version of the checklist. Here's what gets flagged on Edmonton move-out inspections, and how to make sure none of it lands on your statement of account.
Watch: How to pass your Edmonton damage-deposit inspection
What Alberta law actually says
Under the Residential Tenancies Act, a tenant must return the unit 'reasonably clean' and undamaged beyond normal wear and tear. A landlord has 10 days after the tenancy ends to return the deposit or send an itemized statement of deductions. Cleaning is one of the most common deductions. And one of the most disputed, because the standard is subjective.
The way to win that argument before it starts is documentation: a clean done to a written checklist, with dated photos of every room. If a deduction is ever challenged at the Residential Tenancy Dispute Resolution Service, that paper trail is what decides it.
The five things flagged most often
- ✓Oven, stovetop and range hood. Baked-on grease is the single most common deduction.
- ✓Bathroom grout, caulking and hard-water scale around taps and glass.
- ✓Inside cabinets, drawers and the tracks/runners behind them.
- ✓Baseboards, door frames, light switches and the tops of doors (dust nobody checks).
- ✓Floor edges and corners. The strip a vacuum misses where wall meets floor.
Normal wear vs. chargeable cleaning
You are not responsible for normal wear: faded paint, minor carpet traffic, small nail holes. You are responsible for dirt. Grease, soap scum, dust, marks that come off with cleaning. The grey area is where landlords overreach, and where photos protect you. If a wall scuff wipes clean, photograph it clean; if a carpet stain was there at move-in, your move-in inspection report is your defence.
Doing it yourself vs. booking it out
A thorough DIY move-out clean of a 2-bedroom takes most people a full day plus supplies, and the oven and grout are where DIY most often falls short of inspection standard. A specialist move-out clean is graded against the landlord checklist and. In our case. Re-attended free if a covered item is flagged. For the cost of roughly one withheld deposit line, you remove the risk entirely.
How long does a landlord have to return my deposit in Alberta?
10 days after the end of the tenancy to either return it in full or provide an itemized statement of deductions.
Can a landlord charge me for cleaning if I already cleaned?
Only if the unit isn't 'reasonably clean.' Dated move-out photos and a checklist-based clean are your best evidence that it was.
Does a professional move-out clean guarantee my deposit back?
No one can guarantee a landlord's judgment on damage, but a clean graded to the inspection checklist removes cleaning as a reason to withhold. And WHITEBOX re-attends free if a covered item is flagged.